As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 22, 2014
Securities Act File No. 33-20827
Investment Company Act File No. 811-5518
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 |
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Pre-Effective Amendment No. |
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Post-Effective Amendment No. 174 |
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REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 |
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Amendment No. 176 |
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THE RBB FUND, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
Bellevue Park Corporate Center
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
Registrants Telephone Number: (302) 791-1851
Copies to:
SALVATORE FAIA BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 (Name and Address of Agent for Service) |
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MICHAEL P. MALLOY, ESQUIRE Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP One Logan Square, Ste. 2000 Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996 |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)
o immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
x on December 31, 2014 pursuant to paragraph (b)
o 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
o on December 31, 2014 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 Shares of Common Stock
ABBEY CAPITAL FUTURES STRATEGY FUND
of
THE RBB FUND, INC.
CLASS I SHARES (TICKER: ABYIX)
CLASS A SHARES (TICKER: ABYAX)
CLASS C SHARES (TICKER: ABYCX)
PROSPECTUS
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
ABBEY CAPITAL LIMITED
1-2 Cavendish Row
Dublin 1, Ireland
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE |
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SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
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Investment Objective |
1 |
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Expenses and Fees |
1 |
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Principal Investment Strategies |
2 |
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Principal Investment Risks |
4 |
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Performance Information |
7 |
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Management of the Fund |
7 |
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Purchase and Sale Information |
7 |
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Taxes |
8 |
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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries |
8 |
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FUND INFORMATION |
9 |
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More Information About Fund Investments |
9 |
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More Information About Risks |
9 |
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Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
14 |
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More Information About Management of the Fund |
14 |
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
22 |
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Pricing of Fund Shares |
22 |
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Purchase of Fund Shares |
24 |
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Redemption of Fund Shares |
27 |
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Market Timing |
28 |
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Dividends and Distributions |
29 |
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More Information About Taxes |
29 |
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Distribution Arrangements |
31 |
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Financial Highlights |
33 |
i
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund (the "Fund") is to seek long-term capital appreciation. Current income is a secondary objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (the "Shares"). You may qualify for sales charge discounts on Advisor Class Shares if you invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in the Fund. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional, in the section of the Prospectus entitled "Shareholder Information Sales Charges" and in the section of the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") entitled "Purchase and Redemption Information Reducing or Eliminating the Front-End Sales Charge."
Class I |
Class A |
Class C |
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Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||||||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
5.75 |
% |
None |
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Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
None |
None |
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Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested
Dividends |
None |
None |
None |
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Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed,
if applicable) |
None |
None |
None |
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay
each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
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Management Fees (1) |
1.97 |
% |
1.97 |
% |
1.97 |
% |
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Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee |
None |
0.25 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
||||||||||
Other Expenses (2) |
0.41 |
% |
0.41 |
% |
0.41 |
% |
|||||||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
2.38 |
% |
2.63 |
% |
3.38 |
% |
|||||||||
Less: Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (3) |
0.39 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
|||||||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waivers
and/or Expense Reimbursements |
1.99 |
% |
2.24 |
% |
2.99 |
% |
(1) Management Fees include advisory fees paid to both Abbey Capital Limited (the "Adviser") and one or more trading advisers (the "Trading Advisers"). There are no performance fees charged by the Adviser or Trading Advisers either at the Fund or at the Fund's wholly-owned Subsidiary.
(2) Other expenses are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. Other expenses include audit, administration, custody, legal, registration, transfer agency, and miscellaneous other charges.
(3) The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) to 1.99%, 2.24% and 2.99% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to Class I Shares, Class A and Class C Shares, respectively. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.99%, 2.24% or 2.99%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2016 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. If at any time during the first three years the Advisory Agreement is in effect, the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 1.99%, 2.24% and 2.99%, as applicable, the Adviser may recoup any waived or reimbursed amounts from the Fund if such reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed expense limitations that were in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement.
1
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
||||||||||
Class I Shares |
$ |
202 |
$ |
666 |
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Class A Shares |
$ |
789 |
$ |
1,274 |
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Class C Shares |
$ |
302 |
$ |
965 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by allocating its assets between a "Managed Futures" strategy and a "Fixed Income" strategy.
The Managed Futures strategy will be achieved by the Fund investing up to 25% of its total assets in Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). The Adviser may allocate assets of the Subsidiary to a single Managed Futures portfolio or multiple Managed Futures portfolios that include investment styles or sub-strategies such as (i) trend following, (ii) discretionary, fundamentals-based investing with a focus on macroeconomic analysis, (iii) strategies that pursue both fundamental and technical trading approaches, (iv) other specialized approaches to specific or individual market sectors such as equities, interest rates, metals, agricultural and soft commodities and (v) systematic trading strategies which incorporate technical and fundamental variables.
The Managed Futures strategy investments are designed to achieve capital appreciation in the financial and commodities futures markets. The Adviser intends to allocate the assets of the Subsidiary to one or more Trading Advisers to manage in percentages determined at the discretion of the Adviser. Each Trading Adviser invests according to a Managed Futures strategy in one or a combination of (i) options, (ii) futures, (iii) forwards, (iv) spot contracts or (v) swaps, including total return swaps, each of which may be tied to (i) commodities, (ii) financial indices and instruments, (iii) foreign currencies, or (iv) equity indices. Each current Trading Adviser is registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") as a Commodity Trading Advisor. Trading Advisers that are not registered with the SEC as investment advisers provide advice only regarding matters that do not involve securities.
The Fixed Income strategy invests the Fund's assets primarily in investment grade fixed income securities (of all durations and maturities) in order to generate interest income and capital appreciation, which may add diversification to the returns generated by the Fund's Managed Futures strategy. The Fund must set aside liquid assets, or engage in other SEC or staff-approved measures, to "cover" open positions with respect to certain kinds of derivative instruments. The Fixed Income strategy investments may be used to help cover the Fund's derivative positions.
2
The Fund's Adviser seeks returns, in part, by (i) using Managed Futures strategy investments that are not expected to have returns that are highly correlated to the broad equity market and (ii) through actively managed Fixed Income strategy investments that are not expected to have returns that are highly correlated to the broad equity market or the Managed Futures strategy. The Adviser believes that utilizing non-correlated strategies may mitigate losses in generally declining markets. However, there can be no assurance that losses will be avoided. Investment strategies that have historically been non-correlated or demonstrated low correlations to one another or to major world financial market indices may become correlated at certain times, such as during a liquidity crisis in global financial markets.
The trading strategies will employ several different trading styles using different research and trading methodologies, in a wide range of global financial and commodity markets operating over multiple time frames. Many of the styles use systematic, automated trading systems, using a combination of mathematical, statistical, technical analysis, pattern recognition and macroeconomic models aimed at profiting from market trends of different durations. Trading Advisers may use discretionary approaches aimed at identifying value investments and turning points in trends. All Trading Advisers utilize a disciplined approach to risk management. The Adviser and Trading Advisers from time to time will employ hedging techniques. Key principles of the Funds' sell discipline include predetermined relative-value objectives for sectors, issuers and specific securities, pricing performance or fundamental performance that varies from expectations, deteriorating fundamentals, overvaluation and alternative investments offering the opportunity to achieve more favourable risk-adjusted returns.
The markets traded will include bonds, money markets, foreign exchange markets and commodity markets. Most of the trading will be done in derivative markets, usually listed futures markets, but some trading in cash markets may take place when this is the most effective way to enter or exit a trading position. Both long and short positions will be taken in all markets traded. Contracts are positioned either long or short based on various characteristics related to their prices. For example, the Fund may short a particular underlying security or instrument if the Adviser or a Trading Adviser believes the price of the underlying security or instrument will decrease. The Fund invests in U.S. and non-U.S. markets and in developed and emerging markets.
As much of the trading within the Fund will be in futures markets, the Fund is likely to have cash balances surplus to margin requirements. The cash portfolio will be invested on a short-term, highly liquid, basis, to meet margin calls on the futures positions.
The Fund is "non-diversified" for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the "1940 Act") which means that the Fund may invest in fewer securities at any one time than a diversified fund. The Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. The Fund's investments in certain derivative instruments and its short selling activities involve the use of leverage.
Generally, the Subsidiary will invest primarily in commodity futures, but it may also invest in financial futures, option and swap contracts, fixed income securities, pooled investment vehicles, including those that are not registered pursuant to the 1940 Act and other investments intended to serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiary's derivative positions. The Fund will invest in the Subsidiary in order to gain exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the federal tax laws, rules and regulations that apply to registered investment companies. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary may invest without limitation in commodity-linked derivatives, however, the Subsidiary will comply with the same 1940 Act asset coverage requirements with respect to its investments in commodity-linked derivatives that are applicable to the Fund's transactions in derivatives.
In addition, to the extent applicable to the investment activities of the Subsidiary, the Subsidiary will be subject to the same fundamental investment restrictions and will follow the same compliance policies and procedures as the Fund. Unlike the Fund, the Subsidiary will not seek to qualify as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). The Fund is the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary and does not expect shares of the Subsidiary to be offered or sold to other investors.
3
Principal Investment Risks
Risk is inherent in all investing. The value of your investment in the Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly from day to day and over time. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments.
The principal risk factors affecting shareholders' investments in the Fund (and, indirectly, in the Subsidiary) are set forth below.
• Commodity Sector Risk: Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The prices of energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture and livestock sector commodities may fluctuate widely due to factors such as changes in value, supply and demand and governmental regulatory policies. The commodity-linked securities in which the Fund invests may be issued by companies in the financial services sector, and events affecting the financial services sector may cause the Fund's Share value to fluctuate.
• Counterparty Risk: Counterparty risk is the risk that the other party(s) to an agreement or a participant to a transaction, such as a broker or the FCM, might default on a contract or fail to perform by failing to pay amounts due or failing to fulfill the obligations of the contract or transaction.
• Credit Risk: Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of the security will not be able to make principal and interest payments when due. Changes in an issuer's credit rating or the market's perception of an issuer's creditworthiness may also affect the value of the Fund's investment in that issuer. Securities rated in the four highest categories by the rating agencies are considered investment grade but they may also have some speculative characteristics. Investment grade ratings do not guarantee that bonds will not lose value.
• Currency Risk: Investment in foreign securities also involves currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and which may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to a foreign currency may cause the U.S. dollar value of an investment in that country to decline. Foreign currencies also are subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government controls. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts may limit potential gains from a favorable change in value between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies. Unanticipated changes in currency pricing may result in poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not engaged in these contracts.
• Derivatives Risk: The Fund's investments in derivative instruments including options, forward currency exchange contracts, swaps and futures, which may be leveraged, may result in losses. Investments in derivative instruments may result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
• Emerging Markets Risk: Investment in emerging market securities involves greater risk than that associated with investment in foreign securities of developed foreign countries. These risks include volatile currency exchange rates, periods of high inflation, increased risk of default, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, less governmental supervision and regulation of securities markets, weaker auditing and financial reporting standards, lack of liquidity in the markets, and the significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.
4
• Fixed Income Securities Risk: Fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest are subject to certain risks, including: interest rate risk, prepayment risk and credit/default risk. Interest rate risk involves the risk that prices of fixed income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes. Prepayment risk involves the risk that in declining interest rate environments prepayments of principal could increase and require the Fund to reinvest proceeds of the prepayments at lower interest rates. Credit risk involves the risk that the credit rating of a security may be lowered.
• Foreign Investments Risk: International investing is subject to special risks, including currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or through depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
• Forward and Futures Risk: The successful use of forward and futures contracts draws upon the Adviser and Trading Advisers' skill and experience with respect to such instruments and are subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of instruments held by the Fund and the price of the forward or futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market, and possible regulatory position limits and restrictions, for a forward or futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Adviser and Trading Advisers' inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.
• Hedging Transactions Risk: The Adviser and Trading Advisers from time to time employ various hedging techniques. The success of the Fund's hedging strategy will be subject to the Adviser and Trading Advisers' ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the portfolio being hedged. Since the characteristics of many securities change as markets change or time passes, the success of the Fund's hedging strategy will also be subject to the Adviser and Trading Advisers' ability to continually recalculate, readjust, and execute hedges in an efficient and timely manner. For a variety of reasons, the Adviser and Trading Advisers may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Such imperfect correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss. In addition, it is not possible to hedge fully or perfectly against any risk, and hedging entails its own cost.
• High Portfolio Turnover Risk: The risk that when investing on a shorter-term basis, the Fund may as a result trade more frequently and incur higher levels of brokerage fees and commissions, and cause higher levels of current tax liability to shareholders in the Fund.
• Interest Rate Risk: Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of fixed income securities generally increase when interest rates decline and decrease when interest rates increase. The Fund may lose money if short term or long term interest rates rise sharply or otherwise change in a manner not anticipated by the Adviser and Trading Advisers. It is likely there will be less governmental action in the near future to maintain low interest rates. The negative impact on fixed income securities from the resulting rate increases for that and other reasons could be swift and significant.
5
• Leveraging Risk: Investments in derivative instruments may give rise to a form of leverage. Trading Advisers may engage in speculative transactions which involve substantial risk and leverage, such as making short sales. The use of leverage by the Adviser and Trading Advisers may increase the volatility of the Fund. These leveraged instruments may result in losses to the Fund or may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") or total return, because instruments that contain leverage are more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The Fund may also have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its obligations in connection with such transactions.
• Manager Risk: If the Adviser and Trading Advisers make poor investment decisions, it will negatively affect the Fund's investment performance.
• Management Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk: The NAV of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money.
• Multi-Manager Dependence Risk: The success of the Fund's investment strategy depends both on the Adviser's ability to select Trading Advisers and to allocate assets to those Trading Advisers and on each Trading Adviser's ability to execute the relevant strategy and select investments for the Fund and the Subsidiary. The Trading Advisers' investment styles may not always be complementary, which could affect the performance of the Fund.
• New Adviser Risk: The Trading Advisers may be newly registered or not registered with the SEC and/or have not previously managed a mutual fund. Accordingly, investors in the Fund bear the risk that a Trading Adviser's inexperience may limit its effectiveness.
• New Fund Risk: As a new Fund, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.
• Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is non-diversified. Compared to other funds, the Fund may invest more of its assets in a smaller number of companies. Gains or losses on a single stock may have greater impact on the Fund.
• Short Sales Risk: Short sales of securities may result in gains if a security's price declines, but may result in losses if a security's price rises. In a rising market, short positions may be more likely to result in losses because securities sold short may be more likely to increase in value. Short selling also involves the risks of: increased leverage, and its accompanying potential for losses; the potential inability to reacquire a security in a timely manner, or at an acceptable price; the possibility of the lender terminating the loan at any time, forcing the Fund to close the transaction under unfavorable circumstances; the additional costs that may be incurred; and the potential loss of investment flexibility caused by the Fund's obligations to provide collateral to the lender and set aside assets to cover the open position. The Fund may engage in short sales that are either "uncovered" or "against the box." A short sale is "against the box" if at all times during which the short position is open, the Fund owns at least an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable without further consideration for, securities of the same issue as the securities that are sold short. Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited.
6
• Subsidiary Risk: By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary's investments. The derivatives and other investments held by the Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the fund. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to continue to operate as it does currently and could adversely affect the Fund.
• Tax Risk: In order to qualify as a RIC, the Fund must meet certain requirements regarding the source of its income, the diversification of its assets and the distribution of its income. The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") has issued a ruling that income realized from certain types of commodity-linked derivatives would not be qualifying income. The Fund's investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodities markets within the limitations of the Code for qualification as a RIC, but there is a risk that the IRS could assert that the income derived from the Fund's investment in the Subsidiary and certain commodity-linked structured notes will not be considered qualifying income for purposes of the Fund remaining qualified as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a RIC and became subject to federal income tax, shareholders of the Fund would be subject to diminished returns. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or its Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and the SAI and could adversely affect the Fund. For example, the Cayman Islands does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns.
Performance Information
Because the Fund has less than one full calendar year of performance, no performance information has been included.
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser and Trading Advisers
Abbey Capital Limited, 1-2 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1, Ireland, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Altis Partners (Jersey) Limited, Cantab Capital Partners LLP, Eclipse Capital Management, Inc., Graham Capital Management, LP, Harmonic Capital Partners LLP, P/E Investments, LLC, Revolution Capital Management, LLC, and Trigon Investment Advisors LLC each serves as a Trading Adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The Fund is managed by the following co-portfolio managers.
Title |
Portfolio Manager Since: |
||||||||||
Abbey Capital Limited |
|||||||||||
Anthony Gannon |
Chief Executive Officer |
Inception (July 1, 2014) |
|||||||||
Mick Swift |
Deputy Chief Executive Officer and
Research Director |
Inception (July 1, 2014) |
Purchase and Sale Information
The minimum initial investment in Class A Shares, Class C Shares and Class I Shares is $2,500, $2,500 and $1,000,000, respectively. There is a minimum amount of $100 for subsequent investment in Class A Shares and Class C Shares and of $1,000 in Class I Shares.
7
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption by Mail:
Regular Mail:
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9841
Providence, RI 02940-8041
Overnight Delivery:
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Purchase by Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-844-261-6484 to confirm the current wire instructions for the Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund.
Redemption by Telephone:
Call the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6484.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
8
FUND INFORMATION
More Information About Fund Investments
This section provides some additional information about the Fund's investments and certain portfolio management techniques that the Fund may use. More information about the Fund's investments and portfolio management techniques, and related risks, is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
The Fund's investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board of Directors") without the approval of the Fund's shareholders. However, as a matter of policy, the Fund would not materially change its investment objective without informing shareholders at least 60 days in advance of any such change.
The investments and strategies described in this Prospectus are those that the Fund uses under normal conditions. The Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking temporary defensive positions (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. If the Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
This Prospectus describes the Fund's principal investment strategies, and the Fund will normally invest in the types of securities described in this Prospectus. In addition to the investments and strategies described in this Prospectus, the Fund also may invest, to a lesser extent, in other securities, use other strategies and engage in other investment practices that are not part of its principal investment strategy. These investments and strategies, as well as those described in this Prospectus, are described in detail in the Fund's SAI. Of course, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
More Information About Risks
The following provides additional information about the principal and certain non-principal risks of investing in the Fund and, indirectly, in the Subsidiary. More information about the Fund's risks is included in the SAI.
Principal Risks
Commodity-Linked Derivatives. The Fund may gain exposure to the commodities markets through commodity-linked structured notes, swap agreements and commodity futures and options. These instruments have one or more commodity-dependent components. They are derivative instruments because at least part of their value is derived from the value of an underlying commodity index, commodity futures contract, index or other readily measurable economic variable. The prices of commodity-linked derivative instruments may move in different directions than investments in traditional equity and debt securities when the value of those traditional securities is declining due to adverse economic conditions. As an example, during periods of rising inflation, historically debt securities have tended to decline in value due to the general increase in prevailing interest rates. Conversely, during those same periods of rising inflation, historically the prices of certain commodities, such as oil and metals, have tended to increase. There cannot be any guarantee that derivative instruments will perform in that manner in the future, and at certain times the price movements of commodity-linked investments have been parallel to debt and equity securities.
Counterparties. To the extent the Fund invests in loans or securities traded over-the-counter, swaps, "synthetic" or derivative instruments, repurchase agreements, certain types of options or other customized financial instruments, the Fund takes the risk of non-performance by the other party to the contract. This risk may include credit risk of the counterparty and the risk of settlement default. This risk may differ materially from those entailed in exchange-traded transactions that generally are supported by guarantees of clearing organizations, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered
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directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from such protections and expose the parties to the risk of counterparty default.
Credit/Default Risk. The credit rating of an issuer or guarantor of a security in which the Fund invests may be lowered or an issuer or guarantor of a security or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a repurchase agreement may default on its payment obligations. The risk of loss due to default by issuers of lower-rated securities is greater because low-rated securities generally are unsecured and often are subordinated to the rights of other creditors of the issuers of such securities. The Fund also may incur additional expenses in seeking recovery on defaulted securities. The creditworthiness of firms used by the Fund to effect securities transactions in emerging and frontier market countries may not be as strong as in some developed countries. As a result, the Fund could be subject to a greater risk of loss on its securities transactions if a firm defaults on its responsibilities.
Derivative Contracts. The Fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts for any of the following purposes:
• To seek to hedge against the possible adverse impact of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates in the market value of its securities or securities to be purchased;
• As a substitute for buying or selling currencies or securities; or
• To seek to enhance the Fund's return in non-hedging situations (which is considered a speculative activity).
Examples of derivative contracts include: futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward foreign currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps. The Fund may use derivative contracts involving foreign currencies. A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the Fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment that is based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the Fund's stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the Fund's holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities in that the counterparty may default on its payment obligations or become insolvent. Derivatives can also make the Fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.
Fixed Income Investments. The Fund invests a portion of its assets in fixed income securities. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate and governmental issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features. The principal debt investments of the Fund will be fixed and floating rate securities with no reset terms.
The credit quality of securities held in the Fund's portfolio is determined at the time of investment. If a security is rated differently by multiple ratings organizations, the Fund treats the security as being rated in the higher rating category. Periods of rising interest rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) through American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") or International Depositary Receipts ("IDRs"). Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The
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depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
In addition, the Fund may invest in securities traded or denominated in foreign currencies and in multinational currencies such as the Euro. The Fund will value its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. Investments in securities of foreign entities and securities denominated or traded in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of the Fund's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
Interest Rate Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities will tend to be lower than prevailing market interest rates. In periods of falling interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities generally will tend to be higher than prevailing market interest rates. Prices of longer-term fixed income securities are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than prices of shorter-term fixed-income securities. Significant upward pressure on domestic interest rates and a corresponding widening of credit spreads could negatively impact the market price of emerging debt markets.
Interest Rate Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Credit Default Swaps, Options on Swaps and Interest Rate Caps, Floors and Collars.
• Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments.
• Total return swaps are contracts that obligate one party to pay the other party an amount equal to the total return on a defined underlying asset or a non-asset reference during a specified period of time. The underlying asset might be a security or basket of securities or a non-asset reference such as a securities index. In return, the other party would make periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or on the total return from a different underlying asset or non-asset reference.
• Credit default swaps are contracts whereby one party makes periodic payments to a counterparty in exchange for the right to receive from the counterparty a payment equal to the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation in the event of a default by the issuer of the debt obligation.
• Options on swaps ("swaptions") are options to enter into a swap agreement. The Fund may also purchase and write (sell) swaptions. Like other types of options, the buyer of a swaption pays a non-refundable premium for the option and obtains the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms. The seller of a swaption, in exchange for the premium, becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms.
• Interest rate caps entitle the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payment of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap.
• Interest rate floors entitle the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor.
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• Interest rate collars combine a cap and a floor that are designed to preserve a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates.
The Fund may enter into the transactions described above for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return (which is considered a speculative activity). The use of swaps, swaptions, and interest rate caps, floors and collars is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If the Adviser or a Trading Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values and interest rates, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment techniques were not used.
Leveraging Risk. The Fund's use of futures, forward contracts, swaps, other derivative instruments and selling securities short will have the economic effect of financial leverage. The use of leverage by the Adviser and Trading Advisers may increase the volatility of the Fund. These leveraged instruments may result in losses to the Fund or may adversely affect the Fund's NAV or total return, because instruments that contain leverage are more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The Fund may also use borrowed funds to create leverage. Although the use of leverage by the Fund may create an opportunity for increased return, it also results in additional risks and can magnify the effect of any losses. If the income and gains earned on the securities and instruments purchased with leverage proceeds are greater than the cost of the leverage, the Fund's return will be greater than if leverage had not been used. Conversely, if the income and gains from the securities and instruments purchased with such proceeds does not cover the cost of leverage, the Fund's return will be less than if leverage had not been used. In the event of a sudden, precipitous drop in value of the Fund's assets, the Fund may not be able to liquidate assets quickly enough to pay off its borrowing. Short sales of securities also involve the use of leverage. Using this investment technique may adversely affect the Fund's NAV or total return.
To limit leverage risk, the Fund will segregate assets determined by the Adviser to be liquid in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Directors, or, when permissible, enter into offsetting transactions, to cover its obligations resulting from its use of derivative instruments. Securities held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the futures contract, option or other derivative is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other suitable assets. As a result, it is possible that segregating a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede portfolio management or its ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
Short Sales. The Fund engages in short sales including those that are not "against the box," which means that the Fund may make short sales where the Fund does not currently own or have the right to acquire, at no added cost, securities identical to those sold short in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act. In a typical short sale, the Fund borrows from a broker a security in order to sell the security to a third party. The Fund is then obligated to return a security of the same issuer and quantity at some future date. The Fund realizes a loss to the extent the security increases in value or a profit to the extent the security declines in value (after taking into account any associated costs). Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited. The Fund will not make a short sale if, immediately before the transaction, the market value of all securities sold short exceeds 95% of the value of the Fund's assets.
Until the Fund closes its short position, the Fund will: (a) maintain a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities at such a level that (i) the amount deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short; and (ii) the amount deposited in the segregated account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will not be less than the market value of the security at the time the security was sold short; or (b) otherwise cover the Fund's short position.
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Subsidiary Risk. The Fund will make investments through a wholly-owned Subsidiary organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary's investments. The derivatives and other investments held by a Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the Fund. These risks are described elsewhere in this Prospectus. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved.
The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. However, the Fund wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, making it unlikely that the Subsidiary will take action contrary to the interests of the Fund and its shareholders. The Board of Directors has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of the Fund, including its investment in the Subsidiary, and the Fund's role as sole shareholder of the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will be subject to the same investment restrictions and limitations, and follow the same compliance policies and procedures, as the Fund.
Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of a fund and/or its Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus and in the SAI and could adversely affect the Fund. For example, the Cayman Islands does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns.
Tax Risk. The IRS has issued private letter rulings to registered investment companies concluding that income derived from their investment in a wholly-owned subsidiary and certain commodity-linked structured notes would constitute qualifying income to the fund. The IRS has indicated that the granting of these types of private letter rulings is currently suspended, pending further internal discussion. As a result, the Fund has not received such a private letter ruling. Therefore, there is a risk that the IRS could assert that the income derived from the Fund's investment in the Subsidiary and certain commodity-linked structured notes will not be considered qualifying income for purposes of the Fund remaining qualified as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a RIC and became subject to federal income tax, shareholders of the Fund would be subject to diminished returns.
Non-Principal Risks
Equity and Equity-Related Securities. The Fund may invest in equity securities, including exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), and equity participations. Investments in equity securities and equity derivatives in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause the Fund's NAV to fluctuate. The number of issuers in the Fund's portfolio will vary over time.
Exchange-Traded Funds ("ETFs"). The Fund may invest in ETFs to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and applicable SEC orders. ETFs are registered investment companies whose shares are listed and traded on U.S.
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stock exchanges or otherwise traded in the over-the-counter market. As a shareholder in an ETF, the Fund will bear its pro rata portion of an ETF's expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
Other Investment Companies. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in the securities of other investment companies (including issues that would be investment companies but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act), but may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of any one investment company or acquire more than 3% of the voting securities of any other investment company. Among other things, the Fund may invest in money market mutual funds for cash management purposes by "sweeping" excess cash balances into such funds until the cash is invested or otherwise utilized. 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 advisory and administration fees paid by the Fund. Investments in issues that would be investment companies but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act will generally be considered illiquid investments and would be subject to the Fund's 15% limitation on investments in illiquid securities.
Redemptions. The Fund may need to sell its holdings in order to meet shareholder redemption requests. The Fund could experience a loss when selling securities to meet redemption requests if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent, occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices for the securities sold, or when the securities the Fund wishes to or is required to sell are illiquid. The Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at its desired time or price. Illiquidity can be caused by a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities' resale. Certain securities that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, particularly in times of overall economic distress.
Temporary Investments. The Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking temporary defensive positions (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. If the Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI. The SAI is incorporated herein.
More Information About Management of The Fund
Investment Adviser
Abbey Capital Limited, an Irish limited company founded in 2000, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser's principal place of business is located at 1-2 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1, Ireland. As of September 30, 2014, the Adviser had over $2.1 billion in assets under management. The Adviser is registered as an Investment Adviser with the SEC and as a Commodity Trading Advisor (or "CTA") and a Commodity Pool Operator (or "CPO") with the CFTC (September 2000), and is a member of the National Futures Association (the "NFA").
The Fund is managed by the Adviser and one or more Trading Advisers unaffiliated with the Adviser. The Adviser also has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the Trading Advisers, and to recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. The Fund compensates the Adviser for its services at the annual rate of 1.97% of its average annual net assets, payable on a monthly basis in arrears. The Adviser compensates the Trading Advisers out of the advisory fee that it receives from the Fund.
The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) to 1.99%, 2.24% and 2.99% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to Class I Shares, Class A Shares and Class C Shares, respectively. In
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determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.99%, 2.24% or 2.99%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until June 30, 2016 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors. If at any time during the first three years the Advisory Agreement is in effect, the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 1.99%, 2.24% or 2.99%, as applicable, the Adviser may recoup any waived amount from the Fund if such reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed existing expense limitations.
Anthony Gannon and Mick Swift are the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Anthony Gannon (CEO) founded the Adviser in 2000 with a vision to create an alternative investment business providing multi-manager funds in the managed futures, foreign exchange and global market sectors of the hedge fund industry. Over its twelve year history, Mr. Gannon has overseen the Adviser's growth from a start-up to a global company managing in excess of USD 2.3 billion as at March 31, 2014. The Adviser is currently one of the largest independent allocators in the Commodity Trading Advisor industry globally. Prior to founding the Adviser, Mr. Gannon was a co-founder of Allied Irish Capital Management (AICM), a multi-manager CTA, in conjunction with Allied Irish Banks. He helped to grow the company to become one of the largest European CTAs, with funds under management growing from an initial $50 million to in excess of $1.4 billion. Mr. Gannon has more than 20 years' investment experience in the managed futures industry. He is recognized and acknowledged as a leader in the industry globally. He is a regular guest speaker at alternative investment industry conferences. Mr. Gannon is currently a member of the CPO/CTA Nominating Subcommittee of the National Futures Association. Mr. Gannon graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Masters in Business Studies with Finance from University College Dublin, Ireland.
Mick Swift is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Research Director at the Adviser. Mr. Swift is a member of the Adviser's Board of Directors and Investment Committee, and is a Principal of the firm. As Research Director, he manages and oversees the Adviser's research and risk management processes as well as portfolio construction. Mr. Swift joined the Adviser in May 2002 after fifteen years as a trader and manager of trading teams. Prior to joining the Adviser, Mr. Swift was a Director at Allied Irish Capital Management (AICM), a Dublin-based CTA from 1998 to 2002. While at AICM, he worked in a trading capacity and also on product research and risk management. Previously, Mr. Swift was the Head of Foreign Exchange and European Interest Rate Trading at Bank of Ireland in Dublin from 1997 to 2002. Previously, Mr. Swift was Treasurer and EVP at Bank of Ireland's New York Branch, where he ran the trading and sales operation from 1994 to 1997. He initially joined the Treasury Division of Bank of Ireland in 1984 where he traded Foreign Exchange and Interest Rate Markets on a proprietary basis. In 1992, he became Head of Interest Rate trading at the bank. A frequent guest speaker and presenter at conferences throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S., Mr. Swift has addressed topics including alternative investment policy development, risk management and the managed futures industry. Mr. Swift graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from University College Galway and holds an ACMA qualification.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Fund.
Trading Advisers
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with each Trading Adviser to manage a portion of the Subsidiary's assets. Each Trading Adviser makes investment decisions for the assets it has been allocated to manage. The Adviser oversees the Trading Advisers for compliance with the Fund's investment objective, policies, strategies and restrictions, and monitors each Trading Adviser's adherence to its investment style. The Board of Directors supervises the Adviser and the Trading Advisers, establishes policies that they must follow in their management activities, and oversees the hiring, termination and replacement of Trading Advisers recommended by the Adviser.
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The Fund and the Adviser have submitted an application with the SEC for an exemptive order with respect to the Fund that would permit the Adviser, without shareholder approval and subject to certain conditions, to terminate existing Trading Advisers or hire new Trading Advisers for the Fund, to materially amend the terms of particular agreements with Trading Advisers or to continue the employment of existing Trading Advisers after events that would otherwise cause an automatic termination of a trading advisory agreement. This arrangement has been approved by the Board of Directors and the Fund's initial shareholder. Consequently, if approved by the SEC, under the exemptive order, the Adviser would have the right to hire, terminate and replace Trading Advisers when the Board of Directors and the Adviser feel that a change would benefit the Fund. The exemptive order will enable the Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approval of trading advisory agreements.
Not all of the Trading Advisers listed for the Subsidiary may be actively managing assets for the Subsidiary at all times. Subject to the oversight of the Board of Directors, the Adviser may temporarily allocate Subsidiary assets away from a Trading Adviser. Situations in which the Adviser may make such a determination include changes in the level of assets in the Fund, changes to the Adviser's view of the Trading Adviser's current opportunities, changes in a Trading Adviser's personnel or a Trading Adviser's adherence to an investment strategy.
The following provides additional information about each Trading Adviser and the Trading Adviser's investment teams.
Altis Partners (Jersey) Limited
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with Altis Partners (Jersey) Limited ("Altis") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the Altis Emerald Futures Program. Altis is a Limited Company formed in 2000 and based in the States of Jersey, Channel Islands. Altis' main office is located at 2 Hill Street, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. Altis is registered as a CTA and CPO with the CFTC, is a member of the NFA and has been trading since July 2001. Altis focuses on systematic and quantitative trading, applying rigorous research into markets combining established scientific principles and advanced technology.
Zbigniew Hermaszewski Partner: Mr. Hermaszewski's primary focus is on the development of research and technology. Mr. Hermaszewski received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Imperial College London. Mr. Hermaszewski has over 30 years' experience including stock broking, market making, investment research and the development and implementation of trading systems. Previously, Mr. Hermaszewski was senior researcher at AHL and head of research at Sabre Fund Management before creating the Altis Portfolio Management platform.
Alex Brunwin Partner: Mr. Brunwin's primary focus is on technology and research. Mr. Brunwin's background is in physics where he received a Bachelor of Science Honours degree from Bristol University. Mr. Brunwin has over 21 years' experience within the technology sector, specialising in front and middle office trading. Previous to Altis, Mr. Brunwin was an analyst programmer at Sabre Fund Management and Director of Information Technology at Quality Capital Management Limited where he managed all IT projects and developed and implemented their system and trading infrastructure.
Stephen Hedgecock Partner: Mr. Hedgecock task consists of business development and marketing of Altis' business. Mr. Hedgecock has a background in trading, previously working as a trader with Citibank, Moore Capital and Nederlandse Varia Maatschappij. From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Hedgecock was Executive Director of Sabre Funds Management before becoming Executive Director at Quality Capital Management where he was responsible for the day to day management of the company and involved in developing, and maintaining client relationships.
Natasha Reeve-Gray Partner: Ms. Reeve-Gray is primarily focused on business development and the maintaining and developing of client relationships. Ms. Reeve-Gray has over 18 years' experience in trading, middle office management and developing client relationships. Previous to Altis, Ms. Reeve-Gray was a futures
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broker for Refco Overseas & Refco managing the middle office and client orders. In 1995, Ms. Reeve-Gray became a trader at Quality Capital Management where she managed the general running of the trading department.
Cantab Capital Partners, LLP
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with Cantab Capital Partners, LLP ("Cantab") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the Core Macro Program. Cantab is a Cambridge-based Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) formed in 2006. Cantab's main office is located at City House, 126-130 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1RE, UK. Cantab is registered with the CFTC as a CTA and CPO and is a member of the NFA. Cantab's investment philosophy is based on a multi-strategy, multi-asset approach looking to identify several distinct sources of return from persistent statistical relationships between assets.
Dr. Ewan Kirk CEO/CIO and Founding Partner: Dr. Kirk's daily focus is on research and development, risk management and managing Cantab's quantitative team. Dr. Kirk's background is in mathematics where he received a PhD from the University of Southampton, a Certificate in Advanced Study in Applied Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and achieved a First Class degree in Natural Philosophy and Astronomy from the University of Glasgow. Previously, Dr. Kirk ran the Goldman Sachs Strategies Group in Europe where he was responsible for all of Goldman Sachs' quantitative technology.
Erich Schlaikjer Chief Technology Officer and Founding Partner: Mr. Schlaikjer focuses on creating the software tools which enable the researchers to develop strategies as well as managing Cantab's relationships with its service providers. Mr. Schlaikjer graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Latin and Greek. Previously, Mr. Schlaikjer was Managing Director and European Chief Technology Officer of the Quantitative Strategies Group at Goldman Sachs.
Dr. Tom Howat Senior Scientist and Partner: Dr. Howat heads the team of programmers responsible for Cantab's ongoing infrastructural development. Prior to joining Cantab, Dr. Howat spent seven years at Trinity College, Cambridge, obtaining degrees in Mathematics and a PhD in Mathematical Biology.
Dr. Matthew Killeya Senior Scientist and Partner: Dr. Killeya works on all aspects of program and portfolio construction including development of new strategies. Dr. Killeya has a PhD in Bayesian statistics from Durham University where he also obtained a first class Master of Mathematics degree receiving a special prize for the top final year dissertation. Prior to joining Cantab, Dr. Killeya was a senior managing researcher at Winton Capital Management.
Dr. Genia Diamond Head of Business Development and Partner: Dr. Diamond is responsible for all investor-related activities. Dr. Diamond has a PhD in linguistics from the Moscow State University, an MBA from Erasmus University in the Netherlands and achieved an MA (Honours) in Linguistics & Culture Studies from the Moscow State University. Dr. Diamond started her career in asset management as a senior hedge fund researcher at PAAMCO. Later, Dr. Diamond had positions at Solent Capital, BlueCrest Capital and OMAM UK before joining Cantab in 2011.
Adam Glinsman Managing Partner: Mr. Glinsman focuses on the management and evolution of all non-investment aspects of the business. After a career in institutional equities, between 2003 and 2009 Mr. Glinsman was COO and Partner of Lansdowne Partners. He was also a member of the Management Committee with primary responsibility for Business Management and Development, and Enterprise Risk. Mr. Glinsman has a BSc (Econ.) with First Class Honours from the London School of Economics and an MPhil in International Relations from Cambridge University.
Fraser McIntyre Chief Operating Officer and Partner. Mr. McIntyre oversees all operational areas of the business, including finance, operations, legal and compliance. Mr. McIntyre is a qualified Chartered Accountant with fifteen years of experience in the hedge fund industry. Mr. McIntyre started his career in the Prime Broking
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divisions at Goldman Sachs and UBS, followed by a series of COO/CFO roles at single managers, most recently at Meditor Capital Management in London. Mr. McIntyre has a degree in Business Studies and Accounting from the University of Edinburgh.
Eclipse Capital Management, Inc.
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with Eclipse Capital Management, Inc ("Eclipse") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the Eclipse Emerald Futures Program. Eclipse is a Missouri-based corporation formed in 1983. Eclipse's main office is located at 7700 Bonhomme Ave, Suite 500, St. Louis, MO. Eclipse is registered with CFTC as a CTA and is a member of the NFA. Eclipse Fund Management, Inc. (an affiliate) is registered as a CPO with the CFTC. Eclipse focuses on a systematic approach designed to profit primarily from intermediate- and long-term price trends in multiple market sectors.
Thomas W. Moller CEO and CIO: Mr. Moller serves as CEO and head of Eclipse's Business Management Group driving the firm's investment management and product development activities. Mr. Moller holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration from Vanderbilt University and a Master's in Accounting from the University of Kentucky. Prior to founding Eclipse, Mr. Moller fulfilled a number of roles including Associated Person of Geldermann & Company, principal of Interest Rate Management Inc. and Associated Person of Man International Inc.
Fran Olszweski Managing Director and Chief Portfolio Manager: Mr. Olszweski's primary responsibility is the research and development, implementation, and maintenance of Eclipse's trading strategies. Mr. Olszweski's background is in Economics where he holds a Bachelor's degree from Washington University. Previously, Mr. Olszweski served as trading manager for Hollingsworth Trading Company before moving to the Capital Markets Group of Nippon Credit Bank where he worked as a proprietary trader. Mr. Olszweski then held the role of Assistant Vice President and proprietary trader within the Derivatives Dealing Team of UFJ Group before joining Eclipse in 2001.
Brent R. Mathus Managing Director, Trading: Mr. Mathus is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Eclipse's trading desk. Mr. Mathus is a graduate of the University of Missouri where he holds a BSBA degree in Finance and Banking. Mr. Mathus previously served six years with Eclipse from 1998 to 2004 as a Global Trader and Associated Person. Prior to rejoining Eclipse in 2007, Mr. Mathus served roles as an National Futures Association Associate Member, Associated Person and Managing Director/Head Trader at AlphaSimplex Group.
Graham Capital Management, LP
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with Graham Capital Management, L.P. ("GCM") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the Graham Tactical Trend Program. GCM is a Connecticut based company formed in 1994. GCM's main offices are located at Rock Ledge Financial Centre, 40 Highland Avenue, Rowayton, CT 06853. GCM is registered with the CFTC as a CTA and CPO and is a member of the NFA. GCM is also registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Investment Adviser. GCM offers clients a broad array of quantitative and discretionary global macro trading programs. GCM's quantitative trading programs or models produce trading signals on a largely automated basis when applied to market data. In GCM's discretionary trading programs, trades are determined subjectively on the basis of its traders' assessment of market conditions rather than through application of an automated system.
Kenneth G. Tropin Chairman: Mr. Tropin founded GCM in May 1994. Mr. Tropin developed the firm's original trading programs and is responsible for the overall management of the organization, including the investment of its proprietary trading capital.
Pablo Calderini President and Chief Investment Officer: Mr. Calderini is responsible for the management and oversight of the discretionary and systematic trading businesses at GCM. He joined GCM in August 2010 and
18
became an Associated Person and Principal of GCM effective August 13, 2010. Prior to joining GCM, Mr. Calderini worked at Deutsche Bank from June 1997 to July 2010 where he held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently the Global Head of Equity Proprietary Trading. Mr. Calderini commenced his career at Deutsche Bank as Global Head of Emerging Markets. During his tenure at Deutsche Bank, Mr. Calderini also helped manage several groups across the fixed income and equity platforms, including the Global Credit Derivatives Team. Mr. Calderini received a BA in Economics from Universidad Nacional de Rosario in 1987 and a Masters in Economics from Universidad del.
Harmonic Capital Partners LLP
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with Harmonic Capital Partners LLP ("HCP") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the Harmonic Emerald Futures Program. HCP is a limited liability partnership formed in 2002. HCP's main office is located at 3 Lombard Street, London, EC3V 9AA, UK. HCP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, is registered with the CFTC as a CTA and CPO and is a member of the NFA. HCP is also registered with the SEC as an Investment Adviser. HCP uses a systematic multi-strategy approach aiming to capture alpha from futures and currency markets through macro-economic understanding.
Richard Conyers CIO and Investment Partner: Mr. Conyers primary focus is the development and oversight of HCP's research efforts. Prior to founding HCP in 2002, Mr. Conyers worked for Aspect Capital from 2000 to 2002 as Head of Fixed Income and Currencies. From 1992 to 2000 he worked for Schroder Investment Management as a Director of Fixed Income and Head of the European fixed income team and from 1987 to 1992 for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Investment Management as an International Fixed Income fund manager responsible for multi-asset portfolios. He holds a first class honours degree in Mathematics from Durham University.
David Pendlebury CEO: Mr. Pendlebury's primary focus is the coordination of HCP's overall business. Prior to founding HCP in 2002, Mr. Pendlebury worked for Aspect Capital from 1999 to 2002. Initially he researched and developed trading systems and more latterly was responsible for overseeing software and IT related projects in his capacity as Software Development Manager. Before joining Aspect, Mr. Pendlebury worked for the Xerox Research Centre in Cambridge from 1994 to 1999 where he designed and implemented innovative mobile telephony applications. He is the co-author of several patents and research papers relating to these systems. He graduated from Cambridge University with a MA degree in Computer Science.
Patrik Säfvenblad Investment Partner: Dr. Säfvenblad's primary focus is on the research and development of new strategies. Prior to joining HCP in 2009, Dr. Säfvenblad worked for DnB NOR Asset Management as Head of Hedge Fund Research. Before joining DnB NOR in 2007, he was Head of Portfolio Management at RPM Risk and Portfolio Management in Stockholm. In this role he managed the firm's investment team and had overall responsibility for research, due diligence and investment analysis. Before joining RPM in 2000, he was Assistant Professor of Finance at the Stockholm School of Economics. His academic research focused on price formation, in particular the information flow in complex markets. He holds a PhD in Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Samir Sheldenkar Investment Partner: Mr. Sheldenkar's primary focus is on the research and development of new strategies. Prior to joining HCP in 2006, Mr. Sheldenkar worked at Application Networks/Thomson Reuters as a Risk and Valuation software engineer, developing and delivering a suite of sophisticated risk analytics to financial services clients. Mr. Sheldenkar holds a degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University and a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Oxford University.
Per Ivarsson Investment Partner: Mr. Ivarsson's primary focus is on the research and development of new strategies. Prior to joining HCP in 2007, Mr. Ivarsson worked at Ocado where he developed software to increase
19
the efficiency of delivering customer orders across the UK. He has a first class honours degree in Engineering Physics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
P/E Investments, LLC
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with P/E Investments, LLC ("P/E") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the P/E Emerald Futures Program. P/E is a Boston-based Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed in 2000. P/E's main office is located at 75 State Street, 31st Floor, Boston, MA. P/E is registered with the CFTC as a CTA and CPO, is a member of the NFA and is registered with the SEC as an Investment Adviser. P/E uses fundamental macroeconomic and financial factors in all aspects of its research in order to develop adaptive quantitative processes.
Warren Naphtal CIO: Mr. Naphtal's primary focus is on the management of P/E's overall investment strategy. Mr. Naphtal is a graduate of both the Sloan School of Management at MIT where he received a SM in Management and the University of California, Berkeley where he received a BS in Civil Engineering. Previously, Mr. Naphtal worked as an equity trader for O'Connor & Associates. Later he joined Continental Bank as Vice President where he was responsible for Derivatives Trading before becoming Managing Director.
J. Richard Zecher, PhD Strategist and Risk Manager: Dr. Zecher focuses on risk management and the oversight of P/E's research and development efforts. Prior to moving to the financial sector, Dr. Zecher served as Director of Policy Research at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman of Economics at Tulane University and Senior Staff Economist at the Council of Economic Advisors to the President. Before joining P/E, Dr. Zecher held the position of Treasurer and Global Risk Manager of the Chase Manhattan Bank, President and CEO of UBS Asset Management, Inc. and is co-founder of Investor Analytics, an internet based risk management company.
Mary Stephens Naphtal COO: Ms. Naphtal oversees all operational areas of P/E's business. Ms. Naphtal co-Founded P/E Investments in 1995, and currently serves as Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Naphtal is a graduate of Sloan School of Management at MIT, where she received a SM in Management and the Colorado College, where she received a BA in Economics, magna cum laude. Prior to P/E, Ms. Naphtal worked for Morgan Stanley & Co., where she participated in corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions transactions. Later, Ms. Naphtal served as a management consultant for McKinsey & Co. in the areas of corporate strategy and organizational effectiveness.
Revolution Capital Management, LLC
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with Revolution Capital Management, LLC ("RCM") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the Revolution Emerald Futures Program. RCM is a Colorado-based Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed in 2004. RCM's main office is located at 520 Zang Street, Broomfield, Colorado. RCM is registered with the CFTC as a CTA and CPO and is a member of the NFA. RCM has been trading proprietary capital since January 2005. RCM focuses on short-term, systematic and quantitative trading, applying rigorous statistical analysis to all aspects of research, development, and operations.
Michael Mundt Principal: Mr. Mundt's tasks primarily consist of model development, business/marketing, and coordinating RCM's overall business and trading strategy. Mr. Mundt's background is in engineering and applied science. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado in 1989. He was awarded a PhD in Aerospace Engineering in 1993, also from the University of Colorado; his thesis involved the exploration of chaos and turbulence in simple weather/climate models. After the completion of his academic studies, Mr. Mundt transitioned into the technology industry. He was employed by Seagate Technology, a hard-disk drive company, as an engineer specializing in computational fluid mechanics between March 1998 and July 2007.
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T. Robert Olson Principal: Mr. Olson oversees the architecture and development of the hardware and software computing infrastructure at RCM. Mr. Olson received his Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Arizona in 1989. He received his Master's and Doctorate degrees in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Mr. Olson was employed at Raytheon Technology, an aerospace defense contractor, from June 1996 through June 2006. His primary job duties included code/software development, data analysis, and the development of statistical algorithms to process high-frequency real-time data.
Trigon Investment Advisors, LLC
The Adviser has entered into a trading advisory agreement with Trigon Investment Advisors, LLC ("Trigon") to manage a portion of the Fund's assets using the Trigon Emerald Futures Program. Trigon is a New York based company founded in 2002. Trigon's main office is located in Wall Street Plaza, 88 Pine Street, New York. Trigon is registered with the CFTC as a CTA and CPO and is a member of the NFA. Trigon manages both discretionary and systematic investment programs with a focus on top-down analysis of fundamentals.
Paul D. Mastroddi Principal and Co-Founder: Mr. Mastroddi co-manages Trigon's discretionary portfolios in addition to overseeing their systematic programs. Mr. Mastroddi worked at JPMorgan (1985-96), where he was Managing Director and chief US economist. He was ranked one of the top economists on Wall Street in the mid-1990s in polls conducted by Institutional Investor and Greenwich Associates. Mr. Mastroddi became an investment manager in 1996. He began his career as an investment manager at Lattanzio Group, where he ran the macro overlay for that equity-oriented hedge fund start-up (1996-97). In 1998, the Lattanzio partners joined Omega Advisors as a group and Mr. Mastroddi briefly advised and traded for Omega Advisors (1998). Mr. Mastroddi had sole responsibility for managing up to $100 million in capital at Moore Capital Management (1999-2000). He joined the MLC family of funds in early 2001 to team with Mr. Basic. Mr. Mastroddi graduated from Fordham University in 1981 with a BA in Economics and Philosophy and holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University (1985).
Ante Basic Principal and Co-Founder: Mr. Basic co-manages Trigon's discretionary portfolios in addition to overseeing their systematic programs. Mr. Basic started his career at the Chase Manhattan Bank (1990-96), where he was the head trader of a quantitative trading group responsible for portfolio management, research and development of systematic and quantitative trading strategies. Mr. Basic was co-founder, President and head trader of Global Capital Markets Strategies, Inc., a fund consultant and Commodity Trading Advisory company (1996-99). From 1999 to 2000, he was Senior Vice President of Refco Fund Holdings, where he traded proprietary capital and oversaw the firm's alternative asset division. Mr. Basic joined the MLC family of funds in 2000 as Managing Director. He graduated from Brooklyn College of City University of New York with a BS in Business Management and Finance and is a Candidate for MS in Global Affairs from New York University.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Directors' approval of the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser and trading advisory agreements with the Trading Advisers is available in the Fund's annual report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
Class I Shares and Class C Shares of the Fund are sold at their net asset value ("NAV"). Class A Shares of the Fund are sold at their NAV, plus a front-end sales charge, if applicable. The NAV of a class of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases of Fund Shares at the NAV next determined after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your purchase order in good order as described below. The Fund will effect redemptions of Fund Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your redemption request in good order as described below.
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such service or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Forward exchange contracts are valued by interpolating between spot and forward currency rates as quoted by an independent pricing service. Futures contracts are generally valued using the settlement price determined by the relevant exchange. Options for which the primary market is a national securities exchange are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which they are traded, or, in the absence of any sale, will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Options not traded on a national securities exchange are valued at the last quoted bid price for long option positions and the closing ask price for short option positions.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser and Trading Advisers, securities will be valued by the Adviser and Trading Advisers in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in exchange-traded funds, REITs and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
Sales Charges
General. Purchases of Class A Shares of the Fund are subject to a front-end sales charge of up to (5.75%) of the total purchase price; however, sales charges may be reduced for large purchases as indicated below. Sales charges are not imposed on Shares that are purchased with reinvested dividends or other distributions. The table below indicates the front-end sales charge as a percentage of both the offering price and the net amount invested. The term "offering price" includes the front-end sales charge.
22
Amount of Purchase of
Advisor Class Shares |
Sales Charge as a
% of Offering Price |
Sales Charge as a
% of Net Amount Invested |
Dealer Concession as
a Percentage of Offering Price |
||||||||||||
Less than $25,000 |
5.75 |
% |
6.10 |
% |
5.00 |
% |
|||||||||
At least $25,000 but less than $49,999 |
5.00 |
% |
5.26 |
% |
4.25 |
% |
|||||||||
At least $50,000 but less than $99,999 |
4.75 |
% |
4.99 |
% |
4.00 |
% |
|||||||||
At least $100,000 but less than $249,999 |
3.75 |
% |
3.83 |
% |
3.25 |
% |
|||||||||
At least $250,000 but less than $499,999 |
2.50 |
% |
2.56 |
% |
2.00 |
% |
|||||||||
At least $500,000 but less than $1,000,000 |
2.00 |
% |
2.04 |
% |
1.75 |
% |
|||||||||
$ 1,000,000 or greater |
None |
None |
**see below |
** No sales charge is payable at the time of purchase on investments of $1,000,000 or more; however, a 1% contingent deferred sales charge is imposed in the event of redemption within 12 months following any such purchase. The Fund's Distributor may pay a commission at the rate of 1% to certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals, including affiliates of the Adviser who initiate and are responsible for purchases of $1,000,000 or more.
Combined Purchase Privilege. Certain purchases of Fund Shares made at the same time by you, your spouse and your children under age 25 may be combined for purposes of determining the "Amount of Purchase." The combined purchase privilege may also apply to certain employee benefit plans and trust estates. The following purchases may be combined for purposes of determining the "Amount of Purchase:" (a) individual purchases, if made at the same time, by a single purchaser, the purchaser's spouse and children under the age of 25 purchasing Shares for their own accounts, including Shares purchased by a qualified retirement plan(s) exclusively for the benefit of such individual(s) (such as an IRA, individual-type section 403(b) plan or single-participant Keogh-type plan) or by a "Company," as defined in Section 2(a)(8) of the 1940 Act, solely controlled, as defined in the 1940 Act, by such individual(s), or (b) individual purchases by trustees or other fiduciaries purchasing Shares (i) for a single trust estate or a single fiduciary account, including an employee benefit plan, or (ii) concurrently by two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of employers affiliated with each other in accordance with Section 2(a)(3)(c) of the 1940 Act (excluding in either case an employee benefit plan described in (a) above), provided such trustees or other fiduciaries purchase Shares in a single payment. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts may not be combined with purchases made for such other accounts. You may also further discuss the combined purchase privilege with your investment broker, brokerage firm, financial institution, or other industry professional, including affiliates of the Adviser (collectively, "Service Organizations"). In order to take advantage of the combined purchase privilege, the purchases combined must be brought to the attention of your investment broker or other Service Organization at the time of your purchase.
Cumulative Quantity Discount. You may combine the value of Shares held in the Fund, along with the dollar amount of Shares being purchased, to qualify for a cumulative quantity discount. The value of Shares held is the higher of their cost or current NAV. For example, if you hold Shares having a value of $225,000 and purchase $25,000 of additional Shares, the sales charge applicable to the additional investment would be 2.50%, the rate applicable to a single purchase of $250,000. In order to receive the cumulative quantity discount, the value of Shares held must be brought to the attention of your investment broker or other Service Organization at the time of your purchase.
Letter of Intent. If you anticipate purchasing a specific dollar amount of Class A Shares within a 13-month period, the Shares may be purchased at a reduced sales charge by completing and returning a Letter of Intent (the "Letter"), which can be provided to you by your investment broker or other Service Organization. The reduced sales charge may also be obtained on Shares purchased within the 90 days prior to the date of receipt of the Letter. Shares purchased under the Letter are eligible for the same reduced sales charge that would have been available had all the Shares been purchased at the same time. There is no obligation to purchase the full amount of Shares indicated in the Letter. Should you invest more or less than indicated in the Letter during the 13-month period, the sales charge will be recalculated based on the actual amount purchased. A portion of the amount of the intended purchase normally will be held in escrow in the form of Fund Shares pending completion of the intended purchase.
23
Sales Charge Waivers.
The sales charge on purchases of Class A shares is waived for certain types of investors, including:
• Current and retired directors and officers of the Fund sponsored by the Adviser or any of its subsidiaries, their families (e.g., spouse, children, mother or father) and any purchases referred through the Adviser.
• Employees of the Adviser and their families, or any full-time employee or registered representative of the Distributor or of broker-dealers having selling agreements with the Distributor (a "Selling Broker") and their immediate families (or any trust, pension, profit sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons).
• Any full-time employee of a bank, savings and loan, credit union or other financial institution that utilizes a Selling Broker to clear purchases of the fund's shares and their immediate families.
• Participants in certain "wrap-fee" or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by broker-dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with the Distributor.
• Clients of financial intermediaries that have entered into arrangements with the Distributor providing for the shares to be used in particular investment products made available to such clients and for which such registered investment advisors may charge a separate fee.
• Institutional investors (which may include bank trust departments and registered investment advisers).
• Any accounts established on behalf of registered investment advisers or their clients by broker dealers that charge a transaction fee and that have entered into agreements with the Distributor.
• Separate accounts used to fund certain unregistered variable annuity contracts or Section 403(b) or 401(a) or (k) accounts.
• Employer-sponsored retirement or benefit plans with total plan assets in excess of $5 million where the plan's investments in the Fund are part of an omnibus account. A minimum initial investment of $1 million in the Fund is required. The Distributor in its sole discretion may waive these minimum dollar requirements.
In order to take advantage of a sales charge waiver, a purchaser must certify to the Service Organization eligibility for a waiver and must notify the Service Organization whenever eligibility for a waiver ceases to exist. A Service Organization reserves the right to request additional information from a purchaser in order to verify that such purchaser is so eligible. Such information may include account statements or other records regarding Shares of the Fund held by you or your immediate family household members.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares representing interests in the Fund are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor").
General. You may purchase Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company records. The minimum initial investment in Class A Shares, Class C Shares and Class I Shares is $2,500, $2,500 and $1,000,000, respectively. There is a minimum amount of $100 for subsequent investment in Class A Shares and Class C Shares and of $1,000 in Class I Shares. The Fund may accept initial investments of smaller amounts in its sole discretion. You can only purchase Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
24
Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Fund may also be available through certain Service Organizations. Certain features of the Shares, such as the initial and subsequent investment minimums and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose minimum investment requirements. Service Organizations may also impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if Shares are purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of Shares and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following business day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the financial intermediary to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after such orders are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
For administration, subaccounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee") based on the average annual NAV of accounts with the Company maintained by such Service Organizations or recordkeepers. The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
Initial Investment By Mail. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, an account may be opened by completing and signing an Account Application and mailing it to the Fund at the address noted below, together with a check payable to Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund. Third party endorsed checks or foreign checks will not be accepted.
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9841
Providence, RI 02940-8041
or overnight to:
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Subject to acceptance by the Fund, payment for the purchase of Shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per Share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, Shares may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed Account Application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6484 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.)
25
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time by purchasing Shares at the NAV per Share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined above under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6484 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the purchase date. There is a minimum amount of $100 for subsequent investment in Class A Shares and Class C Shares and of $1,000 in Class I Shares.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6484. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to Board of Director's approval, decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board of Director's approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Adviser;
b. existing and future clients of financial advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the Fund;
c. employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children; and
d. directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Director's discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Fund's Shares will be made in full and fractional Shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places. Certificates for Shares will not be issued except at the written request of the shareholder. Certificates for fractional Shares, however, will not be issued.
26
Shares may be purchased and subsequent investments may be made by principals and employees of the Adviser and their family members, either directly or through their IRAs, and by any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser, without being subject to the minimum investment limitation. The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial investment requirement.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
You may redeem Fund Shares at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. You may redeem Fund Shares by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of Shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041, or for overnight delivery to Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581, and must include:
• a letter of instruction, if required, or a stock assignment specifying the number of Shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the Shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
• any required Medallion signature guarantees, which are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s), (ii) the redemption request is for $10,000 or more; or (iii) a Share transfer request is made. A Medallion signature guarantee is a special signature guarantee that may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association which is a participant in a Medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A Medallion imprint or Medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a Medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized Medallion signature guarantee programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
• other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
27
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of Shares by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6484 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholder's account in the Fund at any time the value of the account falls below $500 as a result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in the Fund is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed. The Fund may assert the right to redeem your Shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for Shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for Shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option. Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in the payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar
28
days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. The Adviser reviews on a regular, periodic basis available information related 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, the Adviser, on a periodic basis, examines transactions that exceed certain monetary thresholds or numerical limits within a period of time. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, it may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund. The Adviser 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. The Adviser will apply the criteria in a manner that, in its judgment, will be uniform.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Fund at least annually.
The Fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the Fund to avoid U.S. federal tax. The Fund's distributions and dividends, whether received in cash or reinvested in additional Shares, are subject to U.S. federal income tax.
More Information About Taxes
The following is a summary of certain U.S. tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual U.S. citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss).
29
Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as the result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
The Fund may be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign taxes on income or gain from certain foreign securities. If more than 50% of the value of the total assets of the Fund consists of stocks and securities (including debt securities) of foreign corporations at the close of a taxable year, the Fund may elect, for federal income tax purposes, to treat certain foreign taxes paid by it, including generally any withholding and other foreign income taxes, as paid by its shareholders. If the Fund makes this election, the amount of those foreign taxes paid by the Fund will be included in its shareholders' income pro rata (in addition to taxable distributions actually received by them), and each such shareholder will be entitled either (1) to credit that proportionate amount of taxes against U.S. federal income tax liability as a foreign tax credit or (2) to take that amount as an itemized deduction. If the Fund is not eligible or chooses not to make this election the Fund will be entitled to deduct any such foreign taxes in computing the amounts it is required to distribute.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
The Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the IRS and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review
30
the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of a RIC such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares of the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
Distribution Arrangements
The Board of Directors has adopted a Plan of Distribution for the Class A Shares and the Class C Shares (the "Plan") pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Fund's Distributor is entitled to receive from the Fund a distribution fee with respect to the Shares, which is accrued daily and paid monthly, of up to 0.25%
31
on an annualized basis of the average daily net assets of the Class A Shares and up to 1.00% of the Class C Shares. The actual amount of such compensation under the Plan is agreed upon by the Company's Board of Directors and by the Distributor. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Amounts paid to the Distributor under the Plan may be used by the Distributor to cover expenses that are related to (i) the sale of the Shares, (ii) ongoing servicing and/or maintenance of the accounts of shareholders, and (iii) sub-transfer agency services, subaccounting services or administrative services related to the sale of the Shares, all as set forth in the Fund's 12b-1 Plan. Ongoing servicing and/or maintenance of the accounts of shareholders may include updating and mailing prospectuses and shareholder reports, responding to inquiries regarding shareholder accounts and acting as agent or intermediary between shareholders and the Fund or its service providers. The Distributor may delegate some or all of these functions to Service Organizations. See "Purchases Through Intermediaries" above.
The Plan obligates the Fund, during the period it is in effect, to accrue and pay to the Distributor on behalf of the Shares the fee agreed to under the Distribution Agreement. Payments under the Plan are not tied exclusively to expenses actually incurred by the Distributor, and the payments may exceed distribution expenses actually incurred.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
32
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Class I Share of the Fund. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Fund's financial statements and has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Fund's financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions). There are no financial highlights for Class A Shares or Class C Shares of the Fund because Class A Shares commenced operations on August 29, 2014 and Class C Shares have not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus.
Class I Shares
For the Period Ended August 31, 2014 (1) |
|||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||
Net investment loss (2) |
(0.03 |
) |
|||||
Net realized and unrealized gain from investments |
0.39 |
||||||
Total from operations |
0.36 |
||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
10.36 |
|||||
Total investment return (3) |
3.60 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) |
$ |
24,349 |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers
and reimbursements (including interest expense) |
2.01 |
% (5) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers
and reimbursements (excluding interest expense) |
1.99 |
% (5) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers
and reimbursements (including interest expense) |
4.71 |
% (5) |
|||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets |
(1.99 |
)% (5) |
|||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
0.00 |
% (4) |
(1) The Fund commenced investment operations on July 1, 2014.
(2) Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(3) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) Not annualized.
(5) Annualized.
33
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-annual Reports: These reports, when available, will contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes Fund strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. The Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders are available on the Adviser's website at www.abbeycapital.com. or by calling 1-844-261-6484.
Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"): The Fund's SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, and the Fund's Annual and Semi-Annual reports, may be obtained free of charge by calling 1-844-261-6484. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and is legally considered a part of this Prospectus. The SAI is available on the Adviser's website at www.abbeycapital.com.
Shareholder Inquiries: Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: 1-844-261-6484.
Purchases and Redemptions: Call your registered representative or 1-844-261-6484.
Written Correspondence:
P.O. Box Address:
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
PO Box 9841,
Providence, RI 02940-8041
Street Address:
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission: You may view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
Investment Company Act File No. 811-05518
ALTAIR SMALLER
COMPANIES FUND
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
Altair Advisers LLC
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (THE "SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY SECTION |
|||||||
Altair Smaller Companies Fund |
1 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
7 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND |
|||||||
Investment Adviser |
10 |
||||||
Sub-Advisers |
11 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
|||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
15 |
||||||
Market Timing |
15 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
16 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
19 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
20 |
||||||
More Information About Taxes |
21 |
||||||
Appendix APrior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts |
24 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
i
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Objective
The Altair Smaller Companies Fund (the "Fund") seeks capital appreciation.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (the "Shares").
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Exchange Fee |
None |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that that you pay each year
as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management (1) |
0.86 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
None |
||||||
Total Other Expenses (2) |
0.29 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.15 |
% |
(1) The Fund is currently only available to clients of the Fund's investment adviser, Altair Advisers LLC (the "Adviser") and to other investors at the Fund's discretion. Investors in the Fund who are also clients of the Adviser will incur additional fees based on the total assets of the client under management with the Adviser. The Adviser does not receive a separate management fee from the Fund, although the Adviser is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses in connection with its compliance monitoring of Fund trading, up to 0.01% of the Fund's average daily net assets. The management fee shown above reflects the maximum aggregate fees to be paid by the Fund to the Sub-Advisers for the first fiscal year, plus anticipated reimbursements to the Adviser for out-of-pocket expenses. Investors in the Fund who are also clients of the Adviser should review the information provided separately by the Adviser for a discussion of fees and expenses charged by the Adviser.
(2) Total other expenses are based on estimated amounts for the first fiscal year. Other expenses include audit, administration, custody, legal, registration, transfer agency, and miscellaneous other charges.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
||||||
$ |
117 |
$ |
365 |
1
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowing for investment purposes) in equity securities of small or micro-cap companies. Small or micro-cap companies are generally considered to be those whose market capitalization are, at the time the Fund makes an investment, within the range of the market capitalization of companies in the Russell Microcap Index ($15 million to $2.08 billion as of September 30, 2014), the Russell 2000 ® Index ($380 million to $7.18 billion as of September 30, 2014), or the S&P SmallCap 600 Index ($160 million to $4.26 billion as of September 30, 2014). Securities of companies whose market capitalization no longer meet this definition after purchase may continue to be held by the Fund.
The Fund utilizes a "multi-manager" approach whereby the Fund's assets are allocated to one or more sub-advisers ("Sub-Advisers") in percentages determined at the discretion of the Fund's investment adviser, Altair Advisers LLC (the "Adviser"). The Adviser also monitors Sub-Adviser trading with the dual objectives of maximizing each Sub-Adviser's investment flexibility and assuring that the Fund as a whole complies with its investment restrictions. Otherwise, each Sub-Adviser acts independently from the others and utilizes its own distinct investment style in selecting securities. However, each Sub-Adviser must operate within the constraints of the Fund's investment objective and strategies and the particular investment restrictions applicable to that Sub-Adviser.
The Sub-Advisers will implement a number of different investment strategies and styles within the small and micro-cap universe. The Sub-Advisers will implement one or more of the following investment strategies summarized below:
• Small or Micro-Cap Growth A Sub-Adviser following a growth investment style is expected to invest primarily in small or micro-cap companies with consistent or accelerating growth in earnings, revenues, cash flow, and/or other financial metrics.
• Small or Micro-Cap Value A Sub-Adviser following a value investment style is expected to invest primarily in small or micro-cap companies that are out of favor and/or undervalued in comparison to their peers or their growth prospects.
• Small or Micro-Cap Core A Sub-Adviser following a core investment style is expected to invest in small or micro-cap companies that have both value characteristics and growth characteristics.
• Tax Loss Harvesting A Sub-Adviser following a tax loss harvesting style is expected to hold a portfolio of securities that will have a pre-tax return similar to the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The Sub-Adviser will seek to generate strong-after tax returns by timing trades to avoid realizing capital gains and to harvest losses when possible. The Fund may use losses generated from the tax loss harvesting Sub-Adviser to offset gains from other Sub-Advisers.
The Fund's Sub-Advisers will invest primarily in equities and equity-related instruments of small and micro-cap companies. Equities and equity-related instruments include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts, warrants and rights. The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public. The Fund may also invest in companies that may experience unusual and possibly unique developments, or "special situations", which may create a special opportunity for significant returns. Special situations include: significant technological improvements or important discoveries; reorganizations, recapitalizations or mergers; favorable
2
resolutions of litigation; new management or material changes in company policies; and actual or potential changes in control of a company. The Sub-Advisers may also invest in real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), debt securities, and foreign securities (directly and through depository receipts).
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. The principal risk factors affecting shareholders' investments in the Fund are set forth below.
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money.
• Equity Securities Risk. The Fund is designed for investors who can accept the risks of investing in a portfolio with significant holdings of equity securities. Equity securities tend to be more volatile than other investment choices, such as debt and money market instruments. The value of your investment may decrease in response to overall stock market movements or the value of individual securities held by the Fund.
• Small and Micro-Cap Risk. The securities of small and micro-cap companies may be more volatile in price, have wider spreads between their bid and ask prices, and have significantly lower trading volumes than the securities of larger capitalization companies. As a result, the purchase or sale of more than a limited number of shares of the securities of a smaller company may affect its market price. The Fund may need a considerable amount of time to purchase or sell its positions in these securities. Some small and micro-cap companies are followed by few, if any, securities analysts, and there tends to be less publicly available information about such companies. Their securities generally have even more limited trading volumes and are subject to even more abrupt or erratic market price movements than are mid and large cap securities, and the Fund may be able to deal with only a few market-makers when purchasing and selling securities. Such companies also may have limited markets, financial resources or product lines, may lack management depth, and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments. Smaller company stocks may fall out of favor relative to mid or large cap stocks, which may cause the Fund to underperform other equity funds that focus on mid or large cap stocks.
• Growth Stock Risk. Growth stocks are typically priced higher than other stocks, in relation to earnings and other measures, because investors believe they have more growth potential. This potential may or may not be realized and, if it is not realized, may result in a loss to the Fund. Growth stock prices also tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Because different types of stocks go out of favor with investors depending on market and economic conditions, the Fund's return may be adversely affected during a market downturn and when growth stocks are out of favor.
• Value Stock Risk. Value investing involves buying stocks that are out of favor and/or undervalued in comparison to their peers or their prospects for growth. Typically, their valuation levels are less than those of growth stocks. Because different types of stocks go out of favor with investors depending on market and economic conditions, the Fund's return may be adversely affected during a market downturn and when value stocks are out of favor.
• REIT Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization
3
stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any expenses, including management fees, paid by an externally managed REIT in which it invests.
• Special Situations Risk. The Fund will seek to benefit from "special situations," such as mergers, reorganizations, or other unusual events expected to affect a particular issuer. There is a risk that the "special situation" might not occur or involve longer time frames than originally expected, which could have a negative impact on the price of the issuer's securities and fail to produce gains or produce a loss for the Fund.
• Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of securities. Since the Fund is non-diversified, its NAV and total returns may fluctuate or fall more than a diversified mutual fund.
• Allocation Risk. The Fund's overall risk level will depend on the market sectors in which the Sub-Advisers are invested. Although the Fund will not concentrate in any industry, because the Fund may have significant weightings in a particular company, industry or market sector, the value of Shares may be affected by events that adversely affect that company, industry or market sector and may fluctuate more than that of a less focused fund.
• Multi-Manager Dependence Risk. The success of the Fund's investment strategy depends both on the Adviser's ability to select Sub-Advisers and to allocate assets to those Sub-Advisers and on each Sub-Adviser's ability to execute the relevant strategy and select investments for the Fund. The Sub-Advisers' investment styles may not always be complementary, which could affect the performance of the Fund and lead to higher transaction expenses as compared to a Fund using a single investment management style.
• Sub-Adviser and Strategy Concentration Risk. Because the Adviser will not be subject to fixed limitations upon the amount of Fund assets that may be invested with a single Sub-Adviser or in a single investment strategy, the Fund may be more heavily exposed to the investment judgments of one or more Sub-Advisers or the possible increased risk of investing in a limited number of investment strategies.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Certain securities, assets or markets can become illiquid at times and negatively impact the price of securities if the Fund were to sell during times of illiquidity.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
• Unseasoned Issuers Risk. Unseasoned issuers may not have an established financial history and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Unseasoned issuers may depend on a few key personnel for management and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. As a result, such securities may be more volatile and difficult to sell.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
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• Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Adviser and Sub-Advisers will not consider portfolio turnover rate a limiting factor in making investment decisions consistent with the Fund's investment objective and policies. Therefore, it is possible that the Fund may experience high rates of portfolio turnover. High portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains.
• New Adviser Risk. The Fund's Sub-Advisers may be newly-formed, newly registered with the SEC and/or have not previously managed a mutual fund. Accordingly, investors in the Fund bear the risk that a Sub-Adviser's inexperience may limit its effectiveness.
• New Fund Risk. As a new Fund, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.
Fund Performance
Because the Fund has less than one full calendar year of performance, no performance information has been included. The Fund intends to evaluate its performance as compared to that of the Russell 2000 ® Index.
Management of the Fund
Investment Advisers and Sub-Advisers
Altair Advisers LLC, 303 W. Madison, Suite 600, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Aperio Group, Driehaus Capital Management LLC, Granite Investment Partners, LLC, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC, Pier Capital LLC, and River Road Asset Management, LLC each serves as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
Title |
Portfolio Manager
of Fund since: |
||||||||||
Altair Advisers LLC |
|||||||||||
Steven B. Weinstein |
President, Chief Investment Officer |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Jason M. Laurie |
Managing Director |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Bryan R. Malis |
Managing Director |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Michael J. Murray |
Managing Director |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Daniel L. Tzonev |
Senior Consultant |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Aaron D. Dirlam |
Director of Research |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Aperio Group |
|||||||||||
Patrick Geddes |
Partner, Chief Executive Officer |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Ran Lesham |
Chief Investment Officer |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Robert Tymoczko |
Manager of Portfolio Trading and Analytics |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Driehaus Capital
Management LLC |
|||||||||||
Jeffrey James |
Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Michael Buck |
Assistant Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Granite Investment
Partners, LLC |
|||||||||||
Jeffrey J. Hoo, CFA |
Lead Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Peter O. Lopez |
Co-Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Joshua D. Shaskan, CFA |
Co-Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
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Title |
Portfolio Manager
of Fund since: |
||||||||||
Pacific Ridge Capital
Partners, LLC |
|||||||||||
Mark D. Cooper, CFA |
President, Senior Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Dominic R. Marshall, CFA |
Senior Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Pier Capital LLC |
|||||||||||
Jan Parsons |
Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
Alexander Yakirevich |
Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
River Road Asset
Management, LLC |
|||||||||||
R. Andrew Beck |
President, Chief Executive Officer, Senior Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
James Shircliff |
Co-Chief Investment Officer |
October 20, 2014 |
|||||||||
J. Justin Akin |
Portfolio Manager |
October 20, 2014 |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
There is no minimum investment amount for initial or subsequent investments. You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Shares of the Fund are currently only available to new and existing clients of the Adviser and to other investors at the Fund's discretion. Shares may be purchased through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals. Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Delivery: |
||||||
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9841 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Purchase By Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-844-261-6482 to confirm the current wire instructions for the Altair Smaller Companies Fund.
Redemption By Telephone:
Call the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6482.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund or the Adviser may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and other related services. Ask your broker-dealer or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
6
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
This section provides some additional information about the Fund's investments and certain portfolio management techniques that the Fund may use. More information about the Fund's investments and portfolio management techniques, and related risks, is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
The Fund's investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without the approval of the Fund's shareholders. However, as a matter of policy, the Fund would not materially change its investment objective without informing shareholders at least 60 days in advance of any such change.
Additional Information About the Fund's Principal Investments and Risks
Equity and Equity-Related Securities. The Fund invests in all types of equity securities. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), and equity participations. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of such securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause the Fund's net asset value to fluctuate. The number of issuers in the Fund's portfolio will vary over time.
Fixed Income Investments. The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in fixed income securities. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate and governmental issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features. The principal debt investments of the Fund will be fixed and floating rate securities with no reset terms.
The credit quality of securities held in the Fund's portfolio is determined at the time of investment. If a security is rated differently by multiple ratings organizations, the Fund treats the security as being rated in the higher rating category.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) through American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") or International Depositary Receipts ("IDRs"). Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights
7
with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
In addition, the Fund may invest in securities traded or denominated in foreign currencies and in multinational currencies such as the Euro. The Fund will value its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. Investments in securities of foreign entities and securities denominated or traded in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of the Fund's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
Interest Rate Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities will tend to be lower than prevailing market interest rates. In periods of falling interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities generally will tend to be higher than prevailing market interest rates. Prices of longer-term fixed income securities are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than prices of shorter-term fixed-income securities.
Credit/Default Risk. The credit rating of an issuer or guarantor of a security in which the Fund invests may be lowered or an issuer or guarantor of a security or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a repurchase agreement may default on its payment obligations.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund's investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Illiquidity can be caused by a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities' resale. Certain securities that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, particularly in times of overall economic distress.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities have characteristics of both equity and fixed income securities. The value of a convertible security tends to move with the market value of the underlying stock, but may also be affected by interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provisions. In particular, when interest rates rise, fixed income securities will decline in value. Convertible securities frequently have speculative characteristics and may be acquired without regard to minimum quality ratings. Lower quality convertible securities, also known as "junk bonds," involve greater risk of default or price changes due to the issuer's creditworthiness. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than those of higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates. Securities in the lowest quality category may present the risk of default, or may be in default.
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading, resulting in high portfolio turnover. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, increasing their tax liability. Frequent trading may also increase transaction costs, which could detract from the Fund's performance.
Temporary Investments. The Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking temporary defensive positions (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. In response to such conditions, the Fund may also utilize derivatives, including purchasing put options. A put option gives the purchaser of the option, upon payment of a premium, the right to sell, and the seller the obligation to buy, the underlying security, index, currency or other instrument at the exercise price. If the Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
8
Broad-Based Securities Market Index
The Russell 2000 ® Index is an unmanaged index that is comprised of the 2,000 smallest of the 3,000 largest U.S. domiciled corporations, ranked by market capitalizations. As of September 30, 2014, the minimum market capitalization of the Russell 2000 ® Index was $380 million and the largest stock was $7.18 billion. Please note that this information is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the SAI. The SAI is incorporated herein.
9
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
Investment Adviser
Altair Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser located at 303 W. Madison, Suite 600, Chicago, Illinois 60606, provides investment advisory services to the Fund subject to the general supervision of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser was founded in June 2002. As of September 30, 2014, the Adviser had over $4.03 billion in assets under management.
The Fund is currently only available to clients of the Adviser and to other investors at the Fund's discretion. The Adviser does not receive a separate management fee from the Fund. However, pursuant to the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser, the Adviser is entitled to receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses it incurs in connection with its compliance monitoring of Fund trading, up to 0.01% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
The Adviser has contractually agreed to reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) exceeds 1.35% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least October 20, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. If at any time during the first three years the investment advisory agreement is in effect, the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 1.35%, the Adviser may recoup any waived or reimbursed amounts from the Fund if such reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed expense limitations that were in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement.
The Fund is managed by the Adviser and one or more Sub-Advisers unaffiliated with the Adviser. The Adviser also has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the Sub-Advisers, and to recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. The Adviser has an investment team that is jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The investment team consists of Steven B. Weinstein, Jason M. Laurie, Bryan R. Malis, Michael J. Murray, Daniel L. Tzonev and Aaron D. Dirlam.
Steven B. Weinstein, President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Weinstein founded the Adviser in June of 2002. He has been counseling wealthy families, business owners, and senior executives on their investment, tax, retirement and estate planning matters for over 35 years. He is a member of the Adviser's Board of Managers as well as the Adviser's Investment Committee. Mr. Weinstein is a CFA ® charterholder and a Certified Financial Planner TM certificant. He is a member of the Illinois and California bar. Mr. Weinstein graduated with Distinction in Political Science and Communication from Stanford University in 1974, and earned both his MBA and JD degrees, with Distinction, from Northwestern University in 1978.
Jason M. Laurie, Managing Director. Mr. Laurie is a founding partner of the Adviser. His role includes client service, business development, and he is the Chairman of the Adviser's Investment Committee. Mr. Laurie is a CFA ® charterholder and a Certified Financial Planner TM certificant. Mr. Laurie earned his B.B.A. in Finance and Computer Applications from the University of Notre Dame (cum laude).
Bryan R. Malis, Managing Director. Mr. Malis is a founding partner of the Adviser. His role includes serving as a lead adviser to a variety of clients, developing new business, and participating in firm management. He is a member of the Adviser's Board of Managers as well as the Adviser's Investment Committee. Mr. Malis is a CFA ® charterholder and a Certified Financial Planner TM certificant. Mr. Malis earned his B.A. in Accounting and Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Michael J. Murray, Managing Director. Mr. Murray is a founding partner of the Adviser. His role includes serving as a lead adviser to a variety of clients, developing new business, and participating in firm management. He is a member of the Adviser's Board of Managers as well as the Adviser's Investment Committee. Mr. Murray is a
10
CFA ® charterholder, a Certified Financial Planner TM certificant and has earned the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. Mr. Murray holds a B.B.A. in accounting and finance from the University of Wisconsin.
Daniel L. Tzonev, Senior Consultant. Mr. Tzonev joined the Adviser in 2007 and is a Senior Consultant. His role includes working with the Managing Directors to provide investment advice to wealthy individuals, families and foundations. He is also a member of the Adviser's Investment Committee. Mr. Tzonev is a CFA ® charterholder. Mr. Tzonev earned his B.A. in Business Economics and Mathematics from the College of Wooster (magna cum laude).
Aaron D. Dirlam, Director of Research. Mr. Dirlam joined the Adviser in 2005 and is the Director of Research. His role includes monitoring the investment managers currently working with clients as well as conducting research to identify and select new investment managers. As part of his research, Mr. Dirlam also identifies trends and activities in the markets that may impact clients' portfolios. He is a member of the Adviser's Investment Committee. Mr. Dirlam is a CFA ® charterholder and has earned the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. Mr. Dirlam graduated from Lake Forest College with degrees in Business and Psychology.
Sub-Advisers
The Fund and the Adviser have submitted an application with the SEC for an exemptive order with respect to the Fund that would permit the Adviser to engage or terminate a Sub-Adviser, and to enter into and materially amend an existing sub-advisory agreement, upon the approval of the Board of Directors, without obtaining shareholder approval. This arrangement has been approved by the Board of Directors and the Fund's initial shareholder. Consequently, if approved by the SEC, under the exemptive order, the Adviser would have the right to hire, terminate and replace Sub-Advisers when the Board of Directors and the Adviser feel that a change would benefit the Fund. The exemptive order will enable the Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approval of sub-advisory agreements.
The Sub-Advisers provide investment advisory services to the portion of the Fund's portfolio allocated to them by the Adviser. The Adviser and the Fund have entered into sub-advisory agreements with the following Sub-Advisers to manage the Fund, subject to supervision of the Adviser and the Board, and in accordance with the investment goal and restrictions of the Fund. For their services, each Sub-Adviser is entitled to receive a fee based upon a percentage of the Fund's average daily net assets, which will be paid by the Fund and not by the Adviser. The Adviser selects Sub-Advisers based upon the Sub-Adviser's skills in managing assets pursuant to particular investment styles and strategies. The Adviser monitors existing Sub-Advisers based on their investment styles, strategies, and results in managing assets for specific asset classes. Each Sub-Adviser will have discretion to select portfolio securities for its portion of the Fund, but must select those securities according to the Fund's investment objectives and restrictions. The Fund is not required to invest with any minimum number of Sub-Advisers, and does not have minimum or maximum limitations with respect to allocations of assets to any Sub-Adviser. The Adviser may change the allocation of the Fund's assets among the available Sub-Advisers, and may add or remove Sub-Advisers, at any time, which may change the sub-advisory fees payable by the Fund. However, in no event will the total sub-advisory fees exceed the annual rate of 1.00% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
Aperio Group ("Aperio") , a registered investment adviser located at Three Harbor Drive, Suite 315, Sausalito, CA 94965, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Patrick Geddes, Ran Leshem and Robert Tymoczko each serve as portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Aperio. Mr. Geddes is Aperio's Chief Executive Officer and a Partner. Prior to joining Aperio, Mr. Geddes was the Chief Financial Officer of Morningstar, Inc. Mr. Geddes also served on the company's executive committee, overseeing all strategic, policy, and internal investment decisions. Prior to being named Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Geddes served as Morningstar's Director of Quantitative Research. Before Morningstar, he spent five years with Amoco, now part of BP, in the U.S. and Europe providing quantitative analysis, currency hedging and corporate tax optimization. At Amoco, Mr. Geddes was part of a group that modeled the nuances of highly complex international tax structures as part of the company's efforts to manage taxes as effectively as possible,
11
which in the energy sector can provide enormous payoffs to the bottom line and shareholders. He has taught numerous courses in graduate-level finance at the University of California Berkeley Extension. Mr. Geddes received his MBA, with Honors, from the University of Chicago. Mr. Leshem is Aperio's Chief Investment Officer. He oversees the portfolio management and operations of Aperio's US, Foreign, and Global products. Mr. Leshem has extensive expertise in applying quantitative techniques and information technology to complex operational problems. Prior to joining Aperio in 2006, Mr. Leshem was a Manager, Operating Strategy at the GAP, Inc. At the GAP, Mr. Lesham managed the development of a store level forecasting system utilizing clustering and data mining algorithms to predict sales based on historical data. Mr. Lesham received a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Canada, where he received the Hewlett Packard Award for academic excellence, and his MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Tymoczko is Manager of Portfolio Trading and Analytics. Mr. Tymoczko joined Aperio in 2012 and he is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day portfolio management and strategy implementation of all investment products. Prior to joining Aperio, Mr. Tymoczko was a Managing Partner at AlphaStream Capital Management, LLC from 2002 to 2011, where he was responsible for quantitative research and portfolio management. From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Tymoczko was Lead Portfolio Manager and Co-head of U.S. Quantitative Equity Products at Zurich Scudder Investments. Mr. Tymoczko received a BA in Quantitative Economics from Stanford University and his MBA with concentrations in Finance and Econometrics from the University of Chicago.
Driehaus Capital Management LLC ("Driehaus") , a registered investment adviser located at 25 E Erie St, Chicago, IL 60611, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Jeffrey James serves as the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Driehaus. Mr. James joined Driehaus in 1997 as a sector analyst covering the information technology and energy sectors. In 1998, he assumed portfolio management duties for the Driehaus Micro Cap Growth Strategy and in 2006 for the Driehaus Small Cap Growth Strategy. He began his career with Lehman Brothers in 1990. From 1991 through 1997, Mr. James worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago as an analyst. Mr. James received his B.S. in Finance from Indiana University in 1990 and an M.B.A. from DePaul University in 1995. Michael Buck supports Mr. James with investment research, security selection and portfolio construction. Mr. Buck has investment decision-making responsibilities subject to Mr. James' approval. Mr. Buck began his career in 2001 with Deloitte Consulting. In 2002, he joined Driehaus, where he also serves as a senior research analyst focusing on U.S. micro-cap and small-cap stocks within the consumer discretionary, consumer staples and financials sectors. Mr. Buck is also the assistant portfolio manager for the Driehaus Small Cap Growth Strategy. Mr. Buck received a B.A. in Economics and Cello Performance from Northwestern University in 2000.
Granite Investment Partners, LLC ("Granite") , a registered investment adviser located at The Plaza at Continental Park, 2121 Rosecrans Ave, Suite 2360, El Segundo, California 90245, has served as Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Jeffrey J. Hoo, CFA is the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Granite. Mr. Hoo joined Granite in 2011. Mr. Hoo is a Principal and Portfolio Manager and manages portfolios in the small cap, small/mid cap and micro-cap equity asset classes. Mr. Hoo has been the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Micro Cap Equity product since inception. He is also the lead portfolio manager for the firm's small/mid cap portfolio and Small Core portfolio. Prior to joining Granite, Mr. Hoo was a Principal and Portfolio Manager at Transamerica Investment Management, LLC (TIM) where he managed mutual funds and institutional accounts. He joined TIM in 2005 when the firm acquired Westcap Investors, LLC where he was a Principal, Portfolio Manager and Equity Analyst specializing in Healthcare and Technology from 1997 through 2005. Prior to Westcap, Mr. Hoo worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment and KPMG. Mr. Hoo has 16 years of investment industry experience. Joshua D. Shaskan, CFA serves as a co-portfolio manager and joined Granite in 2011. Mr Shaskan is a Principal and Portfolio Manager. Mr. Shaskan manages portfolios in the small cap, small/mid cap and all cap equity asset classes. He is the lead portfolio manager for the firm's Small Cap Growth portfolio. Prior to Granite, Mr. Shaskan was a Principal and Portfolio Manager for TIM. He joined TIM in 2005 when the firm acquired Westcap Investors LLC. Prior to Westcap, Mr. Shaskan served as an investment specialist for three years at Wells Fargo Securities and was also previously a financial advisor at Prudential Securities. Mr. Shaskan has 19 years of investment industry experience. Peter O. Lopez serves as a co-portfolio manager and joined Granite in 2011. Mr. Lopez is a Principal and Portfolio Manager. Mr. Lopez manages portfolios in the small
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cap and all cap equity asset classes. He is the lead portfolio manager for the firm's All Cap portfolio. Prior to joining Granite, Mr. Lopez was CEO and Director of Research for TIM. Prior to joining TIM in 2003, Mr. Lopez was managing director at Centre Pacific, LLC. He previously served as senior fixed income analyst for Transamerica Investment Services, Inc. from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Lopez also served as an assistant vice president at Alliance Capital and an associate at TIAA-CREF. Mr. Lopez has 20 years of investment industry experience.
Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC ("Pacific Ridge") , a registered investment adviser located at 4900 Meadows Rd Suite 320, Lake Oswego, OR 97035, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Mark D. Cooper, CFA and Dominic R. Marshall, CFA are the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Pacific Ridge. Mr. Cooper has been with Pacific Ridge since 2010 and brings more than 23 years of investment industry experience to the presidency of Pacific Ridge. Previously, Mr. Cooper was a senior portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management from 2003 to 2010 and co-founder and president of Benson Associates from 1997 to 2003. Prior to that, he was employed by Qualivest Capital Management (a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp) as a portfolio manager of the Qualivest Small Companies Value strategy from 1996 to 1997, where he co-managed all of the small cap portfolios. He also served as an associate at Bankers Trust Company in New York and Los Angeles. Mr. Cooper earned a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1990 and a master's degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. Mr. Marshall has been with Pacific Ridge since 2010 and brings 20 years of investment experience to Pacific Ridge. Prior to Pacific Ridge, Mr. Marshall was president and senior portfolio manager at Scott Creek Capital Management from 2006 to 2009. Prior to that, he served as a portfolio manager for the Benson Value Team at Wells Capital Management from 2003 to 2006 and a portfolio manager at Benson Associates from 1998 to 2003. He was also an equity analyst at The Red Chip Review and research associate at CTC Consulting. Mr. Marshall earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington in 1993 and a master's degree in Finance from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame in 1998.
Pier Capital LLC ("Pier Capital") , a registered investment adviser located at 600 Summer Street, Suite 203, Stamford, CT 06901, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Jan Parsons and Alexander Yakirevich are the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Pier Capital. Mr. Parsons has been the President and Chief Investment Officer of Pier Capital since 2004. Mr. Parsons graduated from the University of Stockholm in 1983 with a Civilekonom degree (MBA equivalent), majoring in Business Administration and Economics. Prior to founding Pier Capital, Mr. Parsons was at Enskilda Securities from 1985 to 1987 and Sirius Insurance Company from 1983 to 1985. Mr. Parsons has over 30 years of investment industry experience. Mr. Yakirevich has been the Portfolio Manager of the Small-Cap Growth Strategy at Pier Capital since 2008. He joined Pier Capital in 2004 as a Research Analyst. Mr. Yakirevich earned his Bachelors of Science degree in 1993 and his MBA in 2003 both from New York University. Prior to joining Pier Capital, Mr. Yakirevich was at Richmond Consulting & Research from 2002 to 2004, Individual Investors Group from 1997 to 2001, and Value Line from 1995 to 1997. Mr. Yakirevich has over 19 years of investment industry experience.
River Road Asset Management, LLC ("River Road") , a registered investment adviser located at 462 S 4th St #1600, Louisville, KY 40202, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. James C. Shircliff is the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by River Road. Mr. Shircliff serves in the role of Chief Investment Officer at River Road. Additionally, Mr. Shircliff serves as Lead Portfolio Manager for River Road's Small Cap Value and Small-Mid Cap Value Portfolios and as Co-Portfolio Manager for River Road's Dividend All-Cap Value Portfolios. Prior to cofounding River Road, Mr. Shircliff served as EVP, Portfolio Manager and Director of Research for SMC Capital, Inc., a registered investment advisor and affiliate of Commonwealth Trust Company (Commonwealth SMC). Mr. Shircliff began his career in 1973 as Research Analyst for First Kentucky Trust, where he later served as Director of Research. In 1983, he joined Oppenheimer Management Company as Special Situations Analyst and, later, Oppenheimer's Target Fund as Portfolio Manager. In 1986, he joined Southeastern Asset Management (Longleaf Funds) as Partner, Portfolio Manager and Director of Research. In 1997, Mr. Shircliff joined SMC Capital, Inc., where he launched River Road's
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Small Cap Value Portfolio. Mr. Shircliff graduated from the University of Louisville with a B.S. in Finance. Andrew Beck and J. Justin Akin each serve as portfolio managers, assisting Mr. Shircliff in the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by River Road. Mr. Beck serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at River Road. Additionally, Mr. Beck serves as Co-Portfolio Manager for River Road's Small Cap Value and Small-Mid Cap Value Portfolios. Prior to cofounding River Road, Mr. Beck served as Senior Research Analyst and, later, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Commonwealth SMC. Mr. Beck earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Louisville and an M.B.A. from the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College. Mr. Akin serves as Portfolio Manager for River Road's Small Cap Value and Small-Mid Cap Value Portfolios. Prior to joining River Road, Mr. Akin worked with the firm's founders at Commonwealth SMC as Equity Research Analyst for the Small Cap Value and Dividend All-Cap Value Portfolios. Mr. Akin earned a B.S. in Economics from Centre College. Mr. Akin is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Louisville.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Fund.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approval of the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser and sub-advisory agreements with the Sub-Advisers will be available in the Fund's first annual or semi-annual report to shareholders.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
The Shares are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV per Share of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases of Shares at the NAV next determined after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your purchase order in good order. The Fund will effect redemptions of Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Fund's Transfer Agent of your redemption request in good order as described below.
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such service or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If the Fund holds foreign equity securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equities securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser and Sub-Advisers, securities will be valued by the Adviser and Sub-Advisers in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before the Fund prices its Shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in exchange-traded funds, REITs and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke
15
a shareholder's privilege to purchase Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. The Adviser reviews on a regular, periodic basis available information related 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, the Adviser, on a periodic basis, examines transactions that exceed certain monetary thresholds or numerical limits within a period of time. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, it may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund. The Adviser 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. The Adviser will apply the criteria in a manner that, in its judgment, will be uniform.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares of the Fund are currently only available to new and existing clients of the Adviser and to other investors at the Fund's discretion. Shares representing interests in the Fund are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor").
General. You may purchase Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company records. There is no minimum investment amount for initial or subsequent investments. You can only purchase Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Fund may also be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Certain features of the Shares, such as the initial and subsequent investment minimums and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose minimum investment requirements. Service Organizations may also impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if Shares are purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption
16
of Shares and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following business day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the financial intermediary to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after such orders are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
For administration, subaccounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Fund or the Adviser may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee"). The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
Initial Investment By Mail. An account may be opened by completing and signing an account application and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check payable to the Altair Smaller Companies Fund. Third party checks will not be accepted.
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9841 Providence, RI 02940 |
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
The name of the Fund should be designated on the application and should appear on the check. Payment for the purchase of Shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Shares of the Fund may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. For the Fund, notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6482 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) Request account information and routing instructions by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6482.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time by purchasing Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to Altair Smaller Companies Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6482 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the purchase date.
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in Shares of the Fund may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through an Automatic Investment Plan
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($250 minimum). Investors desiring to participate in an Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6482.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6482. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interest of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to Board approval, decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. Persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Adviser;
b. Existing and future clients of financial advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the closed Fund;
c. Employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children; and
d. Directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Shares will be made in full and fractional Shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places.
Certificates for Shares will not be issued except at the written request of the shareholder. Certificates for fractional Shares, however, will not be issued.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
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Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's Shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
You may redeem Shares at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. You may redeem Fund Shares by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of Shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to Altair Smaller Companies Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940, or for overnight delivery to Altair Smaller Companies Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 and must include:
a. Name of the Fund;
b. Account number;
c. Your Share certificates, if any, properly endorsed or with proper powers of attorney;
d. A letter of instruction specifying the number of Shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the Shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
e. Any required medallion signature guarantees, which are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s) or (ii) the redemption request is for $50,000 or more. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a Medallion Program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. The three recognized Medallion Programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
f. Other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of Shares by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-844-261-6482 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of
19
unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholder's account in the Fund at any time the value of the account falls below $5,000 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in the Fund is less than $5,000 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed. The transaction fee applicable to the Fund will not be charged when Shares are involuntarily redeemed.
The Fund may assert the right to redeem your Shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for Shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for Shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option.
Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Fund at least annually.
The Fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the Fund to avoid U.S. federal tax. The Fund's distributions and dividends, whether received in cash or reinvested in additional Shares, are subject to U.S. federal income tax.
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More Information About Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
The Fund may be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign taxes on income or gain from certain foreign securities. If more than 50% of the value of the total assets of the Fund consists of stocks and securities (including debt securities) of foreign corporations at the close of a taxable year, the Fund may elect, for federal income tax purposes, to treat certain foreign taxes paid by it, including generally any withholding and other foreign income taxes, as paid by its shareholders. If the Fund makes this election, the amount of those foreign taxes paid by the Fund will be included in its shareholders' income pro rata (in addition to taxable distributions actually received by them), and each such shareholder will be entitled either (1) to credit that proportionate amount of taxes against U.S. federal income tax liability as a foreign tax credit or (2) to take that amount as an itemized deduction. If the Fund is not eligible or chooses not to make this election the Fund will be entitled to deduct any such foreign taxes in computing the amounts it is required to distribute.
21
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the Shares acquired.
The Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, Shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such Shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares in the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
22
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
23
APPENDIX A
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts
The Sub-Advisers have experience in managing other accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the portion of the Fund's portfolio allocated to them by the Adviser. The tables below are provided to illustrate the past performance of each Sub-Adviser in managing all of its other similarly advised accounts and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Sub-Advisers. This performance history is net of all fees (including any applicable sales loads) charged to investors in the other accounts. The composite includes other accounts that pay lower expenses than those paid by shareholders of the Fund. Higher expenses reduce returns to investors. The use of the Fund's expense structure would have lowered the performance results. The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the other accounts are not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the other accounts. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the other accounts.
The performance of the other accounts is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. These indexes are unmanaged and are not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in any broad-based securities index.
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended December 31, 2013)
RETURN
1 Year |
3 Year |
5 Year |
10 Year |
Inception
(Jan 1996) |
|||||||||||||||||||
Driehaus |
63.05 |
% |
16.83 |
% |
24.24 |
% |
13.18 |
% |
22.85 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Russell Micro Cap Growth TR |
52.84 |
% |
17.25 |
% |
23.78 |
% |
6.74 |
% |
n/a |
||||||||||||||
Russell 2000 TR |
38.82 |
% |
15.67 |
% |
20.08 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
8.94 |
% |
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended December 31, 2013)
RETURN
1 Year |
3 Year |
5 Year |
10 Year |
Inception
(Jan 2004) |
|||||||||||||||||||
Granite |
55.23 |
% |
21.72 |
% |
34.07 |
% |
15.02 |
% |
15.02 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Russell Micro Cap TR |
45.62 |
% |
16.52 |
% |
21.05 |
% |
6.99 |
% |
6.99 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Russell 2000 TR |
38.82 |
% |
15.67 |
% |
20.08 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended December 31, 2013)
RETURN
1 Year |
3 Year |
5 Year |
Inception
(Apr 2007) |
||||||||||||||||
Pacific Ridge |
45.31 |
% |
18.95 |
% |
27.73 |
% |
8.44 |
% |
|||||||||||
Russell Micro Cap Value TR |
41.17 |
% |
15.84 |
% |
18.58 |
% |
4.08 |
% |
|||||||||||
Russell 2000 TR |
38.82 |
% |
15.67 |
% |
20.08 |
% |
7.17 |
% |
24
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended December 31, 2013)
RETURN
1 Year |
3 Year |
5 Year |
10 Year |
Inception
(July 1987) |
|||||||||||||||||||
Pier Capital |
51.30 |
% |
15.65 |
% |
22.87 |
% |
11.59 |
% |
12.96 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Russell 2000 Growth TR |
43.30 |
% |
16.82 |
% |
22.58 |
% |
9.41 |
% |
7.36 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Russell 2000 TR |
33.82 |
% |
15.67 |
% |
20.08 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
9.27 |
% |
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended December 31, 2013)
RETURN
1 Year |
3 Year |
5 Year |
10 Year |
Inception
(Jan 1998) |
|||||||||||||||||||
River Road |
31.31 |
% |
13.72 |
% |
16.41 |
% |
11.00 |
% |
11.15 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Russell 2000 Value TR |
34.52 |
% |
14.49 |
% |
17.64 |
% |
8.61 |
% |
8.72 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Russell 2000 TR |
38.82 |
% |
15.67 |
% |
20.08 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
7.70 |
% |
25
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
(1-844-261-6482)
For More Information:
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Altair Smaller Companies Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports, when available, will contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes fund strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year.
When available, the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders may be obtained by calling 1-844-261-6482.
Statement of Additional Information
The Fund's SAI ("SAI"), dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, may be obtained free of charge, along with the annual and semi-annual reports, by calling 1-844-261-6482. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus (and is legally part of this Prospectus). The SAI is not available on the Adviser's website, but a copy may be obtained by calling 1-844-261-6482.
Shareholder Inquiries
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: 1-844-261-6482.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call 1-844-261-6482.
Written Correspondence
Street Address:
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
,
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.,
4400 Computer Drive,
Westborough, MA 01581
P.O. Box Address:
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
,
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.,
P.O. Box 9841,
Providence, RI 02940
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
Investment Company Act File No. 811-05518
THE BEDFORD SHARES OF THE
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Ticker: BDMXX
This prospectus gives vital information about this money market mutual fund, advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC ("BALLC" or the "Adviser"), including information on investment policies, risks and fees. For your own benefit and protection, please read it before you invest and keep it on hand for future reference.
Please note that the Money Market Portfolio:
n is not a bank deposit;
n is not federally insured;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed by The Bank of New York Mellon or any other bank;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed or otherwise supported by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other governmental agency;
n is not guaranteed to achieve its goals; and
n may not be able to maintain a stable $1 share price and you may lose money.
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
PROSPECTUS December 31, 2014
THE RBB FUND, INC.
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
Bedford Shares Ticker Symbol: BDMXX
Sansom Street Shares Ticker Symbol: SANXX
Supplement dated December 31, 2014 to the
Bedford Class and Sansom Street Class Prospectuses, and
Statement of Additional Information, each dated December 31, 2014
THIS SUPPLEMENT CONTAINS NEW AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BEYOND THAT CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
On December 5, 2014, the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Board") approved a plan of liquidation and termination for the Money Market Portfolio (the "Fund"). Effective December 5, 2014, new account requests, exchanges into the Fund and purchase orders will no longer be permissible (other than those purchase orders received through dividend reinvestment).
On or about January 30, 2015 (the "Liquidation Date"), the Fund will redeem all investors' shares at net asset value, and the Fund will terminate. Investors holding shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will receive cash representing proceeds from the redemption. Absent other instructions or direction from the broker-dealer of record, the cash proceeds will be distributed by mailing a check to each investor of record at such investor's address of record. Prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will begin liquidating securities and the Fund may invest all or part of the proceeds from the liquidation of portfolio securities in cash equivalent instruments or hold the proceeds in cash. During this time, the Fund may not achieve its investment goal.
Until the Liquidation Date, investors may redeem their shares in the manner set forth in the Fund's current Prospectus. The redemption of your shares will generally be considered a taxable event.
For federal income tax purposes, the tax treatment to investors of the receipt of the liquidating distribution on the Liquidation Date will be the same as would be the tax treatment of a redemption of shares on that date. You may also be subject to state, local or foreign taxes on redemptions or liquidations of Fund shares. The foregoing is only a summary of certain tax considerations under current law, which may change in the future. You should consult your tax adviser for information regarding all tax consequences applicable to your investment in the Fund.
Please retain this Supplement for future reference.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the goals, strategies, risks, expenses and financial history of the portfolio.
Details about the service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in the portfolio.
Details on the distribution plan.
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
6 |
||||||
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT |
7 |
||||||
Investment Adviser |
7 |
||||||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
7 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
8 |
||||||
Pricing Shares |
8 |
||||||
Market Timing |
8 |
||||||
Purchase of Shares |
9 |
||||||
Redemption of Shares |
11 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
13 |
||||||
Taxes |
13 |
||||||
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS |
15 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
16 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
i
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Goal
The Money Market Portfolio (the "Portfolio") of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") seeks to generate current income, to provide you with liquidity and to protect your investment.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Bedford Shares of the Portfolio.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of your investment)
Management Fees 1 |
0.41 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
0.65 |
% |
|||||
Other Expenses |
0.08 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
1.14 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements 1 |
(0.24 |
)% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements |
0.90 |
% |
1. Management fees include investment advisory and administration fees. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit the Portfolio's Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses) to 0.25%. Because Distribution and Service (12b-1) fees and certain other Portfolio expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation, net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are expected to exceed the contractual limitation. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015.
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Bedford Shares |
$ |
92 |
$ |
338 |
$ |
604 |
$ |
1,365 |
1
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio invests in a diversified investment portfolio of short term, high quality, U.S. dollar-denominated instruments, including government, bank, commercial and other obligations.
Specifically, the Portfolio may invest in:
• U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions with total assets of more than $1 billion (including obligations of foreign branches of such banks).
• High quality commercial paper and other obligations issued or guaranteed (or otherwise supported) by U.S. and foreign corporations and other issuers rated (at the time of purchase) A-2 or higher by Standard and Poor's ® , Prime-2 or higher by Moody's Investor's Service, Inc. or F-2 or higher by Fitch, Inc., as well as high quality corporate bonds rated AA (or Aa) or higher at the time of purchase by those rating agencies. These ratings must be provided by at least two rating agencies, or by the only rating agency providing a rating.
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments that are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality to the instruments described above.
• Asset-backed securities (including interests in pools of assets such as mortgages, installment purchase obligations and credit card receivables).
• Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by its agencies or authorities.
• Dollar-denominated securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their political subdivisions, agencies or authorities.
• Securities issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies.
• Repurchase agreements relating to the above instruments.
The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. At least 25% of the Portfolio's total assets will be invested in banking obligations.
Principal Risks
• The value of money market investments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market investments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities.
• The Portfolio's investment securities may not earn as high a level of income as longer-term or lower quality securities, which generally have greater risk and more fluctuation in value.
• The Portfolio's concentration of its investments in the banking industry could increase risks. The profitability of banks depends largely on the availability and cost of funds, which can change depending upon economic conditions. Banks are also exposed to losses if borrowers get into financial trouble and cannot repay their loans.
• The obligations of foreign banks and other foreign issuers may involve certain risks in addition to those of domestic issuers, including higher transaction costs, less complete financial information, political and economic instability, less stringent regulatory requirements and less market liquidity.
2
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments may be subject to the risk that an issuer may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal.
• The obligations issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies may be issued by entities in the same state and may have interest which is paid from revenues of similar projects. As a result, changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular state or types of projects may impact the Portfolio.
• Treasury obligations differ only in their interest rates, maturities and time of issuance. These differences could result in fluctuations in the value of such securities depending upon the market. Obligations of U.S. government agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees of credit. The U.S. government gives no assurances that it will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so. Default in these issuers could negatively impact the Portfolio.
• In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchange's minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is remains unclear.
• The Portfolio's investment in asset-backed securities may be negatively impacted by interest rate fluctuations or when an issuer pays principal on an obligation held by the Portfolio earlier or later than expected. These events may affect their value and the return on your investment.
• The Portfolio could lose money if a seller under a repurchase agreement defaults or declares bankruptcy.
• The Portfolio may purchase variable and floating rate instruments. Like all debt instruments, their value is dependent on the credit paying ability of the issuer. If the issuer were unable to make interest payments or default, the value of the securities would decline. The absence of an active market for these securities could make it difficult to dispose of them if the issuer defaults.
Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio. When you invest in the Portfolio you are not making a bank deposit. Your investment is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any bank or governmental agency.
Performance Information
The chart and table below illustrate the variability of the Portfolio's long-term performance for Bedford Shares. The information shows you how the Portfolio's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart and the table both assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Portfolio's performance would be reduced. Effective May 28, 2010, Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") was amended to impose new liquidity, credit quality and maturity requirements on all money market funds. Fund performance shown prior to May 28, 2010 is based on 1940 Act rules then in effect and is not an indication of future returns.
3
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
1.26 |
% |
(quarter ended September 30, 2006) |
||||||||
Worst Quarter: |
0 |
% |
(quarter ended March 31, 2010) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 0.02%
Average Annual Total Returns for the Years Ended December 31, 2013
The table below shows the Portfolio's average annual total returns for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and the past ten calendar years. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Money Market Portfolio |
0.01 |
% |
0.06 |
% |
1.41 |
% |
Current Yield: The seven-day yield for the period ended December 31, 2013 for the Portfolio was 0.033%. You may call (800) 888-9723 to obtain the current seven-day yield of the Portfolio.
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors, LLC
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $1,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
4
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Portfolio on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Purchases of Bedford Shares may be effected through an account with your broker-dealer through procedures and requirements established by your broker. Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through the Company by the means described below.
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9841 Providence, RI 02940-8041 |
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Purchase by Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-800-888-9723 to confirm the current wire instructions for The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class).
Redemption By Telephone:
If you selected the option on your account application, you may call the Portfolio's transfer agent at (800)-888-9723.
Redemption by Check:
If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your Account, the Company will provide to you forms of drafts ("checks") payable through The Bank of New York Mellon. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, your broker may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and then forward such signature cards to BNY Mellon.
Taxes
The Portfolio intends to make distributions that will generally be taxed as ordinary income.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
The Company's Board of Directors can change the investment goal of the Portfolio without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be given notice before any such change is made.
The Portfolio is required to comply with SEC requirements with respect to the liquidity of the Portfolio's investments. Specifically, the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 10% of its total assets in "daily liquid assets" and the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 30% of its total assets in "weekly liquid assets." Daily liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities and securities (including repurchase agreements) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within one business day. Weekly liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities, agency discount notes with remaining maturities of 60 days or less and securities (including time deposits) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within five business days. In addition, the Portfolio's investments in illiquid securities will be limited to 5% of the Portfolio's total assets.
Under guidelines established by the Company's Board of Directors, the Portfolio will only purchase securities if such securities or their issuers have (or such securities are guaranteed or otherwise supported by entities which have) short-term debt ratings at the time of purchase in one of the two highest rating categories from at least two nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations ("NRSRO"), or one such rating if the security is rated by only one NRSRO. Securities that are unrated must be determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. Also, the Portfolio will be prohibited from (i) investing more than 3% of total assets in second-tier securities, (ii) investing more than 1/2 of 1% of total assets in second-tier securities issued by any single issuer, and (iii) acquiring second-tier securities with a remaining maturity of more than 45 days.
The dollar-weighted average maturity of all the investments of the Portfolio will be 60 days or less and the dollar-weighted average life of all of the investments of the Portfolio without regard to maturity shortening provisions applicable to variable and floating rate securities will be 120 days or less. Only those securities which have remaining maturities of 397 days or less (except for certain variable and floating rate instruments and securities collateralizing repurchase agreements) will be purchased.
On July 23, 2014, the SEC voted to amend the rules under the 1940 Act which currently govern the operations of the Portfolio. A significant change resulting from these amendments is a requirement that institutional prime money market funds, including institutional municipal money market funds, transact fund shares based on a market-based NAV (i.e., these fund will be required to float their NAVs). Government and retail money market funds (as defined in the amendments) may continue to transact fund shares at a NAV calculated using the amortized cost valuation method. Among additional disclosure, reporting and other requirements, the amendments also will permit a money market fund, or, in certain circumstances, require a money market fund (other than a government money market fund) to impose liquidity fees on redemptions, and permit a money market fund to limit (or gate) redemptions for up to 10 business days in any 90-day period. The amendments have staggered compliance dates. Compliance with a majority of these amendments will be required on October 14, 2016, two years after the effective date of the amendments. The degree to which a money market fund will be impacted by the rule amendments will depend upon the type of fund and type of investors (retail or institutional). At this time, management is evaluating the implications of these amendments and their impact on the Portfolio's operations.
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PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
BALLC, a registered investment adviser, was organized in 1994 to perform advisory services for investment companies. BALLC, which has its principal offices at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 has served as the Portfolio's investment adviser since June 30, 2011. Prior thereto, BlackRock Institutional Management Corporation ("BIMC"), an affiliate of BALLC, served as the Portfolio's investment adviser. BALLC is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. ("BlackRock"). BlackRock and its affiliates had approximately $4.52 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2014.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of up to 0.45% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for the Portfolio such that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding certain Portfolio expenses) do not exceed 0.25%. The following expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation: (i) interest, taxes, dividends tied to short sales, brokerage commissions, and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) expenses incurred directly or indirectly by the Portfolio as a result of investments in other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles; (iii) other expenses attributable to, and incurred as a result of, the Portfolio's investments; (iv) Distribution and Servicing (12b-1) Fees; and (v) other extraordinary expenses (including litigation expenses) not incurred in the ordinary course of the Portfolio's business, if any) of the Bedford Shares of the Portfolio. (Items (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) in the preceding sentence are referred to in this Prospectus as "Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses"). The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. Because Distribution and Service (12b-1) fees and certain other Portfolio expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation, net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are expected to exceed the contractual limitation. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Portfolio paid advisory fees, after waivers, of 0.06% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 0.39% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets in investment advisory fees from the Portfolio.
In addition to the contractual limitation, BALLC has also voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its fees and/or reimburse expenses to enable the Portfolio to maintain minimum levels of daily net asset investment income. BALLC may discontinue this waiver and/or reimbursement at any time without notice.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Portfolio's investment advisory agreement with BALLC is available in the Portfolio's annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Portfolio's underlying investments is available in the SAI.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing Shares
BNY Mellon determines the Portfolio's NAV per share daily at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, each day on which both the NYSE and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (the "FRB") are open. These entities are generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. Currently, the only days on which the NYSE is open and the FRB is closed are Columbus Day and Veterans Day and the only day on which the NYSE is closed and the FRB is open is Good Friday. The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. The NAV is calculated by dividing the Portfolio's total assets, less its liabilities, by the number of shares outstanding. The Portfolio values its securities on the basis of the amortized cost method. This method values a Portfolio holding initially at its cost and then assumes a constant amortization to maturity of any discount or premium. The amortized cost method ignores any impact of changing interest rates.
During certain emergency closings of the NYSE, however, the Portfolio may open for business if it can maintain its operations. In this event, the Portfolio will determine its NAV as described above. To determine if the Portfolio is open for business on a day the NYSE is closed for an emergency, please contact us by calling the telephone number listed on the last page of this prospectus.
On any business day when the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") recommends that the securities markets close early, the Portfolio reserves the right to close at or prior to SIFMA's recommended closing time. If the Portfolio does so, the Transfer Agent will process purchase orders and redemption requests received after the Portfolio's closing time on the next business day. In 2015, SIFMA recommends a 2:00 p.m. close on April 2, May 22, July 2, November 27, December 24 and December 31.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by the Company's Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Excessive short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Portfolio performance and result in dilution in the value of Portfolio Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Portfolio Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Portfolio Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise their right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company or the Adviser, has been or may be disruptive to the Portfolio. 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 Portfolio and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Portfolio and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Portfolio shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Portfolio. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
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Purchase of Shares
General. You may purchase Bedford Shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm (the "Account") and you may also purchase Shares directly by mail or wire. The minimum initial investment is $1,000, and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. The Company in its sole discretion may accept or reject any order for purchases of Bedford Shares.
Purchases will be effected at the NAV next determined after BNY Mellon, the Company's Transfer Agent and administrative and accounting agent, has received a purchase order in good order and the Company's custodian has Federal Funds immediately available to it. In those cases where payment is made by check, Federal Funds will generally become available two business days after the check is received. A "business day" is any day that both the NYSE and the FRB are open. On any business day, orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and orders as to which payment has been converted into Federal Funds by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, will be executed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that business day. Orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, and orders as to which payment has been converted to Federal Funds after the close of regular trading on the NYSE on a business day will be processed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the following business day. The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Purchases through an Account. Purchases of Bedford Shares may be effected through an Account with your broker through procedures and requirements established by your broker. In such event, beneficial ownership of Bedford Shares will be recorded by your broker and will be reflected in the Account statements provided to you by your broker. Your broker may impose minimum investment Account requirements. Even if your broker does not impose a sales charge for purchases of Bedford Shares, depending on the terms of your Account with your broker, the broker may charge to your Account fees for automatic investment and other services provided to your Account. Information concerning Account requirements, services and charges should be obtained from your broker, and you should read this prospectus in conjunction with any information received from your broker. Shares are held in the street name account of your broker and if you desire to transfer such shares to the street name account of another broker, you should contact your current broker.
A broker with whom you maintain an Account may offer you the ability to purchase Bedford Shares under an automatic purchase program (a "Purchase Program") established by a participating broker. If you participate in a Purchase Program, then you will have your "free-credit" cash balances in your Account automatically invested in Shares of the Bedford Class. The frequency of investments and the minimum investment requirement will be established by the broker and the Company. In addition, the broker may require a minimum amount of cash and/or securities to be deposited in your Account to participate in its Purchase Program. The description of the particular broker's Purchase Program should be read for details, and any inquiries concerning your Account under a Purchase Program should be directed to your broker.
If your broker makes special arrangements under which orders for Bedford Shares are received by BNY Mellon prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and your broker guarantees that payment for such Shares will be made in available Federal Funds to the Company's custodian prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on the same day, such purchase orders will be effective and Shares will be purchased at the offering price in effect as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the date the purchase order is received by BNY Mellon. Otherwise, if the broker has not made such an arrangement, pricing of Shares will occur as described above under "General."
Direct Purchases. You may also make direct investments at any time in the Bedford Class through any broker-dealer (a "Dealer") that has entered into a dealer agreement with the Company's distributor, Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor"). You may make an initial investment in the Bedford Class by mail by fully completing and signing an application obtained from a Dealer (the "Application"), and mailing it, together with a check payable to "The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class)," to Bedford Money Market Portfolio, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
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(Bedford Class), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. The Application will be returned to you unless it contains the name of the Dealer from whom you obtained it. Subsequent purchases may be made through a Dealer or by forwarding payment to the Company's transfer agent at the foregoing address.
Provided that your investment is at least $2,500, you may also purchase Shares by having your bank or Dealer wire Federal Funds to the Company's custodian, The Bank of New York Mellon ("BNY"). Your bank or Dealer may impose a charge for this service. The Company does not currently charge for effecting wire transfers but reserves the right to do so in the future. In order to ensure prompt receipt of your Federal Funds wire, for an initial investment, it is important that you follow these steps:
A. Telephone the Company's transfer agent, BNY Mellon, toll-free at (800) 888-9723 and provide your name, address, telephone number, social security or tax identification number, the amount being wired, and by which bank or Dealer. BNY Mellon will then provide you with an account number. (If you have an existing account, you should also notify BNY Mellon prior to wiring funds.)
B. Fully complete and sign the Application and mail it to the address shown thereon. BNY Mellon will not process initial purchases until it receives a fully completed and signed Application.
For subsequent investments, you should follow steps A and B above.
Good Order. A request to purchase Shares of the Portfolio is in good order if it includes the name of the Portfolio, the dollar amount or number of Shares to be purchased, and a completed Application (initial direct investment through a Dealer). Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Retirement Plans. Bedford Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact your broker. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with your tax advisor.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Portfolio may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Portfolio will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Portfolio that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividends, subscriptions, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Portfolio and must be delivered to the Portfolio by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Portfolio will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Portfolio and
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satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Portfolio.
Redemption of Shares
General. Redemption orders are effected at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of the order in good order by the Transfer Agent. The Portfolio generally calculates its NAV once daily at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on each day on which both the NYSE and the FRB are open. You may redeem all or some of your Shares in accordance with one of the procedures described below.
Redemption of Shares in an Account. If you beneficially own Bedford Shares through an Account, you may redeem Bedford Shares in your Account in accordance with instructions and limitations pertaining to your Account by contacting your broker. If the redemption request is received by BNY Mellon by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on any business day, the redemption will be effective as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that day. Payment of the redemption proceeds will be made after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the day the redemption is effected, provided that the Company's custodian is open for business. If the custodian is not open, payment will be made on the next bank business day. If all of your Shares are redeemed, all accrued but unpaid dividends on those Shares will be paid with the redemption proceeds.
Your brokerage firm may also redeem each day a sufficient number of Shares of the Bedford Class to cover debit balances created by transactions in your Account or instructions for cash disbursements. Shares will be redeemed on the same day that a transaction occurs that results in such a debit balance or charge.
Each brokerage firm reserves the right to waive or modify criteria for participation in an Account or to terminate participation in an Account for any reason.
Redemption of Shares Owned Directly. If you own Shares directly, you may redeem any number of Shares by sending a written request to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class), c/o BNY Mellon Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. It is recommended that such requests be sent by registered or certified mail if share certificates accompany the request. Redemption requests must be signed by each shareholder in the same manner as the Shares are registered. Redemption requests for joint accounts require the signature of each joint owner. On redemption requests of $5,000 or more, each signature must be guaranteed. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A medallion imprint or medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized medallion programs are Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program ("STAMP"), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program ("SEMP") and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program ("MSP"). Signature guarantees that are not part of these programs will not be accepted.
If you are a direct investor, you may redeem your Shares without charge by telephone if you have completed and returned an Application containing the appropriate telephone election. To add a telephone option to an existing account that previously did not provide for this option, you must submit a Telephone Authorization Form to BNY Mellon. This form is available from BNY Mellon. Once this election has been made, you may simply contact BNY Mellon by telephone to request the redemption by calling (800) 888-9723. Neither the Company, the Distributor, the Portfolio, BNY Mellon nor any other Company agent will be liable for any loss, liability, cost or expense for following the procedures below or for following instructions communicated by telephone that they reasonably believe to be genuine.
The Company's telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, and the account social security number, all of which must match the Company's records; (3) requiring the Company's service
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representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (5) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five business days of the call; and (6) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than the Distributor), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners or other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by attorney-in-fact under power of attorney.
Proceeds of a telephone redemption request will be mailed by check to your registered address unless you have designated in your Application or Telephone Authorization Form that such proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer to a specified checking or savings account. If proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer, a telephone redemption request received prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE will result in redemption proceeds being wired to your bank account on the next day that a wire transfer can be effected. The minimum redemption for proceeds sent by wire transfer is $2,500. There is no maximum for proceeds sent by wire transfer. The Company may modify this redemption service at any time or charge a service fee upon prior notice to shareholders. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder.
Redemption by Check. If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your Account, the Company will provide to you forms of drafts ("checks") payable through BNY. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, your broker may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and then forward such signature cards to BNY Mellon. BNY Mellon will then arrange for the checks to be honored by BNY. If you own Shares through an Account, you should contact your broker for signature cards. Investors with joint accounts may elect to have checks honored with a single signature. Check redemptions will be subject to BNY rules governing checks. An investor will be able to stop payment on a check redemption. The Company or BNY may terminate this redemption service at any time, and neither shall incur any liability for honoring checks, for effecting redemptions to pay checks, or for returning checks which have not been accepted.
When a check is presented to BNY for clearance, BNY, as your agent, will cause the Company to redeem a sufficient number of your full and fractional Shares to cover the amount of the check. Pursuant to rules under the 1940 Act, checks may not be presented for cash payment at the offices of BNY. This limitation does not affect checks used for the payment of bills or cash at other banks.
Additional Redemption Information. The Company ordinarily will make payment for all Shares redeemed within seven days after receipt by BNY Mellon of a redemption request in good order. Although the Company will redeem Shares purchased by check before the check clears, payment of the redemption proceeds may be delayed for a period of up to fifteen days after their purchase, pending a determination that the check has cleared. This procedure does not apply to Shares purchased by wire payment. You should consider purchasing Shares using a certified or bank check or money order if you anticipate an immediate need for redemption proceeds. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Portfolio may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
The Company does not impose a charge when Shares are redeemed. The Company reserves the right to redeem any account in the Bedford Class involuntarily, on thirty days' notice, if such account falls below $500 and during such 30-day notice period the amount invested in such account is not increased to at least $500. Payment for Shares redeemed may be postponed or the right of redemption suspended as provided by the rules of the SEC.
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If the Company's Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interest of the remaining shareholders of the Portfolio to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Portfolio instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of investment securities so received in payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Portfolio is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio.
In the event of a determination by the Company's Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 22e-3 under the 1940 Act (i.e. that a deviation between the Portfolio's amortized cost price per share and its current NAV per share using available market quotations may result in a material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders), the Portfolio may suspend redemptions and postpone payment of redemption proceeds in order to facilitate an orderly liquidation of the Portfolio.
The Portfolio may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Portfolio you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Dividends and Distributions
The Company will distribute substantially all of the net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, of the Portfolio to shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Bedford Class unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The net investment income (not including any net realized capital gains) earned by the Portfolio will be declared as a dividend on a daily basis and paid monthly. Dividends are payable to shareholders of record as of the determination of NAV made as of 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) each day. Shares will begin accruing dividends on the day the purchase order for the Shares is effected and continue to accrue dividends through the day before such Shares are redeemed. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed at least annually.
Taxes
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to shareholders. It is expected that all, or substantially all, of these distributions will consist of ordinary income. You will be subject to income tax on these distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. The Portfolio contemplates declaring as dividends each year all or substantially all of its net taxable income. The one major exception to these tax principles is that distributions on Shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such Shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Dividends declared in October, November or December of any year that are payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such months will be deemed to have been received by shareholders and paid by the Portfolio on December 31 of such year if such dividends are actually paid during January of the following year.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax will be imposed on certain net investment income (including distributions received from the Portfolio) of individuals, estates and trusts to the extent "modified adjusted gross income" (in the case of an individual) or "adjusted gross income" (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold amount.
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The Portfolio will be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the Internal Revenue Service a percentage of taxable dividends or gross sale proceeds paid to any shareholder who (i) has failed to provide a correct tax identification number, (ii) is subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly include on his or her return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or (iii) has failed to certify to the Portfolio that he or she is not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that he or she is an "exempt recipient." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. For taxable years of the Portfolio beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Portfolio's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Portfolio are exempt from the 30% withholding tax.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Portfolio is effectively connected with that trade or business, or a foreign individual investor is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year, then the foreign investor's income from the Portfolio will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Portfolio will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Portfolio.
The foregoing is only a summary of certain U.S. tax considerations under the current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Shareholders may also be subject to state and local taxes on distributions. Except where otherwise noted, the summary assumes you are a U.S. citizen or resident or otherwise subject to U.S. federal income tax. Shareholders who are nonresident aliens, foreign trusts or estates, or foreign corporations or partnerships may be subject to different United States federal income tax treatment. You should consult your tax advisor for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
14
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
Bedford Shares of the Portfolio are sold without a sales load on a continuous basis by the Distributor, whose principal business address is at 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Casset Road, Berwyn, PA 19312.
The Board of Directors of the Company approved a Distribution Agreement and adopted a separate Plan of Distribution for the Bedford Class (the "Plan") pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Distributor is entitled to receive from the Bedford Class a distribution fee, which is accrued daily and paid monthly, of up to 0.65% on an annualized basis of the average daily net assets of the Bedford Class. The actual amount of such compensation is agreed upon from time to time by the Company's Board of Directors and the Distributor. Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor has agreed to accept compensation for its services thereunder and under the Plan in the amount of 0.65% of the average daily net assets of the Bedford Class on an annualized basis in any year. The Distributor may, in its discretion, voluntarily waive from time to time all or any portion of its distribution fee. Effective March 13, 2009, the Distributor has agreed to voluntarily waive a portion of the Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees to the extent necessary to maintain a minimum annualized net yield greater than 0.00%.
Under the Distribution Agreement and the Plan, the Distributor may reallocate an amount up to the full fee that it receives to financial institutions, including broker-dealers, based upon the aggregate investment amounts maintained by and services provided to shareholders of the Bedford Class serviced by such financial institutions. The Distributor may also reimburse broker-dealers for other expenses incurred in the promotion of the sale of Bedford Shares. The broker-dealers pay for the cost of printing (excluding typesetting) and mailing to prospective investors prospectuses and other materials relating to the Bedford Class as well as for related direct mail, advertising and promotional expenses.
The Plan obligates the Company, during the period it is in effect, to accrue and pay to the Distributor on behalf of the Bedford Class the fee agreed to under the Distribution Agreement. Payments under the Plan are not based on expenses actually incurred by the Distributor, and the payments may exceed distribution expenses actually incurred. Because these fees are paid out of the Portfolio's assets on an on-going basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR TO MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE PORTFOLIO'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH INFORMATION OR REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
15
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Bedford Share. The term "Total Return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Portfolio's financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") the Portfolio's independent registered public accounting firm, for each of the four fiscal years in the period ended August 31, 2014, and by the Portfolio's former independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2010. This information should be read in conjunction with the Portfolio's financial statements which, together with PwC's report, are included in the Portfolio's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
Financial Highlights
(For a Bedford Share Outstanding Throughout Each Year)
Money Market Portfolio
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Income from investment operations: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
0.0002 |
0.0001 |
0.0003 |
0.0002 |
0.0003 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net gains (losses) on securities |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|||||||||||||
Total net income from investment
operations |
0.0002 |
0.0001 |
0.0003 |
0.0002 |
0.0003 |
||||||||||||||||||
Less dividends and distributions: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends (from net investment income) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0001 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net Realized Gains |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Total Dividends and Distributions to
Shareholders |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0001 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Total Return |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year (000's omitted) |
$ |
577,281 |
$ |
655,312 |
$ |
641,711 |
$ |
721,145 |
$ |
593,570 |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of expenses to average net assets (b) |
0.18 |
% |
0.24 |
% |
0.25 |
% |
0.27 |
% |
0.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of net investment income to average
net assets |
0.02 |
% |
0.01 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
(a) Amount is less than $0.00005 per share.
(b) Without the waiver of advisory fees, distribution fees and/or reimbursement of certain operating expenses, the ratios of expenses to average net assets for the Bedford Class of the Money Market Portfolio would have been 1.14%, 1.15%, 1.15%, 1.12% and 1.18% for the years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
16
THE BEDFORD SHARES OF THE
Money Market Portfolio
1-800-888-9723
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
This prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Bedford Shares of The RBB Money Market Portfolio is available free of charge upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Portfolio's investments, describe the Portfolio's performance and list its holdings.
Statement of Additional Information
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Portfolio, and the Portfolio's annual and semi-annual reports are not available on the Adviser's website because copies may be obtained free of charge, by calling (800) 888-9723. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus (and is legally considered a part of this prospectus).
Shareholder Account Service Representatives
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (800) 888-9723.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call your broker or (800) 888-9723.
Written Correspondence
Bedford Shares
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Portfolio, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov . You may also obtain copies of Portfolio documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors LLC
100 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Transfer Agent
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Principal Underwriter
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC
400 Berwyn Park
899 Cassatt Road
Berwyn, PA 19312
Custodian
The Bank of New York Mellon
One Wall Street
New York, NY 10286
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700
2001 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042
Counsel
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
One Logan Square, Ste. 2000
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996
The Bedford
Class
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Money Market Portfolio
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
An investment in the Portfolio is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it's possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Portfolio. It is not authorized for distribution unless preceded or accompanied by a prospectus for the Portfolio.
Prospectus
Aston Money Market Fund
Bedford Shares of the Money Market Portfolio*
Ticker - BDMXX
December 31, 2014
A diversified, actively managed fund family with a process-driven approach to investing.
* A money market portfolio of The RBB Fund, Inc. offered in connection with the Aston Funds
NOT FDIC INSURED. NO BANK GUARANTEE. MAY LOSE VALUE.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these or any mutual fund's shares or determined if this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a crime.
ATN BED MMF 14
THE BEDFORD SHARES OF THE
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Ticker: BDMXX
This prospectus gives vital information about this money market mutual fund, advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC ("BALLC" or the "Adviser"), including information on investment policies, risks and fees. For your own benefit and protection, please read it before you invest and keep it on hand for future reference.
Please note that the Money Market Portfolio:
n is not a bank deposit;
n is not federally insured;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed by The Bank of New York Mellon or any other bank;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed or otherwise supported by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other governmental agency;
n is not guaranteed to achieve its goals; and
n may not be able to maintain a stable $1 share price and you may lose money.
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
PROSPECTUS December 31, 2014
THE RBB FUND, INC.
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
Bedford Shares Ticker Symbol: BDMXX
Sansom Street Shares Ticker Symbol: SANXX
Supplement dated December 31, 2014 to the
Bedford Class and Sansom Street Class Prospectuses, and
Statement of Additional Information, each dated December 31, 2014
THIS SUPPLEMENT CONTAINS NEW AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BEYOND THAT CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
On December 5, 2014, the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Board") approved a plan of liquidation and termination for the Money Market Portfolio (the "Fund"). Effective December 5, 2014, new account requests, exchanges into the Fund and purchase orders will no longer be permissible (other than those purchase orders received through dividend reinvestment).
On or about January 30, 2015 (the "Liquidation Date"), the Fund will redeem all investors' shares at net asset value, and the Fund will terminate. Investors holding shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will receive cash representing proceeds from the redemption. Absent other instructions or direction from the broker-dealer of record, the cash proceeds will be distributed by mailing a check to each investor of record at such investor's address of record. Prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will begin liquidating securities and the Fund may invest all or part of the proceeds from the liquidation of portfolio securities in cash equivalent instruments or hold the proceeds in cash. During this time, the Fund may not achieve its investment goal.
Until the Liquidation Date, investors may redeem their shares in the manner set forth in the Fund's current Prospectus. The redemption of your shares will generally be considered a taxable event.
For federal income tax purposes, the tax treatment to investors of the receipt of the liquidating distribution on the Liquidation Date will be the same as would be the tax treatment of a redemption of shares on that date. You may also be subject to state, local or foreign taxes on redemptions or liquidations of Fund shares. The foregoing is only a summary of certain tax considerations under current law, which may change in the future. You should consult your tax adviser for information regarding all tax consequences applicable to your investment in the Fund.
Please retain this Supplement for future reference.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the goals, strategies, risks, expenses and financial history of the portfolio.
Details about the service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in the portfolio.
Details on the distribution plan.
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
6 |
||||||
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT |
7 |
||||||
Investment Adviser |
7 |
||||||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
7 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
8 |
||||||
Pricing Shares |
8 |
||||||
Market Timing |
8 |
||||||
Purchase of Shares |
9 |
||||||
Redemption of Shares |
11 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
13 |
||||||
Taxes |
13 |
||||||
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS |
15 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
16 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
i
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Goal
The Money Market Portfolio (the "Portfolio") of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") seeks to generate current income, to provide you with liquidity and to protect your investment.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Bedford Shares of the Portfolio.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of your investment)
Management Fees 1 |
0.41 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
0.65 |
% |
|||||
Other Expenses |
0.08 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
1.14 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements 1 |
(0.24 |
)% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements |
0.90 |
% |
1. Management fees include investment advisory and administration fees. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit the Portfolio's Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses) to 0.25%. Because Distribution and Service (12b-1) fees and certain other Portfolio expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation, net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are expected to exceed the contractual limitation. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015.
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Bedford Shares |
$ |
92 |
$ |
338 |
$ |
604 |
$ |
1,365 |
1
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio invests in a diversified investment portfolio of short term, high quality, U.S. dollar-denominated instruments, including government, bank, commercial and other obligations.
Specifically, the Portfolio may invest in:
• U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions with total assets of more than $1 billion (including obligations of foreign branches of such banks).
• High quality commercial paper and other obligations issued or guaranteed (or otherwise supported) by U.S. and foreign corporations and other issuers rated (at the time of purchase) A-2 or higher by Standard and Poor's ® , Prime-2 or higher by Moody's Investor's Service, Inc. or F-2 or higher by Fitch, Inc., as well as high quality corporate bonds rated AA (or Aa) or higher at the time of purchase by those rating agencies. These ratings must be provided by at least two rating agencies, or by the only rating agency providing a rating.
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments that are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality to the instruments described above.
• Asset-backed securities (including interests in pools of assets such as mortgages, installment purchase obligations and credit card receivables).
• Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by its agencies or authorities.
• Dollar-denominated securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their political subdivisions, agencies or authorities.
• Securities issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies.
• Repurchase agreements relating to the above instruments.
The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. At least 25% of the Portfolio's total assets will be invested in banking obligations.
Principal Risks
• The value of money market investments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market investments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities.
• The Portfolio's investment securities may not earn as high a level of income as longer-term or lower quality securities, which generally have greater risk and more fluctuation in value.
• The Portfolio's concentration of its investments in the banking industry could increase risks. The profitability of banks depends largely on the availability and cost of funds, which can change depending upon economic conditions. Banks are also exposed to losses if borrowers get into financial trouble and cannot repay their loans.
• The obligations of foreign banks and other foreign issuers may involve certain risks in addition to those of domestic issuers, including higher transaction costs, less complete financial information, political and economic instability, less stringent regulatory requirements and less market liquidity.
2
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments may be subject to the risk that an issuer may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal.
• The obligations issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies may be issued by entities in the same state and may have interest which is paid from revenues of similar projects. As a result, changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular state or types of projects may impact the Portfolio.
• Treasury obligations differ only in their interest rates, maturities and time of issuance. These differences could result in fluctuations in the value of such securities depending upon the market. Obligations of U.S. government agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees of credit. The U.S. government gives no assurances that it will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so. Default in these issuers could negatively impact the Portfolio.
• In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchange's minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is remains unclear.
• The Portfolio's investment in asset-backed securities may be negatively impacted by interest rate fluctuations or when an issuer pays principal on an obligation held by the Portfolio earlier or later than expected. These events may affect their value and the return on your investment.
• The Portfolio could lose money if a seller under a repurchase agreement defaults or declares bankruptcy.
• The Portfolio may purchase variable and floating rate instruments. Like all debt instruments, their value is dependent on the credit paying ability of the issuer. If the issuer were unable to make interest payments or default, the value of the securities would decline. The absence of an active market for these securities could make it difficult to dispose of them if the issuer defaults.
Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio. When you invest in the Portfolio you are not making a bank deposit. Your investment is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any bank or governmental agency.
Performance Information
The chart and table below illustrate the variability of the Portfolio's long-term performance for Bedford Shares. The information shows you how the Portfolio's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart and the table both assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Portfolio's performance would be reduced. Effective May 28, 2010, Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") was amended to impose new liquidity, credit quality and maturity requirements on all money market funds. Fund performance shown prior to May 28, 2010 is based on 1940 Act rules then in effect and is not an indication of future returns.
3
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
1.26 |
% |
(quarter ended September 30, 2006) |
||||||||
Worst Quarter: |
0 |
% |
(quarter ended March 31, 2010) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 0.02%
Average Annual Total Returns for the Years Ended December 31, 2013
The table below shows the Portfolio's average annual total returns for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and the past ten calendar years. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Money Market Portfolio |
0.01 |
% |
0.06 |
% |
1.41 |
% |
Current Yield: The seven-day yield for the period ended December 31, 2013 for the Portfolio was 0.033%. You may call (800) 888-9723 to obtain the current seven-day yield of the Portfolio.
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors, LLC
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $1,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
4
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Portfolio on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Purchases of Bedford Shares may be effected through an account with your broker-dealer through procedures and requirements established by your broker. Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through the Company by the means described below.
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9841 Providence, RI 02940-8041 |
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Purchase by Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-800-888-9723 to confirm the current wire instructions for The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class).
Redemption By Telephone:
If you selected the option on your account application, you may call the Portfolio's transfer agent at (800)-888-9723.
Redemption by Check:
If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your Account, the Company will provide to you forms of drafts ("checks") payable through The Bank of New York Mellon. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, your broker may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and then forward such signature cards to BNY Mellon.
Taxes
The Portfolio intends to make distributions that will generally be taxed as ordinary income.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
The Company's Board of Directors can change the investment goal of the Portfolio without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be given notice before any such change is made.
The Portfolio is required to comply with SEC requirements with respect to the liquidity of the Portfolio's investments. Specifically, the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 10% of its total assets in "daily liquid assets" and the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 30% of its total assets in "weekly liquid assets." Daily liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities and securities (including repurchase agreements) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within one business day. Weekly liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities, agency discount notes with remaining maturities of 60 days or less and securities (including time deposits) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within five business days. In addition, the Portfolio's investments in illiquid securities will be limited to 5% of the Portfolio's total assets.
Under guidelines established by the Company's Board of Directors, the Portfolio will only purchase securities if such securities or their issuers have (or such securities are guaranteed or otherwise supported by entities which have) short-term debt ratings at the time of purchase in one of the two highest rating categories from at least two nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations ("NRSRO"), or one such rating if the security is rated by only one NRSRO. Securities that are unrated must be determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. Also, the Portfolio will be prohibited from (i) investing more than 3% of total assets in second-tier securities, (ii) investing more than 1/2 of 1% of total assets in second-tier securities issued by any single issuer, and (iii) acquiring second-tier securities with a remaining maturity of more than 45 days.
The dollar-weighted average maturity of all the investments of the Portfolio will be 60 days or less and the dollar-weighted average life of all of the investments of the Portfolio without regard to maturity shortening provisions applicable to variable and floating rate securities will be 120 days or less. Only those securities which have remaining maturities of 397 days or less (except for certain variable and floating rate instruments and securities collateralizing repurchase agreements) will be purchased.
On July 23, 2014, the SEC voted to amend the rules under the 1940 Act which currently govern the operations of the Portfolio. A significant change resulting from these amendments is a requirement that institutional prime money market funds, including institutional municipal money market funds, transact fund shares based on a market-based NAV (i.e., these fund will be required to float their NAVs). Government and retail money market funds (as defined in the amendments) may continue to transact fund shares at a NAV calculated using the amortized cost valuation method. Among additional disclosure, reporting and other requirements, the amendments also will permit a money market fund, or, in certain circumstances, require a money market fund (other than a government money market fund) to impose liquidity fees on redemptions, and permit a money market fund to limit (or gate) redemptions for up to 10 business days in any 90-day period. The amendments have staggered compliance dates. Compliance with a majority of these amendments will be required on October 14, 2016, two years after the effective date of the amendments. The degree to which a money market fund will be impacted by the rule amendments will depend upon the type of fund and type of investors (retail or institutional). At this time, management is evaluating the implications of these amendments and their impact on the Portfolio's operations.
6
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
BALLC, a registered investment adviser, was organized in 1994 to perform advisory services for investment companies. BALLC, which has its principal offices at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 has served as the Portfolio's investment adviser since June 30, 2011. Prior thereto, BlackRock Institutional Management Corporation ("BIMC"), an affiliate of BALLC, served as the Portfolio's investment adviser. BALLC is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. ("BlackRock"). BlackRock and its affiliates had approximately $4.52 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2014.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of up to 0.45% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for the Portfolio such that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding certain Portfolio expenses) do not exceed 0.25%. The following expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation: (i) interest, taxes, dividends tied to short sales, brokerage commissions, and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) expenses incurred directly or indirectly by the Portfolio as a result of investments in other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles; (iii) other expenses attributable to, and incurred as a result of, the Portfolio's investments; (iv) Distribution and Servicing (12b-1) Fees; and (v) other extraordinary expenses (including litigation expenses) not incurred in the ordinary course of the Portfolio's business, if any) of the Bedford Shares of the Portfolio. (Items (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) in the preceding sentence are referred to in this Prospectus as "Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses"). The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. Because Distribution and Service (12b-1) fees and certain other Portfolio expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation, net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are expected to exceed the contractual limitation. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Portfolio paid advisory fees, after waivers, of 0.06% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 0.39% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets in investment advisory fees from the Portfolio.
In addition to the contractual limitation, BALLC has also voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its fees and/or reimburse expenses to enable the Portfolio to maintain minimum levels of daily net asset investment income. BALLC may discontinue this waiver and/or reimbursement at any time without notice.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Portfolio's investment advisory agreement with BALLC is available in the Portfolio's annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Portfolio's underlying investments is available in the SAI.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing Shares
BNY Mellon determines the Portfolio's NAV per share daily at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, each day on which both the NYSE and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (the "FRB") are open. These entities are generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. Currently, the only days on which the NYSE is open and the FRB is closed are Columbus Day and Veterans Day and the only day on which the NYSE is closed and the FRB is open is Good Friday. The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. The NAV is calculated by dividing the Portfolio's total assets, less its liabilities, by the number of shares outstanding. The Portfolio values its securities on the basis of the amortized cost method. This method values a Portfolio holding initially at its cost and then assumes a constant amortization to maturity of any discount or premium. The amortized cost method ignores any impact of changing interest rates.
During certain emergency closings of the NYSE, however, the Portfolio may open for business if it can maintain its operations. In this event, the Portfolio will determine its NAV as described above. To determine if the Portfolio is open for business on a day the NYSE is closed for an emergency, please contact us by calling the telephone number listed on the last page of this prospectus.
On any business day when the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") recommends that the securities markets close early, the Portfolio reserves the right to close at or prior to SIFMA's recommended closing time. If the Portfolio does so, the Transfer Agent will process purchase orders and redemption requests received after the Portfolio's closing time on the next business day. In 2015, SIFMA recommends a 2:00 p.m. close on April 2, May 22, July 2, November 27, December 24 and December 31.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by the Company's Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Excessive short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Portfolio performance and result in dilution in the value of Portfolio Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Portfolio Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Portfolio Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise their right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company or the Adviser, has been or may be disruptive to the Portfolio. 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 Portfolio and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Portfolio and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Portfolio shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Portfolio. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
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Purchase of Shares
General. You may purchase Bedford Shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm (the "Account") and you may also purchase Shares directly by mail or wire. The minimum initial investment is $1,000, and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. The Company in its sole discretion may accept or reject any order for purchases of Bedford Shares.
Purchases will be effected at the NAV next determined after BNY Mellon, the Company's Transfer Agent and administrative and accounting agent, has received a purchase order in good order and the Company's custodian has Federal Funds immediately available to it. In those cases where payment is made by check, Federal Funds will generally become available two business days after the check is received. A "business day" is any day that both the NYSE and the FRB are open. On any business day, orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and orders as to which payment has been converted into Federal Funds by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, will be executed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that business day. Orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, and orders as to which payment has been converted to Federal Funds after the close of regular trading on the NYSE on a business day will be processed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the following business day. The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Purchases through an Account. Purchases of Bedford Shares may be effected through an Account with your broker through procedures and requirements established by your broker. In such event, beneficial ownership of Bedford Shares will be recorded by your broker and will be reflected in the Account statements provided to you by your broker. Your broker may impose minimum investment Account requirements. Even if your broker does not impose a sales charge for purchases of Bedford Shares, depending on the terms of your Account with your broker, the broker may charge to your Account fees for automatic investment and other services provided to your Account. Information concerning Account requirements, services and charges should be obtained from your broker, and you should read this prospectus in conjunction with any information received from your broker. Shares are held in the street name account of your broker and if you desire to transfer such shares to the street name account of another broker, you should contact your current broker.
A broker with whom you maintain an Account may offer you the ability to purchase Bedford Shares under an automatic purchase program (a "Purchase Program") established by a participating broker. If you participate in a Purchase Program, then you will have your "free-credit" cash balances in your Account automatically invested in Shares of the Bedford Class. The frequency of investments and the minimum investment requirement will be established by the broker and the Company. In addition, the broker may require a minimum amount of cash and/or securities to be deposited in your Account to participate in its Purchase Program. The description of the particular broker's Purchase Program should be read for details, and any inquiries concerning your Account under a Purchase Program should be directed to your broker.
If your broker makes special arrangements under which orders for Bedford Shares are received by BNY Mellon prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and your broker guarantees that payment for such Shares will be made in available Federal Funds to the Company's custodian prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on the same day, such purchase orders will be effective and Shares will be purchased at the offering price in effect as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the date the purchase order is received by BNY Mellon. Otherwise, if the broker has not made such an arrangement, pricing of Shares will occur as described above under "General."
Direct Purchases. You may also make direct investments at any time in the Bedford Class through any broker-dealer (a "Dealer") that has entered into a dealer agreement with the Company's distributor, Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor"). You may make an initial investment in the Bedford Class by mail by fully completing and signing an application obtained from a Dealer (the "Application"), and mailing it, together with a check payable to "The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class)," to Bedford Money Market Portfolio, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
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(Bedford Class), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. The Application will be returned to you unless it contains the name of the Dealer from whom you obtained it. Subsequent purchases may be made through a Dealer or by forwarding payment to the Company's transfer agent at the foregoing address.
Provided that your investment is at least $2,500, you may also purchase Shares by having your bank or Dealer wire Federal Funds to the Company's custodian, The Bank of New York Mellon ("BNY"). Your bank or Dealer may impose a charge for this service. The Company does not currently charge for effecting wire transfers but reserves the right to do so in the future. In order to ensure prompt receipt of your Federal Funds wire, for an initial investment, it is important that you follow these steps:
A. Telephone the Company's transfer agent, BNY Mellon, toll-free at (800) 888-9723 and provide your name, address, telephone number, social security or tax identification number, the amount being wired, and by which bank or Dealer. BNY Mellon will then provide you with an account number. (If you have an existing account, you should also notify BNY Mellon prior to wiring funds.)
B. Fully complete and sign the Application and mail it to the address shown thereon. BNY Mellon will not process initial purchases until it receives a fully completed and signed Application.
For subsequent investments, you should follow steps A and B above.
Good Order. A request to purchase Shares of the Portfolio is in good order if it includes the name of the Portfolio, the dollar amount or number of Shares to be purchased, and a completed Application (initial direct investment through a Dealer). Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Retirement Plans. Bedford Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact your broker. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with your tax advisor.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Portfolio may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Portfolio will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Portfolio that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividends, subscriptions, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Portfolio and must be delivered to the Portfolio by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Portfolio will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Portfolio and
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satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Portfolio.
Redemption of Shares
General. Redemption orders are effected at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of the order in good order by the Transfer Agent. The Portfolio generally calculates its NAV once daily at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on each day on which both the NYSE and the FRB are open. You may redeem all or some of your Shares in accordance with one of the procedures described below.
Redemption of Shares in an Account. If you beneficially own Bedford Shares through an Account, you may redeem Bedford Shares in your Account in accordance with instructions and limitations pertaining to your Account by contacting your broker. If the redemption request is received by BNY Mellon by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on any business day, the redemption will be effective as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that day. Payment of the redemption proceeds will be made after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the day the redemption is effected, provided that the Company's custodian is open for business. If the custodian is not open, payment will be made on the next bank business day. If all of your Shares are redeemed, all accrued but unpaid dividends on those Shares will be paid with the redemption proceeds.
Your brokerage firm may also redeem each day a sufficient number of Shares of the Bedford Class to cover debit balances created by transactions in your Account or instructions for cash disbursements. Shares will be redeemed on the same day that a transaction occurs that results in such a debit balance or charge.
Each brokerage firm reserves the right to waive or modify criteria for participation in an Account or to terminate participation in an Account for any reason.
Redemption of Shares Owned Directly. If you own Shares directly, you may redeem any number of Shares by sending a written request to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class), c/o BNY Mellon Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. It is recommended that such requests be sent by registered or certified mail if share certificates accompany the request. Redemption requests must be signed by each shareholder in the same manner as the Shares are registered. Redemption requests for joint accounts require the signature of each joint owner. On redemption requests of $5,000 or more, each signature must be guaranteed. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A medallion imprint or medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized medallion programs are Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program ("STAMP"), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program ("SEMP") and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program ("MSP"). Signature guarantees that are not part of these programs will not be accepted.
If you are a direct investor, you may redeem your Shares without charge by telephone if you have completed and returned an Application containing the appropriate telephone election. To add a telephone option to an existing account that previously did not provide for this option, you must submit a Telephone Authorization Form to BNY Mellon. This form is available from BNY Mellon. Once this election has been made, you may simply contact BNY Mellon by telephone to request the redemption by calling (800) 888-9723. Neither the Company, the Distributor, the Portfolio, BNY Mellon nor any other Company agent will be liable for any loss, liability, cost or expense for following the procedures below or for following instructions communicated by telephone that they reasonably believe to be genuine.
The Company's telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, and the account social security number, all of which must match the Company's records; (3) requiring the Company's service
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representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (5) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five business days of the call; and (6) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than the Distributor), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners or other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by attorney-in-fact under power of attorney.
Proceeds of a telephone redemption request will be mailed by check to your registered address unless you have designated in your Application or Telephone Authorization Form that such proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer to a specified checking or savings account. If proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer, a telephone redemption request received prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE will result in redemption proceeds being wired to your bank account on the next day that a wire transfer can be effected. The minimum redemption for proceeds sent by wire transfer is $2,500. There is no maximum for proceeds sent by wire transfer. The Company may modify this redemption service at any time or charge a service fee upon prior notice to shareholders. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder.
Redemption by Check. If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your Account, the Company will provide to you forms of drafts ("checks") payable through BNY. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, your broker may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and then forward such signature cards to BNY Mellon. BNY Mellon will then arrange for the checks to be honored by BNY. If you own Shares through an Account, you should contact your broker for signature cards. Investors with joint accounts may elect to have checks honored with a single signature. Check redemptions will be subject to BNY rules governing checks. An investor will be able to stop payment on a check redemption. The Company or BNY may terminate this redemption service at any time, and neither shall incur any liability for honoring checks, for effecting redemptions to pay checks, or for returning checks which have not been accepted.
When a check is presented to BNY for clearance, BNY, as your agent, will cause the Company to redeem a sufficient number of your full and fractional Shares to cover the amount of the check. Pursuant to rules under the 1940 Act, checks may not be presented for cash payment at the offices of BNY. This limitation does not affect checks used for the payment of bills or cash at other banks.
Additional Redemption Information. The Company ordinarily will make payment for all Shares redeemed within seven days after receipt by BNY Mellon of a redemption request in good order. Although the Company will redeem Shares purchased by check before the check clears, payment of the redemption proceeds may be delayed for a period of up to fifteen days after their purchase, pending a determination that the check has cleared. This procedure does not apply to Shares purchased by wire payment. You should consider purchasing Shares using a certified or bank check or money order if you anticipate an immediate need for redemption proceeds. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Portfolio may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
The Company does not impose a charge when Shares are redeemed. The Company reserves the right to redeem any account in the Bedford Class involuntarily, on thirty days' notice, if such account falls below $500 and during such 30-day notice period the amount invested in such account is not increased to at least $500. Payment for Shares redeemed may be postponed or the right of redemption suspended as provided by the rules of the SEC.
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If the Company's Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interest of the remaining shareholders of the Portfolio to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Portfolio instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of investment securities so received in payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Portfolio is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio.
In the event of a determination by the Company's Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 22e-3 under the 1940 Act (i.e. that a deviation between the Portfolio's amortized cost price per share and its current NAV per share using available market quotations may result in a material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders), the Portfolio may suspend redemptions and postpone payment of redemption proceeds in order to facilitate an orderly liquidation of the Portfolio.
The Portfolio may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Portfolio you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Dividends and Distributions
The Company will distribute substantially all of the net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, of the Portfolio to shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Bedford Class unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The net investment income (not including any net realized capital gains) earned by the Portfolio will be declared as a dividend on a daily basis and paid monthly. Dividends are payable to shareholders of record as of the determination of NAV made as of 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) each day. Shares will begin accruing dividends on the day the purchase order for the Shares is effected and continue to accrue dividends through the day before such Shares are redeemed. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed at least annually.
Taxes
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to shareholders. It is expected that all, or substantially all, of these distributions will consist of ordinary income. You will be subject to income tax on these distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. The Portfolio contemplates declaring as dividends each year all or substantially all of its net taxable income. The one major exception to these tax principles is that distributions on Shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such Shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Dividends declared in October, November or December of any year that are payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such months will be deemed to have been received by shareholders and paid by the Portfolio on December 31 of such year if such dividends are actually paid during January of the following year.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax will be imposed on certain net investment income (including distributions received from the Portfolio) of individuals, estates and trusts to the extent "modified adjusted gross income" (in the case of an individual) or "adjusted gross income" (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold amount.
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The Portfolio will be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the Internal Revenue Service a percentage of taxable dividends or gross sale proceeds paid to any shareholder who (i) has failed to provide a correct tax identification number, (ii) is subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly include on his or her return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or (iii) has failed to certify to the Portfolio that he or she is not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that he or she is an "exempt recipient." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. For taxable years of the Portfolio beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Portfolio's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Portfolio are exempt from the 30% withholding tax.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Portfolio is effectively connected with that trade or business, or a foreign individual investor is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year, then the foreign investor's income from the Portfolio will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Portfolio will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Portfolio.
The foregoing is only a summary of certain U.S. tax considerations under the current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Shareholders may also be subject to state and local taxes on distributions. Except where otherwise noted, the summary assumes you are a U.S. citizen or resident or otherwise subject to U.S. federal income tax. Shareholders who are nonresident aliens, foreign trusts or estates, or foreign corporations or partnerships may be subject to different United States federal income tax treatment. You should consult your tax advisor for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
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DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
Bedford Shares of the Portfolio are sold without a sales load on a continuous basis by the Distributor, whose principal business address is at 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Casset Road, Berwyn, PA 19312.
The Board of Directors of the Company approved a Distribution Agreement and adopted a separate Plan of Distribution for the Bedford Class (the "Plan") pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Distributor is entitled to receive from the Bedford Class a distribution fee, which is accrued daily and paid monthly, of up to 0.65% on an annualized basis of the average daily net assets of the Bedford Class. The actual amount of such compensation is agreed upon from time to time by the Company's Board of Directors and the Distributor. Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor has agreed to accept compensation for its services thereunder and under the Plan in the amount of 0.65% of the average daily net assets of the Bedford Class on an annualized basis in any year. The Distributor may, in its discretion, voluntarily waive from time to time all or any portion of its distribution fee. Effective March 13, 2009, the Distributor has agreed to voluntarily waive a portion of the Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees to the extent necessary to maintain a minimum annualized net yield greater than 0.00%.
Under the Distribution Agreement and the Plan, the Distributor may reallocate an amount up to the full fee that it receives to financial institutions, including broker-dealers, based upon the aggregate investment amounts maintained by and services provided to shareholders of the Bedford Class serviced by such financial institutions. The Distributor may also reimburse broker-dealers for other expenses incurred in the promotion of the sale of Bedford Shares. The broker-dealers pay for the cost of printing (excluding typesetting) and mailing to prospective investors prospectuses and other materials relating to the Bedford Class as well as for related direct mail, advertising and promotional expenses.
The Plan obligates the Company, during the period it is in effect, to accrue and pay to the Distributor on behalf of the Bedford Class the fee agreed to under the Distribution Agreement. Payments under the Plan are not based on expenses actually incurred by the Distributor, and the payments may exceed distribution expenses actually incurred. Because these fees are paid out of the Portfolio's assets on an on-going basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR TO MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE PORTFOLIO'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH INFORMATION OR REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Bedford Share. The term "Total Return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Portfolio's financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") the Portfolio's independent registered public accounting firm, for each of the four fiscal years in the period ended August 31, 2014, and by the Portfolio's former independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2010. This information should be read in conjunction with the Portfolio's financial statements which, together with PwC's report, are included in the Portfolio's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
Financial Highlights
(For a Bedford Share Outstanding Throughout Each Year)
Money Market Portfolio
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Income from investment operations: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
0.0002 |
0.0001 |
0.0003 |
0.0002 |
0.0003 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net gains (losses) on securities |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|||||||||||||
Total net income from investment
operations |
0.0002 |
0.0001 |
0.0003 |
0.0002 |
0.0003 |
||||||||||||||||||
Less dividends and distributions: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends (from net investment income) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0001 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net Realized Gains |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Total Dividends and Distributions to
Shareholders |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0001 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Total Return |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year (000's omitted) |
$ |
577,281 |
$ |
655,312 |
$ |
641,711 |
$ |
721,145 |
$ |
593,570 |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of expenses to average net assets (b) |
0.18 |
% |
0.24 |
% |
0.25 |
% |
0.27 |
% |
0.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of net investment income to average
net assets |
0.02 |
% |
0.01 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
(a) Amount is less than $0.00005 per share.
(b) Without the waiver of advisory fees, distribution fees and/or reimbursement of certain operating expenses, the ratios of expenses to average net assets for the Bedford Class of the Money Market Portfolio would have been 1.14%, 1.15%, 1.15%, 1.12% and 1.18% for the years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
16
THE BEDFORD SHARES OF THE
Money Market Portfolio
1-800-888-9723
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
This prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Bedford Shares of The RBB Money Market Portfolio is available free of charge upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Portfolio's investments, describe the Portfolio's performance and list its holdings.
Statement of Additional Information
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Portfolio, and the Portfolio's annual and semi-annual reports are not available on the Adviser's website because copies may be obtained free of charge, by calling (800) 888-9723. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus (and is legally considered a part of this prospectus).
Shareholder Account Service Representatives
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (800) 888-9723.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call your broker or (800) 888-9723.
Written Correspondence
Bedford Shares
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Portfolio, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov . You may also obtain copies of Portfolio documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors LLC
100 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Transfer Agent
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Principal Underwriter
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC
400 Berwyn Park
899 Cassatt Road
Berwyn, PA 19312
Custodian
The Bank of New York Mellon
One Wall Street
New York, NY 10286
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700
2001 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042
Counsel
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
One Logan Square, Ste. 2000
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996
The Bedford
Class
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Money Market Portfolio
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
An investment in the Portfolio is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it's possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Portfolio. It is not authorized for distribution unless preceded or accompanied by a prospectus for the Portfolio.
Aston Funds
P.O. Box 9765
Providence, RI 02940
Aston Funds Investor Information
Shareholder Services
Telephone
800-992-8151
Standard Mail
Aston Funds
P.O. Box 9765
Providence, RI 02940
Overnight Mail
Aston Funds
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Web Site
www.astonfunds.com
Investment Company Act file number 811-05518
Bedford Shares
of The RBB Money Market Portfolio
Managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
www.sharebuilder.com
Capital One ShareBuilder, Inc. is a subsidiary of Capital One, Financial Corporation
THE BEDFORD SHARES OF THE
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Ticker: BDMXX
This prospectus gives vital information about this money market mutual fund, advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC ("BALLC" or the "Adviser"), including information on investment policies, risks and fees. For your own benefit and protection, please read it before you invest and keep it on hand for future reference.
Please note that the Money Market Portfolio:
n is not a bank deposit;
n is not federally insured;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed by The Bank of New York Mellon or any other bank;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed or otherwise supported by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other governmental agency;
n is not guaranteed to achieve its goals; and
n may not be able to maintain a stable $1 share price and you may lose money.
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
PROSPECTUS December 31, 2014
THE RBB FUND, INC.
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
Bedford Shares Ticker Symbol: BDMXX
Sansom Street Shares Ticker Symbol: SANXX
Supplement dated December 31, 2014 to the
Bedford Class and Sansom Street Class Prospectuses, and
Statement of Additional Information, each dated December 31, 2014
THIS SUPPLEMENT CONTAINS NEW AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BEYOND THAT CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
On December 5, 2014, the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Board") approved a plan of liquidation and termination for the Money Market Portfolio (the "Fund"). Effective December 5, 2014, new account requests, exchanges into the Fund and purchase orders will no longer be permissible (other than those purchase orders received through dividend reinvestment).
On or about January 30, 2015 (the "Liquidation Date"), the Fund will redeem all investors' shares at net asset value, and the Fund will terminate. Investors holding shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will receive cash representing proceeds from the redemption. Absent other instructions or direction from the broker-dealer of record, the cash proceeds will be distributed by mailing a check to each investor of record at such investor's address of record. Prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will begin liquidating securities and the Fund may invest all or part of the proceeds from the liquidation of portfolio securities in cash equivalent instruments or hold the proceeds in cash. During this time, the Fund may not achieve its investment goal.
Until the Liquidation Date, investors may redeem their shares in the manner set forth in the Fund's current Prospectus. The redemption of your shares will generally be considered a taxable event.
For federal income tax purposes, the tax treatment to investors of the receipt of the liquidating distribution on the Liquidation Date will be the same as would be the tax treatment of a redemption of shares on that date. You may also be subject to state, local or foreign taxes on redemptions or liquidations of Fund shares. The foregoing is only a summary of certain tax considerations under current law, which may change in the future. You should consult your tax adviser for information regarding all tax consequences applicable to your investment in the Fund.
Please retain this Supplement for future reference.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the goals, strategies, risks, expenses and financial history of the portfolio.
Details about the service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in the portfolio.
Details on the distribution plan.
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
6 |
||||||
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT |
7 |
||||||
Investment Adviser |
7 |
||||||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
7 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
8 |
||||||
Pricing Shares |
8 |
||||||
Market Timing |
8 |
||||||
Purchase of Shares |
9 |
||||||
Redemption of Shares |
11 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
13 |
||||||
Taxes |
13 |
||||||
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS |
15 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
16 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
i
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Goal
The Money Market Portfolio (the "Portfolio") of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") seeks to generate current income, to provide you with liquidity and to protect your investment.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Bedford Shares of the Portfolio.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of your investment)
Management Fees 1 |
0.41 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
0.65 |
% |
|||||
Other Expenses |
0.08 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
1.14 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements 1 |
(0.24 |
)% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements |
0.90 |
% |
1. Management fees include investment advisory and administration fees. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit the Portfolio's Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses) to 0.25%. Because Distribution and Service (12b-1) fees and certain other Portfolio expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation, net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are expected to exceed the contractual limitation. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015.
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Bedford Shares |
$ |
92 |
$ |
338 |
$ |
604 |
$ |
1,365 |
1
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio invests in a diversified investment portfolio of short term, high quality, U.S. dollar-denominated instruments, including government, bank, commercial and other obligations.
Specifically, the Portfolio may invest in:
• U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions with total assets of more than $1 billion (including obligations of foreign branches of such banks).
• High quality commercial paper and other obligations issued or guaranteed (or otherwise supported) by U.S. and foreign corporations and other issuers rated (at the time of purchase) A-2 or higher by Standard and Poor's ® , Prime-2 or higher by Moody's Investor's Service, Inc. or F-2 or higher by Fitch, Inc., as well as high quality corporate bonds rated AA (or Aa) or higher at the time of purchase by those rating agencies. These ratings must be provided by at least two rating agencies, or by the only rating agency providing a rating.
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments that are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality to the instruments described above.
• Asset-backed securities (including interests in pools of assets such as mortgages, installment purchase obligations and credit card receivables).
• Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by its agencies or authorities.
• Dollar-denominated securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their political subdivisions, agencies or authorities.
• Securities issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies.
• Repurchase agreements relating to the above instruments.
The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. At least 25% of the Portfolio's total assets will be invested in banking obligations.
Principal Risks
• The value of money market investments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market investments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities.
• The Portfolio's investment securities may not earn as high a level of income as longer-term or lower quality securities, which generally have greater risk and more fluctuation in value.
• The Portfolio's concentration of its investments in the banking industry could increase risks. The profitability of banks depends largely on the availability and cost of funds, which can change depending upon economic conditions. Banks are also exposed to losses if borrowers get into financial trouble and cannot repay their loans.
• The obligations of foreign banks and other foreign issuers may involve certain risks in addition to those of domestic issuers, including higher transaction costs, less complete financial information, political and economic instability, less stringent regulatory requirements and less market liquidity.
2
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments may be subject to the risk that an issuer may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal.
• The obligations issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies may be issued by entities in the same state and may have interest which is paid from revenues of similar projects. As a result, changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular state or types of projects may impact the Portfolio.
• Treasury obligations differ only in their interest rates, maturities and time of issuance. These differences could result in fluctuations in the value of such securities depending upon the market. Obligations of U.S. government agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees of credit. The U.S. government gives no assurances that it will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so. Default in these issuers could negatively impact the Portfolio.
• In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchange's minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is remains unclear.
• The Portfolio's investment in asset-backed securities may be negatively impacted by interest rate fluctuations or when an issuer pays principal on an obligation held by the Portfolio earlier or later than expected. These events may affect their value and the return on your investment.
• The Portfolio could lose money if a seller under a repurchase agreement defaults or declares bankruptcy.
• The Portfolio may purchase variable and floating rate instruments. Like all debt instruments, their value is dependent on the credit paying ability of the issuer. If the issuer were unable to make interest payments or default, the value of the securities would decline. The absence of an active market for these securities could make it difficult to dispose of them if the issuer defaults.
Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio. When you invest in the Portfolio you are not making a bank deposit. Your investment is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any bank or governmental agency.
Performance Information
The chart and table below illustrate the variability of the Portfolio's long-term performance for Bedford Shares. The information shows you how the Portfolio's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart and the table both assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Portfolio's performance would be reduced. Effective May 28, 2010, Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") was amended to impose new liquidity, credit quality and maturity requirements on all money market funds. Fund performance shown prior to May 28, 2010 is based on 1940 Act rules then in effect and is not an indication of future returns.
3
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
1.26 |
% |
(quarter ended September 30, 2006) |
||||||||
Worst Quarter: |
0 |
% |
(quarter ended March 31, 2010) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 0.02%
Average Annual Total Returns for the Years Ended December 31, 2013
The table below shows the Portfolio's average annual total returns for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and the past ten calendar years. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Money Market Portfolio |
0.01 |
% |
0.06 |
% |
1.41 |
% |
Current Yield: The seven-day yield for the period ended December 31, 2013 for the Portfolio was 0.033%. You may call (800) 888-9723 to obtain the current seven-day yield of the Portfolio.
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors, LLC
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $1,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
4
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Portfolio on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Purchases of Bedford Shares may be effected through an account with your broker-dealer through procedures and requirements established by your broker. Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through the Company by the means described below.
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9841 Providence, RI 02940-8041 |
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Purchase by Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-800-888-9723 to confirm the current wire instructions for The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class).
Redemption By Telephone:
If you selected the option on your account application, you may call the Portfolio's transfer agent at (800)-888-9723.
Redemption by Check:
If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your Account, the Company will provide to you forms of drafts ("checks") payable through The Bank of New York Mellon. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, your broker may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and then forward such signature cards to BNY Mellon.
Taxes
The Portfolio intends to make distributions that will generally be taxed as ordinary income.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
The Company's Board of Directors can change the investment goal of the Portfolio without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be given notice before any such change is made.
The Portfolio is required to comply with SEC requirements with respect to the liquidity of the Portfolio's investments. Specifically, the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 10% of its total assets in "daily liquid assets" and the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 30% of its total assets in "weekly liquid assets." Daily liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities and securities (including repurchase agreements) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within one business day. Weekly liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities, agency discount notes with remaining maturities of 60 days or less and securities (including time deposits) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within five business days. In addition, the Portfolio's investments in illiquid securities will be limited to 5% of the Portfolio's total assets.
Under guidelines established by the Company's Board of Directors, the Portfolio will only purchase securities if such securities or their issuers have (or such securities are guaranteed or otherwise supported by entities which have) short-term debt ratings at the time of purchase in one of the two highest rating categories from at least two nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations ("NRSRO"), or one such rating if the security is rated by only one NRSRO. Securities that are unrated must be determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. Also, the Portfolio will be prohibited from (i) investing more than 3% of total assets in second-tier securities, (ii) investing more than 1/2 of 1% of total assets in second-tier securities issued by any single issuer, and (iii) acquiring second-tier securities with a remaining maturity of more than 45 days.
The dollar-weighted average maturity of all the investments of the Portfolio will be 60 days or less and the dollar-weighted average life of all of the investments of the Portfolio without regard to maturity shortening provisions applicable to variable and floating rate securities will be 120 days or less. Only those securities which have remaining maturities of 397 days or less (except for certain variable and floating rate instruments and securities collateralizing repurchase agreements) will be purchased.
On July 23, 2014, the SEC voted to amend the rules under the 1940 Act which currently govern the operations of the Portfolio. A significant change resulting from these amendments is a requirement that institutional prime money market funds, including institutional municipal money market funds, transact fund shares based on a market-based NAV (i.e., these fund will be required to float their NAVs). Government and retail money market funds (as defined in the amendments) may continue to transact fund shares at a NAV calculated using the amortized cost valuation method. Among additional disclosure, reporting and other requirements, the amendments also will permit a money market fund, or, in certain circumstances, require a money market fund (other than a government money market fund) to impose liquidity fees on redemptions, and permit a money market fund to limit (or gate) redemptions for up to 10 business days in any 90-day period. The amendments have staggered compliance dates. Compliance with a majority of these amendments will be required on October 14, 2016, two years after the effective date of the amendments. The degree to which a money market fund will be impacted by the rule amendments will depend upon the type of fund and type of investors (retail or institutional). At this time, management is evaluating the implications of these amendments and their impact on the Portfolio's operations.
6
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
BALLC, a registered investment adviser, was organized in 1994 to perform advisory services for investment companies. BALLC, which has its principal offices at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 has served as the Portfolio's investment adviser since June 30, 2011. Prior thereto, BlackRock Institutional Management Corporation ("BIMC"), an affiliate of BALLC, served as the Portfolio's investment adviser. BALLC is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. ("BlackRock"). BlackRock and its affiliates had approximately $4.52 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2014.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of up to 0.45% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for the Portfolio such that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding certain Portfolio expenses) do not exceed 0.25%. The following expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation: (i) interest, taxes, dividends tied to short sales, brokerage commissions, and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) expenses incurred directly or indirectly by the Portfolio as a result of investments in other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles; (iii) other expenses attributable to, and incurred as a result of, the Portfolio's investments; (iv) Distribution and Servicing (12b-1) Fees; and (v) other extraordinary expenses (including litigation expenses) not incurred in the ordinary course of the Portfolio's business, if any) of the Bedford Shares of the Portfolio. (Items (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) in the preceding sentence are referred to in this Prospectus as "Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses"). The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. Because Distribution and Service (12b-1) fees and certain other Portfolio expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation, net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are expected to exceed the contractual limitation. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Portfolio paid advisory fees, after waivers, of 0.06% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 0.39% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets in investment advisory fees from the Portfolio.
In addition to the contractual limitation, BALLC has also voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its fees and/or reimburse expenses to enable the Portfolio to maintain minimum levels of daily net asset investment income. BALLC may discontinue this waiver and/or reimbursement at any time without notice.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Portfolio's investment advisory agreement with BALLC is available in the Portfolio's annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Portfolio's underlying investments is available in the SAI.
7
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing Shares
BNY Mellon determines the Portfolio's NAV per share daily at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, each day on which both the NYSE and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (the "FRB") are open. These entities are generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. Currently, the only days on which the NYSE is open and the FRB is closed are Columbus Day and Veterans Day and the only day on which the NYSE is closed and the FRB is open is Good Friday. The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. The NAV is calculated by dividing the Portfolio's total assets, less its liabilities, by the number of shares outstanding. The Portfolio values its securities on the basis of the amortized cost method. This method values a Portfolio holding initially at its cost and then assumes a constant amortization to maturity of any discount or premium. The amortized cost method ignores any impact of changing interest rates.
During certain emergency closings of the NYSE, however, the Portfolio may open for business if it can maintain its operations. In this event, the Portfolio will determine its NAV as described above. To determine if the Portfolio is open for business on a day the NYSE is closed for an emergency, please contact us by calling the telephone number listed on the last page of this prospectus.
On any business day when the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") recommends that the securities markets close early, the Portfolio reserves the right to close at or prior to SIFMA's recommended closing time. If the Portfolio does so, the Transfer Agent will process purchase orders and redemption requests received after the Portfolio's closing time on the next business day. In 2015, SIFMA recommends a 2:00 p.m. close on April 2, May 22, July 2, November 27, December 24 and December 31.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by the Company's Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Excessive short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Portfolio performance and result in dilution in the value of Portfolio Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Portfolio Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Portfolio Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise their right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company or the Adviser, has been or may be disruptive to the Portfolio. 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 Portfolio and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Portfolio and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Portfolio shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Portfolio. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
8
Purchase of Shares
General. You may purchase Bedford Shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm (the "Account") and you may also purchase Shares directly by mail or wire. The minimum initial investment is $1,000, and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. The Company in its sole discretion may accept or reject any order for purchases of Bedford Shares.
Purchases will be effected at the NAV next determined after BNY Mellon, the Company's Transfer Agent and administrative and accounting agent, has received a purchase order in good order and the Company's custodian has Federal Funds immediately available to it. In those cases where payment is made by check, Federal Funds will generally become available two business days after the check is received. A "business day" is any day that both the NYSE and the FRB are open. On any business day, orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and orders as to which payment has been converted into Federal Funds by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, will be executed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that business day. Orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, and orders as to which payment has been converted to Federal Funds after the close of regular trading on the NYSE on a business day will be processed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the following business day. The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Purchases through an Account. Purchases of Bedford Shares may be effected through an Account with your broker through procedures and requirements established by your broker. In such event, beneficial ownership of Bedford Shares will be recorded by your broker and will be reflected in the Account statements provided to you by your broker. Your broker may impose minimum investment Account requirements. Even if your broker does not impose a sales charge for purchases of Bedford Shares, depending on the terms of your Account with your broker, the broker may charge to your Account fees for automatic investment and other services provided to your Account. Information concerning Account requirements, services and charges should be obtained from your broker, and you should read this prospectus in conjunction with any information received from your broker. Shares are held in the street name account of your broker and if you desire to transfer such shares to the street name account of another broker, you should contact your current broker.
A broker with whom you maintain an Account may offer you the ability to purchase Bedford Shares under an automatic purchase program (a "Purchase Program") established by a participating broker. If you participate in a Purchase Program, then you will have your "free-credit" cash balances in your Account automatically invested in Shares of the Bedford Class. The frequency of investments and the minimum investment requirement will be established by the broker and the Company. In addition, the broker may require a minimum amount of cash and/or securities to be deposited in your Account to participate in its Purchase Program. The description of the particular broker's Purchase Program should be read for details, and any inquiries concerning your Account under a Purchase Program should be directed to your broker.
If your broker makes special arrangements under which orders for Bedford Shares are received by BNY Mellon prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and your broker guarantees that payment for such Shares will be made in available Federal Funds to the Company's custodian prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on the same day, such purchase orders will be effective and Shares will be purchased at the offering price in effect as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the date the purchase order is received by BNY Mellon. Otherwise, if the broker has not made such an arrangement, pricing of Shares will occur as described above under "General."
Direct Purchases. You may also make direct investments at any time in the Bedford Class through any broker-dealer (a "Dealer") that has entered into a dealer agreement with the Company's distributor, Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor"). You may make an initial investment in the Bedford Class by mail by fully completing and signing an application obtained from a Dealer (the "Application"), and mailing it, together with a check payable to "The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class)," to Bedford Money Market Portfolio, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
9
(Bedford Class), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. The Application will be returned to you unless it contains the name of the Dealer from whom you obtained it. Subsequent purchases may be made through a Dealer or by forwarding payment to the Company's transfer agent at the foregoing address.
Provided that your investment is at least $2,500, you may also purchase Shares by having your bank or Dealer wire Federal Funds to the Company's custodian, The Bank of New York Mellon ("BNY"). Your bank or Dealer may impose a charge for this service. The Company does not currently charge for effecting wire transfers but reserves the right to do so in the future. In order to ensure prompt receipt of your Federal Funds wire, for an initial investment, it is important that you follow these steps:
A. Telephone the Company's transfer agent, BNY Mellon, toll-free at (800) 888-9723 and provide your name, address, telephone number, social security or tax identification number, the amount being wired, and by which bank or Dealer. BNY Mellon will then provide you with an account number. (If you have an existing account, you should also notify BNY Mellon prior to wiring funds.)
B. Fully complete and sign the Application and mail it to the address shown thereon. BNY Mellon will not process initial purchases until it receives a fully completed and signed Application.
For subsequent investments, you should follow steps A and B above.
Good Order. A request to purchase Shares of the Portfolio is in good order if it includes the name of the Portfolio, the dollar amount or number of Shares to be purchased, and a completed Application (initial direct investment through a Dealer). Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Retirement Plans. Bedford Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact your broker. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with your tax advisor.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Portfolio may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Portfolio will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Portfolio that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividends, subscriptions, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Portfolio and must be delivered to the Portfolio by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Portfolio will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Portfolio and
10
satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Portfolio.
Redemption of Shares
General. Redemption orders are effected at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of the order in good order by the Transfer Agent. The Portfolio generally calculates its NAV once daily at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on each day on which both the NYSE and the FRB are open. You may redeem all or some of your Shares in accordance with one of the procedures described below.
Redemption of Shares in an Account. If you beneficially own Bedford Shares through an Account, you may redeem Bedford Shares in your Account in accordance with instructions and limitations pertaining to your Account by contacting your broker. If the redemption request is received by BNY Mellon by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on any business day, the redemption will be effective as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that day. Payment of the redemption proceeds will be made after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the day the redemption is effected, provided that the Company's custodian is open for business. If the custodian is not open, payment will be made on the next bank business day. If all of your Shares are redeemed, all accrued but unpaid dividends on those Shares will be paid with the redemption proceeds.
Your brokerage firm may also redeem each day a sufficient number of Shares of the Bedford Class to cover debit balances created by transactions in your Account or instructions for cash disbursements. Shares will be redeemed on the same day that a transaction occurs that results in such a debit balance or charge.
Each brokerage firm reserves the right to waive or modify criteria for participation in an Account or to terminate participation in an Account for any reason.
Redemption of Shares Owned Directly. If you own Shares directly, you may redeem any number of Shares by sending a written request to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Bedford Class), c/o BNY Mellon Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. It is recommended that such requests be sent by registered or certified mail if share certificates accompany the request. Redemption requests must be signed by each shareholder in the same manner as the Shares are registered. Redemption requests for joint accounts require the signature of each joint owner. On redemption requests of $5,000 or more, each signature must be guaranteed. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A medallion imprint or medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized medallion programs are Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program ("STAMP"), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program ("SEMP") and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program ("MSP"). Signature guarantees that are not part of these programs will not be accepted.
If you are a direct investor, you may redeem your Shares without charge by telephone if you have completed and returned an Application containing the appropriate telephone election. To add a telephone option to an existing account that previously did not provide for this option, you must submit a Telephone Authorization Form to BNY Mellon. This form is available from BNY Mellon. Once this election has been made, you may simply contact BNY Mellon by telephone to request the redemption by calling (800) 888-9723. Neither the Company, the Distributor, the Portfolio, BNY Mellon nor any other Company agent will be liable for any loss, liability, cost or expense for following the procedures below or for following instructions communicated by telephone that they reasonably believe to be genuine.
The Company's telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, and the account social security number, all of which must match the Company's records; (3) requiring the Company's service
11
representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (5) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five business days of the call; and (6) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than the Distributor), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners or other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by attorney-in-fact under power of attorney.
Proceeds of a telephone redemption request will be mailed by check to your registered address unless you have designated in your Application or Telephone Authorization Form that such proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer to a specified checking or savings account. If proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer, a telephone redemption request received prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE will result in redemption proceeds being wired to your bank account on the next day that a wire transfer can be effected. The minimum redemption for proceeds sent by wire transfer is $2,500. There is no maximum for proceeds sent by wire transfer. The Company may modify this redemption service at any time or charge a service fee upon prior notice to shareholders. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder.
Redemption by Check. If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your Account, the Company will provide to you forms of drafts ("checks") payable through BNY. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, your broker may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and then forward such signature cards to BNY Mellon. BNY Mellon will then arrange for the checks to be honored by BNY. If you own Shares through an Account, you should contact your broker for signature cards. Investors with joint accounts may elect to have checks honored with a single signature. Check redemptions will be subject to BNY rules governing checks. An investor will be able to stop payment on a check redemption. The Company or BNY may terminate this redemption service at any time, and neither shall incur any liability for honoring checks, for effecting redemptions to pay checks, or for returning checks which have not been accepted.
When a check is presented to BNY for clearance, BNY, as your agent, will cause the Company to redeem a sufficient number of your full and fractional Shares to cover the amount of the check. Pursuant to rules under the 1940 Act, checks may not be presented for cash payment at the offices of BNY. This limitation does not affect checks used for the payment of bills or cash at other banks.
Additional Redemption Information. The Company ordinarily will make payment for all Shares redeemed within seven days after receipt by BNY Mellon of a redemption request in good order. Although the Company will redeem Shares purchased by check before the check clears, payment of the redemption proceeds may be delayed for a period of up to fifteen days after their purchase, pending a determination that the check has cleared. This procedure does not apply to Shares purchased by wire payment. You should consider purchasing Shares using a certified or bank check or money order if you anticipate an immediate need for redemption proceeds. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Portfolio may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
The Company does not impose a charge when Shares are redeemed. The Company reserves the right to redeem any account in the Bedford Class involuntarily, on thirty days' notice, if such account falls below $500 and during such 30-day notice period the amount invested in such account is not increased to at least $500. Payment for Shares redeemed may be postponed or the right of redemption suspended as provided by the rules of the SEC.
12
If the Company's Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interest of the remaining shareholders of the Portfolio to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Portfolio instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of investment securities so received in payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Portfolio is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio.
In the event of a determination by the Company's Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 22e-3 under the 1940 Act (i.e. that a deviation between the Portfolio's amortized cost price per share and its current NAV per share using available market quotations may result in a material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders), the Portfolio may suspend redemptions and postpone payment of redemption proceeds in order to facilitate an orderly liquidation of the Portfolio.
The Portfolio may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Portfolio you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Dividends and Distributions
The Company will distribute substantially all of the net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, of the Portfolio to shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Bedford Class unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The net investment income (not including any net realized capital gains) earned by the Portfolio will be declared as a dividend on a daily basis and paid monthly. Dividends are payable to shareholders of record as of the determination of NAV made as of 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) each day. Shares will begin accruing dividends on the day the purchase order for the Shares is effected and continue to accrue dividends through the day before such Shares are redeemed. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed at least annually.
Taxes
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to shareholders. It is expected that all, or substantially all, of these distributions will consist of ordinary income. You will be subject to income tax on these distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. The Portfolio contemplates declaring as dividends each year all or substantially all of its net taxable income. The one major exception to these tax principles is that distributions on Shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such Shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Dividends declared in October, November or December of any year that are payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such months will be deemed to have been received by shareholders and paid by the Portfolio on December 31 of such year if such dividends are actually paid during January of the following year.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax will be imposed on certain net investment income (including distributions received from the Portfolio) of individuals, estates and trusts to the extent "modified adjusted gross income" (in the case of an individual) or "adjusted gross income" (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold amount.
13
The Portfolio will be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the Internal Revenue Service a percentage of taxable dividends or gross sale proceeds paid to any shareholder who (i) has failed to provide a correct tax identification number, (ii) is subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly include on his or her return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or (iii) has failed to certify to the Portfolio that he or she is not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that he or she is an "exempt recipient." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. For taxable years of the Portfolio beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Portfolio's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Portfolio are exempt from the 30% withholding tax.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Portfolio is effectively connected with that trade or business, or a foreign individual investor is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year, then the foreign investor's income from the Portfolio will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Portfolio will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Portfolio.
The foregoing is only a summary of certain U.S. tax considerations under the current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Shareholders may also be subject to state and local taxes on distributions. Except where otherwise noted, the summary assumes you are a U.S. citizen or resident or otherwise subject to U.S. federal income tax. Shareholders who are nonresident aliens, foreign trusts or estates, or foreign corporations or partnerships may be subject to different United States federal income tax treatment. You should consult your tax advisor for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
14
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
Bedford Shares of the Portfolio are sold without a sales load on a continuous basis by the Distributor, whose principal business address is at 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Casset Road, Berwyn, PA 19312.
The Board of Directors of the Company approved a Distribution Agreement and adopted a separate Plan of Distribution for the Bedford Class (the "Plan") pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Distributor is entitled to receive from the Bedford Class a distribution fee, which is accrued daily and paid monthly, of up to 0.65% on an annualized basis of the average daily net assets of the Bedford Class. The actual amount of such compensation is agreed upon from time to time by the Company's Board of Directors and the Distributor. Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor has agreed to accept compensation for its services thereunder and under the Plan in the amount of 0.65% of the average daily net assets of the Bedford Class on an annualized basis in any year. The Distributor may, in its discretion, voluntarily waive from time to time all or any portion of its distribution fee. Effective March 13, 2009, the Distributor has agreed to voluntarily waive a portion of the Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees to the extent necessary to maintain a minimum annualized net yield greater than 0.00%.
Under the Distribution Agreement and the Plan, the Distributor may reallocate an amount up to the full fee that it receives to financial institutions, including broker-dealers, based upon the aggregate investment amounts maintained by and services provided to shareholders of the Bedford Class serviced by such financial institutions. The Distributor may also reimburse broker-dealers for other expenses incurred in the promotion of the sale of Bedford Shares. The broker-dealers pay for the cost of printing (excluding typesetting) and mailing to prospective investors prospectuses and other materials relating to the Bedford Class as well as for related direct mail, advertising and promotional expenses.
The Plan obligates the Company, during the period it is in effect, to accrue and pay to the Distributor on behalf of the Bedford Class the fee agreed to under the Distribution Agreement. Payments under the Plan are not based on expenses actually incurred by the Distributor, and the payments may exceed distribution expenses actually incurred. Because these fees are paid out of the Portfolio's assets on an on-going basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR TO MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE PORTFOLIO'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH INFORMATION OR REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
15
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Bedford Share. The term "Total Return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Portfolio's financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") the Portfolio's independent registered public accounting firm, for each of the four fiscal years in the period ended August 31, 2014, and by the Portfolio's former independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2010. This information should be read in conjunction with the Portfolio's financial statements which, together with PwC's report, are included in the Portfolio's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
Financial Highlights
(For a Bedford Share Outstanding Throughout Each Year)
Money Market Portfolio
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Income from investment operations: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
0.0002 |
0.0001 |
0.0003 |
0.0002 |
0.0003 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net gains (losses) on securities |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|||||||||||||
Total net income from investment
operations |
0.0002 |
0.0001 |
0.0003 |
0.0002 |
0.0003 |
||||||||||||||||||
Less dividends and distributions: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends (from net investment income) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0001 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net Realized Gains |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Total Dividends and Distributions to
Shareholders |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0001 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
(0.0002 |
) |
(0.0003 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Total Return |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year (000's omitted) |
$ |
577,281 |
$ |
655,312 |
$ |
641,711 |
$ |
721,145 |
$ |
593,570 |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of expenses to average net assets (b) |
0.18 |
% |
0.24 |
% |
0.25 |
% |
0.27 |
% |
0.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of net investment income to average
net assets |
0.02 |
% |
0.01 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
0.02 |
% |
(a) Amount is less than $0.00005 per share.
(b) Without the waiver of advisory fees, distribution fees and/or reimbursement of certain operating expenses, the ratios of expenses to average net assets for the Bedford Class of the Money Market Portfolio would have been 1.14%, 1.15%, 1.15%, 1.12% and 1.18% for the years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
16
THE BEDFORD SHARES OF THE
Money Market Portfolio
1-800-888-9723
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
This prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Bedford Shares of The RBB Money Market Portfolio is available free of charge upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Portfolio's investments, describe the Portfolio's performance and list its holdings.
Statement of Additional Information
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Portfolio, and the Portfolio's annual and semi-annual reports are not available on the Adviser's website because copies may be obtained free of charge, by calling (800) 888-9723. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus (and is legally considered a part of this prospectus).
Shareholder Account Service Representatives
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (800) 888-9723.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call your broker or (800) 888-9723.
Written Correspondence
Bedford Shares
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Portfolio, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov . You may also obtain copies of Portfolio documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors LLC
100 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Transfer Agent
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Principal Underwriter
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC
400 Berwyn Park
899 Cassatt Road
Berwyn, PA 19312
Custodian
The Bank of New York Mellon
One Wall Street
New York, NY 10286
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700
2001 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042
Counsel
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
One Logan Square, Ste. 2000
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996
The Bedford
Class
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Money Market Portfolio
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
An investment in the Portfolio is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it's possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Portfolio. It is not authorized for distribution unless preceded or accompanied by a prospectus for the Portfolio.
Customer Service
For questions regarding your ShareBuilder account please call 1-800-SHRBLDR (1-800-747-2537) or visit ShareBuilder online at ShareBuilder.com. Please be aware that ShareBuilder Customer Service Agents are not able to place a trade for you over the phone, open your account over the phone, or provide any type of financial advice or recommendations.
Written Correspondence
Post Office Address: |
ShareBuilder Bedford Shares of The RBB Money Market Portfolio
c/o Capital One ShareBuilder, Inc. P.O. Box 4249 Seattle, WA 98194-0249 |
||||||
Street Address: |
ShareBuilder Bedford Shares of The RBB Money Market Portfolio
c/o Capital One ShareBuilder, Inc. 83 South King Street; Suite 700 Seattle, WA 98104 |
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
SANSOM STREET SHARES OF THE
Money Market Portfolio
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Ticker: SANXX
This prospectus gives vital information about this money market mutual fund, advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC ("BALLC" or the "Adviser"), including information on investment policies, risks and fees. For your own benefit and protection, please read it before you invest and keep it on hand for future reference.
Please note that the Money Market Portfolio:
n is not a bank deposit;
n is not federally insured;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed by The Bank of New York Mellon or any other bank;
n is not an obligation of, or guaranteed or endorsed or otherwise supported by the U.S. government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other governmental agency;
n is not guaranteed to achieve its goals; and
n may not be able to maintain a stable $1 share price and you may lose money.
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
PROSPECTUS December 31, 2014
THE RBB FUND, INC.
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
Bedford Shares Ticker Symbol: BDMXX
Sansom Street Shares Ticker Symbol: SANXX
Supplement dated December 31, 2014 to the
Bedford Class and Sansom Street Class Prospectuses, and
Statement of Additional Information, each dated December 31, 2014
THIS SUPPLEMENT CONTAINS NEW AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BEYOND THAT CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PROSPECTUSES AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
On December 5, 2014, the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Board") approved a plan of liquidation and termination for the Money Market Portfolio (the "Fund"). Effective December 5, 2014, new account requests, exchanges into the Fund and purchase orders will no longer be permissible (other than those purchase orders received through dividend reinvestment).
On or about January 30, 2015 (the "Liquidation Date"), the Fund will redeem all investors' shares at net asset value, and the Fund will terminate. Investors holding shares of the Fund on the Liquidation Date will receive cash representing proceeds from the redemption. Absent other instructions or direction from the broker-dealer of record, the cash proceeds will be distributed by mailing a check to each investor of record at such investor's address of record. Prior to the Liquidation Date, the Fund will begin liquidating securities and the Fund may invest all or part of the proceeds from the liquidation of portfolio securities in cash equivalent instruments or hold the proceeds in cash. During this time, the Fund may not achieve its investment goal.
Until the Liquidation Date, investors may redeem their shares in the manner set forth in the Fund's current Prospectus. The redemption of your shares will generally be considered a taxable event.
For federal income tax purposes, the tax treatment to investors of the receipt of the liquidating distribution on the Liquidation Date will be the same as would be the tax treatment of a redemption of shares on that date. You may also be subject to state, local or foreign taxes on redemptions or liquidations of Fund shares. The foregoing is only a summary of certain tax considerations under current law, which may change in the future. You should consult your tax adviser for information regarding all tax consequences applicable to your investment in the Fund.
Please retain this Supplement for future reference.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the goals, strategies, risks, expenses and financial history of the portfolio.
Details about the service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in the portfolio.
Details on the distribution plan.
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
6 |
||||||
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT |
7 |
||||||
Investment Adviser |
7 |
||||||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
7 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
8 |
||||||
Pricing Shares |
8 |
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Market Timing |
8 |
||||||
Purchase of Shares |
9 |
||||||
Redemption of Shares |
10 |
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Dividends and Distributions |
13 |
||||||
Taxes |
13 |
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
15 |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
i
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Goal
The Money Market Portfolio (the "Portfolio") of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") seeks to generate current income, to provide you with liquidity and to protect your investment.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Sansom Street Shares of the Portfolio.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees 1 |
0.41 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
0.08 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
0.49 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements 1 |
(0.24 |
)% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements |
0.25 |
% |
1. Management fees include investment advisory and administration fees. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit the Portfolio's Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses) to 0.25%. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the expenses excluded from the contractual limitation are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses to exceed 0.25%. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Sansom Street |
$ |
26 |
$ |
133 |
$ |
250 |
$ |
593 |
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio invests in a diversified investment portfolio of short term, high quality, U.S. dollar-denominated instruments, including government, bank, commercial and other obligations.
1
Specifically, the Portfolio may invest in:
• U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions with total assets of more than $1 billion (including obligations of foreign branches of such banks).
• High quality commercial paper and other obligations issued or guaranteed (or otherwise supported) by U.S. and foreign corporations and other issuers rated (at the time of purchase) A-2 or higher by Standard and Poor's ® , Prime-2 or higher by Moody's Investor's Service, Inc. or F-2 or higher by Fitch, Inc., as well as high quality corporate bonds rated AA (or Aa) or higher at the time of purchase by those rating agencies. These ratings must be provided by at least two rating agencies or by the only rating agency providing a rating.
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments that are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality to the instruments described above.
• Asset-backed securities (including interests in pools of assets such as mortgages, installment purchase obligations and credit card receivables).
• Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by its agencies or authorities.
• Dollar-denominated securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their political subdivisions, agencies or authorities.
• Securities issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies.
• Repurchase agreements relating to the above instruments.
The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. At least 25% of the Portfolio's total assets will be invested in banking obligations.
Principal Risks
• The value of money market investments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market investments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities.
• The Portfolio's investment securities may not earn as high a level of income as longer-term or lower quality securities, which generally have greater risk and more fluctuation in value.
• The Portfolio's concentration of its investments in the banking industry could increase risks. The profitability of banks depends largely on the availability and cost of funds, which can change depending upon economic conditions. Banks are also exposed to losses if borrowers get into financial trouble and cannot repay their loans.
• The obligations of foreign banks and other foreign issuers may involve certain risks in addition to those of domestic issuers, including higher transaction costs, less complete financial information, political and economic instability, less stringent regulatory requirements and less market liquidity.
• Unrated notes, paper and other instruments may be subject to the risk that an issuer may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal.
• The obligations issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies may be issued by entities in the same state and may have interest which is paid from revenues of similar projects. As a result, changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular state or types of projects may impact the Portfolio.
• Treasury obligations differ only in their interest rates, maturities and time of issuance. These differences could result in fluctuations in the value of such securities depending upon the market. Obligations of U.S. government
2
agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees of credit. The U.S. government gives no assurances that it will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so. Default in these issuers could negatively impact the Portfolio.
• In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchange's minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remains unclear.
• The Portfolio's investment in asset-backed securities may be negatively impacted by interest rate fluctuations or when an issuer pays principal on an obligation held by the Portfolio earlier or later than expected. These events may affect their value and the return on your investment.
• The Portfolio could lose money if a seller under a repurchase agreement defaults or declares bankruptcy.
• The Portfolio may purchase variable and floating rate instruments. Like all debt instruments, their value is dependent on the credit paying ability of the issuer. If the issuer were unable to make interest payments or default, the value of the securities would decline. The absence of an active market for these securities could make it difficult to dispose of them if the issuer defaults.
Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio. When you invest in the Portfolio you are not making a bank deposit. Your investment is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any bank or governmental agency.
Performance Information
The chart and table below illustrate the variability of the Portfolio's long-term performance for Sansom Street Shares. The information shows you how the Portfolio's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart and the table both assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Portfolio's performance would be reduced. Effective May 28, 2010, Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") was amended to impose new liquidity, credit quality and maturity requirements on all money market funds. Fund performance shown prior to May 28, 2010 is based on 1940 Act rules then in effect and is not an indication of future returns.
3
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 1.28% (quarter ended September 30, 2007)
Worst Quarter: 0.01% (quarter ended September 30, 2012)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 0.03%
Average Annual Total Returns for the Years Ended December 31, 2013
The table below shows the Portfolio's average annual total returns for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and the past ten calendar years. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Money Market Portfolio |
0.03 |
% |
0.14 |
% |
1.77 |
% |
Current Yield: The seven-day yield for the period ended December 31, 2013 for the Portfolio was 0.033%. You may call (800) 430-9618 to obtain the current seven-day yield of the Portfolio.
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors, LLC
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $1,500
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Portfolio on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Shares may be purchased through The Bank of New York Mellon or its affiliates acting on behalf of customers or through
4
a broker-dealer that has entered into a dealer agreement with the Company's distributor. Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through the Company by the means described below:
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Sansom Street Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9841 Providence, RI 02940-8041 |
The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio
(Sansom Street Class) c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Redemption By Telephone:
If you selected the option on your account application, you may call the BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at (800) 888-9723.
Redemption by Check:
If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your account, the Company will provide forms of drafts ("checks") payable through The Bank of New York Mellon. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, a Dealer may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and forward them to BNY Mellon.
Taxes
The Portfolio intends to make distributions that will generally be taxed as ordinary income.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your sales- person to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
The Company's Board of Directors can change the investment goal of the Portfolio without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be given notice before any such change is made.
The Portfolio is required to comply with SEC requirements with respect to the liquidity of the Portfolio's investments. Specifically, the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 10% of its total assets in "daily liquid assets" and the Portfolio will be required to hold at least 30% of its total assets in "weekly liquid assets." Daily liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities and securities (including repurchase agreements) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within one business day. Weekly liquid assets include cash (including time deposits), U.S. Treasury securities, agency discount notes with remaining maturities of 60 days or less and securities (including time deposits) that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within five business days. In addition, the Portfolio's investments in illiquid securities will be limited to 5% of the Portfolio's total assets.
Under guidelines established by the Company's Board of Directors, the Portfolio will only purchase securities if such securities or their issuers have (or such securities are guaranteed or otherwise supported by entities which have) short- term debt ratings at the time of purchase in the two highest rating categories from at least two nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations ("NRSRO"), or one such rating if the security is rated by only one NRSRO. Securities that are unrated must be determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. Also, the Portfolio will be prohibited from (i) investing more than 3% of total assets in second-tier securities, (ii) investing more than 1/2 of 1% of total assets in second-tier securities issued by any single issuer, and (iii) acquiring second-tier securities with a remaining maturity of more than 45 days.
The dollar-weighted average maturity of all the investments of the Portfolio will be 60 days or less and the dollar- weighted average life of all of the investments of the Portfolio without regard to maturity shortening provisions applicable to variable and floating rate securities will be 120 days or less. Only those securities which have remaining maturities of 397 days or less (except for certain variable and floating rate instruments and securities collateralizing repurchase agreements) will be purchased.
On July 23, 2014, the SEC voted to amend the rules under the 1940 Act which currently govern the operations of the Portfolio. A significant change resulting from these amendments is a requirement that institutional prime money market funds, including institutional municipal money market funds, transact fund shares based on a market-based NAV (i.e., these fund will be required to float their NAVs). Government and retail money market funds (as defined in the amendments) may continue to transact fund shares at a NAV calculated using the amortized cost valuation method. Among additional disclosure, reporting and other requirements, the amendments also will permit a money market fund, or, in certain circumstances, require a money market fund (other than a government money market fund) to impose liquidity fees on redemptions, and permit a money market fund to limit (or gate) redemptions for up to 10 business days in any 90-day period. The amendments have staggered compliance dates. Compliance with a majority of these amendments will be required on October 14, 2016, two years after the effective date of the amendments. The degree to which a money market fund will be impacted by the rule amendments will depend upon the type of fund and type of investors (retail or institutional). At this time, management is evaluating the implications of these amendments and their impact on the Portfolio's operations.
6
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
BALLC, a registered investment adviser, was organized in 1994 to perform advisory services for investment companies. BALLC, which has its principal offices at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, has served as the Portfolio's investment adviser since June 30, 2011. Prior thereto, BlackRock Institutional Management Corporation ("BIMC"), an affiliate of BALLC, served as the Portfolio's investment adviser. BALLC is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. ("BlackRock"). BlackRock and its affiliates had approximately $4.52 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2014.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of up to 0.45% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses for the Portfolio such that Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding certain Portfolio expenses) do not exceed 0.25%. The following expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation: (i) interest, taxes, dividends tied to short sales, brokerage commissions, and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) expenses incurred directly or indirectly by the Portfolio as a result of investments in other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles; (iii) other expenses attributable to, and incurred as a result of, the Portfolio's investments; (iv) Distribution and Servicing (12b-1) Fees; and (v) other extraordinary expenses (including litigation expenses) not incurred in the ordinary course of the Portfolio's business, if any) of the Sansom Street Shares of the Portfolio. (Items (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) in the preceding sentence are referred to in this Prospectus as "Dividend Expenses, Interest Expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees and certain other Portfolio expenses"). The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the expenses excluded from the contractual limitation are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses to exceed 0.25%. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Portfolio paid advisory fees, after waivers, of 0.06% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 0.39% of the Portfolio's average daily net assets in investment advisory fees from the Portfolio.
In addition to the contractual limitation, BALLC has also voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its fees and/or reimburse expenses to enable the Portfolio to maintain minimum levels of daily net asset investment income. BALLC may discontinue this waiver and/or reimbursement at any time without notice.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Portfolio's investment advisory agreement with BALLC is available in the Portfolio's annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Portfolio's underlying investments is available in the Portfolio's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
7
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing Shares
BNY Mellon determines the Portfolio's NAV per share daily at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, each day on which both the NYSE and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (the "FRB") are open. These entities are generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. Currently, the only days on which the NYSE is open and the FRB is closed are Columbus Day and Veterans Day and the only day on which the NYSE is closed and the FRB is open is Good Friday. The Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share. The NAV is calculated by dividing the Portfolio's total assets, less its liabilities, by the number of shares outstanding. The Portfolio values its securities on the basis of the amortized cost method. This method values a Portfolio holding initially at its cost and then assumes a constant amortization to maturity of any discount or premium. The amortized cost method ignores any impact of changing interest rates.
During certain emergency closings of the NYSE, however, the Portfolio may open for business if it can maintain its operations. In this event, the Portfolio will determine its NAV as described above. To determine if the Portfolio is open for business on a day the NYSE is closed for an emergency, please contact us by calling the telephone number listed on the last page of this Prospectus.
On any business day when the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ("SIFMA") recommends that the securities markets close early, the Portfolio reserves the right to close at or prior to SIFMA's recommended closing time. If the Portfolio does so, the Transfer Agent will process purchase orders and redemption requests received after the Portfolio's closing time on the next business day. In 2015, SIFMA recommends a 2:00 p.m. close on April 2, May 22, July 2, November 27, December 24 and December 31.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by the Company's Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Excessive short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Portfolio performance and result in dilution in the value of Portfolio Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Portfolio Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Portfolio Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Portfolio. 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 Portfolio and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Portfolio and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Portfolio shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Portfolio. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
8
Purchase of Shares
General. Shares may be purchased through The Bank of New York Mellon or its affiliates ("BNY") acting on behalf of its customers, including individuals, trusts, partnerships and corporations who maintain accounts (such as custody, trust or escrow accounts) with BNY and who have authorized BNY to invest in the Sansom Street Class on a customer's behalf. Shares may also be purchased through a broker-dealer (a "Dealer") that has entered into a dealer agreement with the Company's distributor, Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor"). The minimum initial investment is $1,500. There is no minimum subsequent investment. The Company in its sole discretion may accept or reject any order for purchases of Sansom Street Shares.
Purchases will be effected at the NAV next determined after BNY Mellon, the Company's Transfer Agent and administrative and accounting agent, has received a purchase order in good order and the Company's custodian has Federal Funds immediately available to it. In those cases where payment is made by check, Federal Funds will generally become available two business days after the check is received. A "business day" is any day that both the NYSE and the FRB are open. On any business day, orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and orders as to which payment has been converted into Federal Funds by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, will be executed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that business day. Orders which are accompanied by Federal Funds and received by the Company after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, and orders as to which payment has been converted to Federal Funds after the close of regular trading on the NYSE on a business day will be processed as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the following business day. The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Purchases through an Account with BNY Mellon or a Dealer. Sansom Street shares may be purchased through your accounts at BNY Mellon or a Dealer through procedures and requirements established by BNY Mellon or a Dealer. Confirmations of Share purchases and redemptions will be sent to BNY Mellon or the Dealer. Beneficial ownership of Sansom Street Shares will be recorded by BNY Mellon or the Dealer and reflected in your account statements provided by them. If you wish to purchase Sansom Street Shares, contact BNY Mellon or a Dealer.
BNY Mellon may also impose minimum customer account requirements. Although BNY Mellon does not impose a sales charge for purchases of Sansom Street Shares, depending upon the terms of your account, BNY Mellon may charge account fees for automatic investment and other cash management services. Information concerning these minimum account requirements, services and any charges will be provided by BNY Mellon before you authorize the initial purchase of Shares. This prospectus should be read in conjunction with any information you receive from BNY Mellon.
Direct Purchases through a Dealer. You may also make an initial investment by mail by fully completing and signing an application obtained from a Dealer (an "Application") and mailing it, together with a check payable to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Sansom Street Class), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Sansom Street Class), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. An Application will be returned unless it contains the name of the Dealer from whom it was obtained. Subsequent purchases may be made through a Dealer or by forwarding payment to the Company's transfer agent at the address above.
Conflict of interest restrictions may apply to an institution's receipt of compensation paid by the Company in connection with the investment of fiduciary funds in Sansom Street Shares. Institutions, including banks regulated by the Comptroller of the Currency and investment advisers and other money managers subject to the jurisdiction of the SEC, the Department of Labor or state securities commissions, are urged to consult their legal advisers before investing fiduciary funds in Sansom Street Shares.
9
Good Order. A request to purchase Shares of the Portfolio is in good order if it includes the name of the Portfolio, the dollar amount of Shares to be purchased, and a completed Application (initial direct investment through a Dealer). Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or tax- payer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Retirement Plans. Sansom Street Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the your broker. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with your tax advisor.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Portfolio may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Portfolio will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Portfolio that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividends, subscriptions, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Portfolio and must be delivered to the Portfolio by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Portfolio will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Portfolio and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Portfolio.
Redemption of Shares
General. Redemption orders are effected at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of the order in good order by the Transfer Agent. The Portfolio generally calculates its NAV once daily at 4:00 p.m Eastern time on each day on which both the NYSE and the FRB are open. It is the responsibility of BNY Mellon and Dealers to transmit promptly to BNY Mellon your redemption request. If you hold share certificates, the certificates must accompany the redemption request. You may redeem all or some of your Shares in accordance with one of the procedures described below.
Redemption of Shares in an Account at BNY Mellon. If you beneficially own Shares through an account at BNY Mellon, you may redeem Sansom Street Shares in accordance with instructions and limitations pertaining to your account. If the redemption request is received by BNY Mellon by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on any business day, the redemption will be effective as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that day. Payment for redemption orders effected before 4:00 p.m. Eastern time will be wired the same day in Federal Funds to your account at BNY Mellon, provided that the Company's custodian is open for business. If the custodian is not open, payment will be made on the next bank business day. No charge for wiring redemption payments is imposed by the Company, although BNY Mellon may charge your account for redemption services.
10
Redemption of Shares in an Account for non-BNY Mellon customers. If you beneficially own Shares through an account at a Dealer, you may redeem Shares in your account in accordance with instructions and limitations pertaining to the account by contacting the Dealer. If such notice is received by BNY Mellon from the broker before 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on any business day, the redemption will be effective as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on that day. Payment of the redemption proceeds will be made after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the day the redemption is effected, provided that the Company's custodian is open for business. If the custodian is not open, payment will be made on the next bank business day. If all Shares are redeemed, all accrued but unpaid dividends on those Shares will be paid with the redemption proceeds.
A Dealer may also redeem each day a sufficient number of your Shares to cover debit balances created by transactions in your account or instructions for cash disbursements. Shares will be redeemed on the same day that a transaction occurs that results in such a debit-balance or charge.
Each Dealer reserves the right to waive or modify criteria for participation in an account or to terminate participation in an account for any reason.
Redemption of Shares Owned Directly. If you own Shares directly, you may redeem any number of Shares by sending a written request to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Sansom Street Class), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940; for overnight delivery mail to The RBB Fund Money Market Portfolio (Sansom Street Class), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. It is recommended that such request be sent by registered or certified mail if share certificates accompany the request. Redemption requests must be signed by each shareholder in the same manner as the Shares are registered. Redemption requests for joint accounts require the signature of each joint owner. On redemption requests of $5,000 or more, a signature guarantee is required. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A medallion imprint or medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized medallion programs are Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program ("STAMP"), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program ("SEMP") and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program ("MSP"). Signature guarantees that are not part of these programs will not be accepted.
If you are a direct investor, you may redeem Shares without charge by telephone if you have completed and returned an Application containing the appropriate telephone election. To add a telephone option to an existing account that previously did not provide for this option, you must submit a Telephone Authorization Form to BNY Mellon. This form is available from BNY Mellon. Once this election has been made, you may simply contact BNY Mellon by telephone to request a redemption by calling (800) 430-9618. Neither the Company, the Portfolio, the Distributor, BNY Mellon nor any other Company agent will be liable for any loss, liability, cost or expense for following the procedures described below or for following instructions communicated by telephone that they reasonably believe to be genuine.
The Company's telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and the name of the Portfolio, all of which must match the Company's records; (3) requiring the Company's service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (5) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five business days of the call; and (6) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than the Distributor), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners or other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope
11
of a caller's authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required.
Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under power of attorney.
Proceeds of a telephone redemption request will be mailed by check to your registered address unless you have designated in the Application or telephone authorization form that such proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer to a specified checking or savings account. If proceeds are to be sent by wire transfer, a telephone redemption request received prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE will result in redemption proceeds being wired to your bank account on the next bank business day. The minimum redemption for proceeds sent by wire transfer is $2,500. There is no maximum for proceeds sent by wire transfer. The Company may modify this redemption service at any time or charge a service fee upon prior notice to shareholders. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder.
Redemption by Check. If you are a direct investor or you do not have check writing privileges for your account, the Company will provide forms of drafts ("checks") payable through BNY. These checks may be made payable to the order of anyone. The minimum amount of a check is $100; however, a Dealer may establish a higher minimum. If you wish to use this check writing redemption procedure, you should complete specimen signature cards (available from BNY Mellon), and forward them to BNY Mellon. BNY Mellon will then arrange for the checks to be honored by BNY. If you own Shares through an account, you should contact your Dealer for signature cards. Investors with joint accounts may elect to have checks honored with a single signature. Check redemptions will be subject to BNY rules governing checks. You will be able to stop payment on a check redemption. The Company or BNY may terminate this redemption service at any time, and neither shall incur any liability for honoring checks, for effecting redemptions to pay checks, or for returning checks which have not been accepted.
When a check is presented to BNY for clearance, BNY, as your agent, will cause the Company to redeem a sufficient number of your full and fractional Shares to cover the amount of the check. Pursuant to rules under the 1940 Act, checks may not be presented for cash payment at the offices of BNY. This limitation does not affect checks used for the payment of bills or cash at other banks.
Additional Redemption Information. The Company ordinarily will make payment for all Shares redeemed within seven days after receipt by BNY Mellon of a redemption request in good order. Although the Company will redeem Shares purchased by check before the check clears, payment of redemption proceeds may be delayed for a period of up to fifteen days after their purchase, pending a determination that the check has cleared. This procedure does not apply to Shares purchased by wire payment. Investors should consider purchasing Shares using a certified or bank check or money order if they anticipate an immediate need for redemption proceeds. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Portfolio may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
The Company does not impose a charge when Shares are redeemed. The Company reserves the right to redeem any account in the Sansom Street Class involuntarily, on thirty days' notice, if that account falls below $500 as a result of redemptions, not market movement, and if during that thirty-day notice period the amount invested in the account is not increased to at least $500. Payment for Shares redeemed may be postponed or the right of redemption suspended as provided by the rules of the SEC.
If the Company's Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interest of the remaining shareholders of the Portfolio to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Portfolio instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of investment securities so
12
received in payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Portfolio is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio.
In the event of a determination by the Company's Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 22e-3 under the 1940 Act (i.e. that a deviation between the Portfolio's amortized cost price per share and its current NAV per share using available market quotations may result in a material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders), the Portfolio may suspend redemptions and postpone payment of redemption proceeds in order to facilitate an orderly liquidation of the Portfolio.
The Portfolio may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Portfolio you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Dividends and Distributions
The Company will distribute substantially all of the net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, of the Portfolio to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Sansom Street Class unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The net investment income (not including any net realized capital gains) earned by the Portfolio will be declared as a dividend on a daily basis and paid monthly. Dividends are payable to shareholders of record as of the determination of NAV made as of 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) each day. Shares will begin accruing dividends on the day the purchase order for the Shares is effected and continue to accrue dividends through the day before such Shares are redeemed. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed at least annually.
Taxes
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to shareholders. It is expected that all, or substantially all, of these distributions will consist of ordinary income. You will be subject to income tax on these distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. The Portfolio contemplates declaring as dividends each year all or substantially all of its net taxable income. The one major exception to these tax principles is that distributions on Shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such Shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Distributions from the Portfolio will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Dividends declared in October, November or December of any year that are payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such months will be deemed to have been received by shareholders and paid by the Portfolio on December 31 of such year if such dividends are actually paid during January of the following year.
An additional 3.8% Medicare tax will be imposed on certain net investment income (including distributions received from the Portfolio) of individuals, estates and trusts to the extent "modified adjusted gross income" (in the case of an individual) or "adjusted gross income" (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold amount.
13
The Portfolio will be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the Internal Revenue Service a percentage of taxable dividends or gross sale proceeds paid to any shareholder who (i) has failed to provide a correct tax identification number, (ii) is subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly include on his or her return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or (iii) has failed to certify to the Portfolio that he or she is not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that he or she is an "exempt recipient." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. For taxable years of the Portfolio beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Portfolio's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Portfolio are exempt from the 30% withholding tax.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Portfolio is effectively connected with that trade or business, or a foreign individual investor is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year, then the foreign investor's income from the Portfolio will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Portfolio will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Portfolio.
The foregoing is only a summary of certain United States tax considerations under the current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Shareholders may also be subject to state and local taxes on distributions. Except where otherwise noted, the summary assumes you are a U.S. citizen or resident or otherwise subject to U.S. federal income tax. Shareholders who are nonresident aliens, foreign trusts or estates, or foreign corporations or partnerships may be subject to different United States federal income tax treatment. You should consult your tax advisor for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation. More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR TO MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE PORTFOLIO'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH INFORMATION OR REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
14
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Sansom Street Share. The term "Total Return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Portfolio's financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC"), the Portfolio's independent registered public accounting firm, for each of the four fiscal years in the period ended August 31, 2014, and by the Portfolio's former independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2010. This information should be read in conjunction with the Portfolio's financial statements which, together with PwC's report, are included in the Portfolio's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
Financial Highlights
(For a Sansom Street Share Outstanding Throughout Each Year)
Money Market Portfolio
|
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginningof year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Income from Investment Operations |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
0.0004 |
0.0004 |
0.0004 |
0.0006 |
0.001 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net gains (losses) on securities |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|||||||||||||
Total net income from investment
operations |
0.0004 |
0.0004 |
0.0004 |
0.0006 |
0.001 |
||||||||||||||||||
Less Dividends and Distributions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net Investment Income |
(0.0004 |
) |
(0.0004 |
) |
(0.0004 |
) |
(0.0006 |
) |
(0.001 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net Realized Gains |
|
(a) |
|
(a) |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Total Dividends and Distributions to
Shareholders |
(0.0004 |
) |
(0.0004 |
) |
(0.0004 |
) |
(0.0006 |
) |
(0.001 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
$ |
1.00 |
|||||||||||||
Total Return |
0.04 |
% |
0.04 |
% |
0.05 |
% |
0.06 |
% |
0.10 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year (000's omitted) |
$ |
551 |
$ |
618 |
$ |
240 |
$ |
19,520 |
$ |
37,708 |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of expenses to average net assets (b) |
0.16 |
% |
0.21 |
% |
0.23 |
% |
0.23 |
% |
0.24 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios of net investment income to average
net assets |
0.04 |
% |
0.04 |
% |
0.04 |
% |
0.06 |
% |
0.09 |
% |
(a) Amount is less than $0.00005 per share
(b) Without the waiver of advisory fees and reimbursement of certain operating expenses, the ratios of expenses to average net assets for the Sansom Street Class of the Money Market Portfolio would have been 0.49%, 0.50%, 0.50%, 0.47% and 0.54% for the years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.
15
THE SANSOM STREET SHARES OF THE
Money Market Portfolio
1-800-430-9618
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
This prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Portfolio is available free of charge upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Portfolio's investments, describe the Portfolio's performance and list its holdings.
Statement of Additional Information
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Portfolio, and the Portfolio's annual and semi-annual reports are not available on the Adviser's website because copies may be obtained free of charge, by calling (800) 430-9618. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus (and is legally considered a part of this prospectus).
Shareholder Account Service Representatives
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (800) 430-9618.
Written Correspondence
Sansom Street Money Market Portfolio
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Portfolio, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Portfolio documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
Investment Adviser
BlackRock Advisors LLC
100 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Transfer Agent
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Principal Underwriter
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC
400 Berwyn Park
899 Cassatt Road
Berwyn, PA 19312
Custodian
The Bank of New York Mellon
One Wall Street
New York, NY 10286
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700
2001 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042
Counsel
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
One Logan Square, Ste. 2000
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996
The Sansom
Street
Class
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Money Market Portfolio
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
An investment in the Portfolio is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it's possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of the Portfolio. It is not authorized for distribution unless preceded or accompanied by a prospectus for the Portfolio.
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
OF THE RBB FUND, INC.
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS: BOGIX
INVESTOR CLASS: BOGLX
PROSPECTUS
December 31, 2014
The securities described in this prospectus have been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The SEC, however, has not judged these securities for their investment merit and has not determined the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a criminal offense.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY SECTION |
|||||||
Investment Objective |
1 |
||||||
Expenses and Fees |
1 |
||||||
Principal Investment Strategies |
2 |
||||||
Principal Risks |
2 |
||||||
Risk/Return Information |
3 |
||||||
Management of the Fund |
4 |
||||||
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares |
4 |
||||||
Tax Information |
5 |
||||||
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries |
5 |
||||||
MORE ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
|||||||
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective
and Principal Strategies |
6 |
||||||
Additional Information on the Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund |
7 |
||||||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
8 |
||||||
DETAILS ON THE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS OF THE FUND |
|||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND |
|||||||
Investment Adviser |
9 |
||||||
POLICIES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPENING, MAINTAINING
AND CLOSING AN ACCOUNT IN THE FUND |
|||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
|||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
10 |
||||||
Market Timing |
10 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
11 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
15 |
||||||
Exchange Privilege |
18 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
18 |
||||||
Taxes |
18 |
||||||
Considerations for Taxable Investors |
21 |
||||||
Financial Highlights |
22 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
SUMMARY SECTION
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The investment objective of the Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund (the "Fund") is to provide long-term capital appreciation.
EXPENSES AND FEES
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
INSTITUTIONAL
CLASS |
INVESTOR
CLASS |
||||||||||
SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
None |
|||||||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
None |
|||||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
None |
|||||||||
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed,
if applicable) |
None |
None |
|||||||||
Exchange Fee |
None |
None |
|||||||||
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you
pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||||||
Management Fees |
1.00 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
|||||||
Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
0.00 |
% |
0.00 |
% |
|||||||
Other Expenses |
0.32 |
% |
0.32 |
% |
|||||||
Shareholder Servicing Fee |
0.00 |
% |
0.10 |
% |
|||||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.32 |
% |
1.42 |
% |
|||||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements (1) |
(0.07 |
)% |
(0.07 |
)% |
|||||||
Net Expenses |
1.25 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
(1) Bogle Investment Management, L.P. (the "Adviser") has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.25% and 1.35% for the Institutional Class and Investor Class, respectively. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.25% or 1.35%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may discontinue these arrangements any time after December 31, 2015.
1
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 below shows what you would pay if you invested $10,000 in the Fund over the various time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 YEAR |
3 YEARS |
5 YEARS |
10 YEARS |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
127 |
$ |
411 |
$ |
717 |
$ |
1,584 |
|||||||||||
Investor Class |
$ |
137 |
$ |
442 |
$ |
770 |
$ |
1,696 |
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 175.06% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of the net assets of the portfolio (including borrowings for investment purposes) in the stocks of U.S. companies with market capitalizations, at the time of purchase, that are within the trailing twelve-month range of the market capitalizations of those companies that are included in the Russell 2000 ® Index ("Small Cap Stocks"). For purposes of this investment policy, stocks of U.S. companies are stocks that are listed on a securities exchange or market inside the United States. Because the Russell 2000 ® Index ("Index") is modified ("reconstituted") regularly (usually each year) to replace companies that no longer qualify for inclusion in the Index due to, among other reasons, having market capitalizations that have grown too large, the Adviser uses the trailing twelve-month range of market capitalizations to mitigate the need to trade stocks in the portfolio due to Index reconstitution. Further, the Adviser will not sell from the portfolio any holdings that the Adviser believes are likely to appreciate more than the Index solely because the market capitalizations of such holdings cause the portfolio to hold less than 80% of its net assets within this range. As such, the Fund may, from time to time, hold less than 80% of its net assets within this range. The Fund attempts to achieve its objective by taking long positions in Small Cap Stocks that the Adviser believes are undervalued given their future earnings growth prospects. The Adviser will manage the portfolio such that its median market capitalization is under normal circumstances reasonably close to the median capitalization of the Index. As part of its investment strategy, the Adviser will continue to invest in Small Cap Stocks that the Adviser believes will appreciate more than the Index. Shareholders will be notified by the Fund sixty days in advance of any change in this 80% policy.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
• Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. Equity markets tend to be cyclical; there are times when stock prices generally increase, and other times when they generally decrease. Therefore, you could lose money by investing in the Fund.
2
• The Fund will invest in Small Cap Stocks that may be more volatile than investments in issuers with larger market capitalizations. Issuers of Small Cap Stocks are not as diversified in their business activities as issuers with larger market capitalizations and are more susceptible to changes in the business cycle.
• The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will fluctuate with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions.
• Although the Fund will invest in stocks that the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• The Fund may frequently trade its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur higher brokerage commissions and other transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in higher taxable capital gains.
RISK/RETURN INFORMATION
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Fund's Investor Class. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information may be obtained at www.boglefunds.com or 1-877-264-5346.
TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE CALENDAR YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31
INVESTOR CLASS
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 33.33% (quarter ended June 30, 2009)
Worst Quarter: (28.63)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 1.97%
3
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
The table below compares the Fund's average annual total returns for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and the past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Investor Class Before Taxes |
46.78 |
% |
27.01 |
% |
9.24 |
% |
|||||||||
Investor Class After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
46.71 |
% |
27.00 |
% |
8.05 |
% |
|||||||||
Investor Class After Taxes on Distributions
(1)
and Sale of Fund Shares |
26.47 |
% |
22.47 |
% |
7.32 |
% |
|||||||||
Institutional Class Before Taxes |
46.87 |
% |
27.14 |
% |
9.35 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 2000 ® Index |
38.83 |
% |
20.08 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (IRA). After-tax returns are shown for only the Investor Class and may vary for the Institutional Class.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Bogle Investment Management, L.P.
Portfolio Manager
John C. Bogle, Jr., President, since inception
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Class |
Minimum Initial Investment |
||||||
Institutional shares |
$ 1,000,000 | ||||||
Investor shares |
$10,000 ($2,000 minimum for IRA accounts) |
You can only purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") is open. Institutional and Investor Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms,
4
financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption by Mail:
Regular Mail:
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9809 Providence, RI 02940 |
Overnight Delivery:
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Purchase by Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-877-264-5346 to confirm the current wire instructions for the Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund.
Redemption by Telephone:
Call the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE FUND'S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES
The investment objective of the Fund is to provide long-term capital appreciation. In seeking this objective, the Fund attempts to achieve a total return greater than the total return of the Russell 2000 ® Index. The Russell 2000 ® Index is an unmanaged index that is comprised of the 2,000 smallest of the 3,000 largest U.S. domiciled corporations, ranked by market capitalizations.
The Fund attempts to achieve its objective by taking long positions in Small Cap Stocks that the Adviser believes are undervalued given their future earnings growth prospects. The Fund will primarily invest in securities principally traded in the U.S. markets. The Fund may also invest in futures contracts and options on futures contracts as an alternative to purchasing a specified type of security.
The Adviser will determine the size of each position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") can change the investment objective of the Fund. However, shareholders will be given notice before any change is made.
The Fund's long positions may involve (without limit) equity securities of foreign issuers that are traded in the markets of the U.S. as sponsored American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"). ADRs are receipts issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying foreign securities. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets. The ADRs may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the foreign securities underlying the ADRs. The Fund will not invest directly in equity securities that are principally traded outside of the U.S.
In addition to investments expected to meet the preceding criteria, the Fund may also invest in certain instruments related to the Standard & Poor's 500 ® Composite Stock Price Index (the "S&P 500 ® Index") and the Russell 2000 ® Index (described above). The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, most of which are listed on the NYSE. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in such index. The Fund may invest in S&P 500 ® Index futures, options on S&P 500 ® Index futures, Russell 2000 ® Index futures and equity swap contracts.
The Fund may seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker- dealers. Portfolio securities loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by the Fund will not exceed 33 1 / 3 % of the value of the Fund's total assets. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund. Lending the Fund's portfolio securities involves a variety of risks, not limited to the risk of delay in receiving additional collateral if the value of the securities goes up while they are on loan. The Fund may lose money from securities lending if, for example, it is delayed in or prevented from selling the collateral after the loan is made or recovering the securities loaned or if it incurs losses on the reinvestment of cash collateral.
Sell decisions are generally triggered by an adverse change in either the fundamental outlook for a company or investors' beliefs about future stock price performance. Fundamental signals that could signal a sale include a
6
significant appreciation in price, a poor quarterly earnings announcement or an indication that management is aggressive with its financial accounting. Adverse changes in investors' beliefs about future stock prices are related to investors' behavioral biases. Given the diversified nature of the stock selection process, it is likely that more than one of these signals would have to be declining in order to trigger a sale.
The Fund may hold cash or cash equivalents pending investment or to meet redemption requests. In addition, for defensive purposes due to abnormal market or economic situations, as determined by the Adviser, the Fund may reduce its holdings in other securities and invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or certain short- term (less than twelve months to maturity) and medium-term (not greater than five years to maturity) interest-bearing instruments or deposits of U.S. and foreign issuers. Such investments may include, but are not limited to, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, variable or floating rate notes, bankers' acceptances, time deposits, government securities and money-market deposit accounts. To the extent the Fund employs a temporary investment strategy, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND
GENERAL
There can be no assurance that the investment methodology employed will satisfy the Fund's objective of long- term capital appreciation. Additionally, an investment in the Fund will be subject to the risk of poor stock selection by the Adviser. In other words, the Adviser may not be successful in executing its strategy and may invest in stocks that underperform the market.
The value of the fixed income securities held by the Fund, and thus the NAV of the shares of the Fund, generally will vary inversely in relation to changes in prevailing interest rates.
The value of Fund shares may increase or decrease depending on market, economic, political, regulatory and other conditions affecting the Fund's portfolio. Investment in shares of the Fund is more volatile and risky than some other forms of investment.
SECURITIES OF SMALL COMPANIES
Investments in common stocks in general are subject to market, economic and business risks that will cause their price to fluctuate over time. While securities of small market value companies may offer greater opportunity for capital appreciation than the securities of larger companies, investment in smaller companies presents greater risks than investment in larger, more established companies. Historically, small market value stocks have been more volatile in price than larger market value stocks. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility of small market value stocks are the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such stocks, and the potentially greater sensitivity of such small companies to changes in or failure of management and changes in competitive, business, industry and economic conditions. Besides exhibiting greater volatility, small company stocks may, to a degree, fluctuate independently of larger company stocks. Small company stocks may decline in price as large company stocks rise, or rise in price as large company stocks decline. You should therefore expect that the price of the Fund's shares will be more volatile than the shares of a fund that invests in larger capitalization stocks. Additionally, such securities may trade less frequently and in smaller volume than more widely held securities. The values of these securities may fluctuate more sharply than those of other
7
securities, and the Fund may experience some difficulty in establishing or closing out positions in these securities at prevailing market prices. There may be less publicly available information about the issuers of these securities or less market interest in such securities than in the case of larger companies, and it may take a longer period of time for the prices of such securities to reflect the full value of their issuers' underlying earnings potential or assets. The Fund should not be considered suitable for you if you are unable or unwilling to assume the risks of loss associated with such an investment program, nor should investment in the Fund be considered a balanced or complete investment program.
BROAD-BASED SECURITIES MARKET INDEX
The Russell 2000 ® Index is an unmanaged index that is comprised of the 2,000 smallest of the 3,000 largest U.S. domiciled corporations, ranked by market capitalizations. As of November 30, 2014, the minimum market capitalization of the Russell 2000 ® Index was $16 million and the largest stock was $8.9 billion. Please note that this information is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"). The SAI is incorporated herein.
8
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
INVESTMENT ADVISER
The Adviser's principal address is 2310 Washington Street, Suite 310, Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts 02462. The Adviser manages the Fund's investment activities, subject to the authority of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser has provided investment management and investment advisory services to the Fund and other institutional accounts since 1999. The Adviser also serves as a shareholder servicing agent to the Investor Class of the Fund pursuant to a Shareholder Servicing Agreement between the Company and the Adviser.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of 1.00% of the Fund's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.25% and 1.35% for the Institutional Class and Investor Class, respectively. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.25% or 1.35%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, after waivers, the Adviser received 0.94% of the Fund's average net assets in investment advisory fees from the Fund. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 1.00% of the Fund's average net assets in investment advisory fees from the Fund.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser is available in the Fund's annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
John C. Bogle, Jr. serves as portfolio manager of the Fund. Mr. Bogle founded the Adviser in 1999 and currently serves as its President. From 1990 to 1999, Mr. Bogle was a Managing Director of Numeric Investors LLC ® (formerly Numeric Investors L.P.), a quantitative investment management firm.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager's ownership of securities in the Fund.
9
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
PRICING OF FUND SHARES
Shares of a class of the Fund are priced at their NAV. The NAV of a class of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases and redemptions of Fund Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your purchase order or redemption request in good order.
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, securities will be fair valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in exchange- traded and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
MARKET TIMING
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. Excessive short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Fund performance and result in
10
dilution in the value of Fund Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Company's Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short- term trading, the Adviser may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES
PURCHASE OF INSTITUTIONAL SHARES THROUGH AN INSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION
Institutional shares of the Fund may be sold to corporations or other institutions such as trusts, foundations or broker-dealers purchasing for the accounts of others ("Institutional Organizations"). If you purchase Institutional shares through an Institutional Organization, you may be charged a transaction-based fee or other fee for the services of such organization. Each Institutional Organization is responsible for transmitting to its customers a schedule of any such fees and information regarding any additional or different conditions regarding purchases. Customers of Institutional Organizations should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing accounts with their Institutional Organization. The Fund does not pay compensation to or receive compensation from Institutional Organizations for the sale of Institutional shares.
Certain Institutional Organizations may have agreements with the Fund and may be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Fund in accordance with such
11
agreements. An Institutional Organization or, if applicable, its designee that has entered into such an agreement with the Fund or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Fund's pricing on the following business day. If payment is not received by such time, the Institutional Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an Institutional Organization, or if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order. Orders received by the Fund in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after they are accepted by the Institutional Organization or its authorized designee. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the Institutional Organization to determine the status of the purchase order.
PURCHASE OF INVESTOR SHARES THROUGH A SHAREHOLDER SERVICING AGENT
Purchase orders for Investor shares may be placed through a financial intermediary ("Shareholder Servicing Agent"). Investor shares are subject to such investment minimums and other terms and conditions as may be imposed by Shareholder Servicing Agents from time to time. Shareholder Servicing Agents may offer additional services to their customers. For further information as to how to direct a Shareholder Servicing Agent to purchase Investor shares of the Fund on your behalf, you should contact your Shareholder Servicing Agent or the Fund's Distributor.
Certain Shareholder Servicing Agents may have agreements with the Fund and may be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Fund in accordance with such agreements. A Shareholder Servicing Agent or, if applicable, its designee that has entered into such an agreement with the Fund or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Fund's pricing on the following business day. If payment is not received by such time, the Shareholder Servicing Agent could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when the Shareholder Servicing Agent, or if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order. Orders received by the Fund in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after they are accepted by the Shareholder Servicing Agent or its authorized designee. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the Shareholder Servicing Agent to determine the status of the purchase order.
SHAREHOLDER SERVICING PLAN
The Fund has adopted a Shareholder Servicing Plan that allows Investor shares of the Fund to pay service fees to Shareholder Servicing Agents, including the Adviser. Under the Shareholder Servicing Plan, if a Shareholder Servicing Agent provides shareholder services, including responding to shareholder inquiries and assisting shareholders with their accounts, the Fund may pay shareholder service fees to the Shareholder Servicing Agent at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net asset value of the Investor shares beneficially owned by the Shareholder Servicing Agent's clients.
PURCHASE OF INSTITUTIONAL AND INVESTOR SHARES THROUGH THE FUND'S TRANSFER AGENT
You may also purchase Institutional and Investor shares directly from the Fund at the NAV per share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the
12
NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Fund's records, which will show all of your transactions and the balance of the shares you own. You can only purchase shares on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. The Fund's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Initial Investment By Mail. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, an account may be opened by completing and signing an Account Application and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check ($1,000,000 minimum for Institutional shares and $10,000 minimum for Investor shares ($2,000 minimum for IRA accounts accepted for Investor shares)) payable to Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund:
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9809
Providence, RI 02940
or overnight to:
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Subject to acceptance by the Fund, payment for the purchase of shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt. Such payment need not be converted into federal funds (monies credited to the Fund's custodian bank by a Federal Reserve Bank) before acceptance by the Fund. No third party endorsed checks (including checks issued by credit card companies) or foreign checks will be accepted as payment for shares.
Initial Investment By Wire. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, shares may be purchased by wiring federal funds ($1,000,000 minimum for Institutional shares and $10,000 minimum for Investor shares ($2,000 minimum for IRA accounts accepted for Investor shares)) to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed Account Application should be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment By Mail" in advance of the wire. Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the business day prior to the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) For current wire instructions, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time ($5,000 minimum for Institutional shares and $250 minimum for Investor shares ($100 minimum for IRA accounts accepted for Investor shares)) by purchasing shares at the NAV per share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted under "Initial Investment By Mail" (payable to Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined above under "Initial Investment By Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the business day prior to the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the purchase date.
13
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in shares of the Fund may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through the Automatic Investment Plan. Investors who would like to participate in the Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346, or complete the appropriate section of the account application. The minimum initial investment for the Automatic Investment Plan is $10,000 for Investor shares and $1,000,000 for Institutional shares. Minimum monthly payments are $100 for Investor shares and $1,000 for Institutional shares, and minimum quarterly payments are $300 and $3,000 respectively.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per Investor Class IRA account per year. The Adviser may reimburse a portion of this fee, thereby reducing the charge to the retirement investor. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
OTHER PURCHASE INFORMATION
The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Institutional and Investor shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interest of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and, subject to Board approval, may decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons, who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. persons who already hold shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Adviser;
b. existing and future clients of the Adviser and of Financial Advisers and Planners whose clients already hold shares of the closed Fund;
c. employees of the Adviser and their families (including, among others, spouses, parents and children); and
d. Directors of the Company.
14
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Fund's shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places. In the interest of economy and convenience, certificates for shares will not be issued except at the written request of the shareholder. Certificates for fractional shares, however, will not be issued.
Shares may be purchased and subsequent investments may be made by principals and employees of the Adviser, and by their family members, either directly or through their IRAs and by any pension and profit- sharing plan of the Adviser, without being subject to the minimum investment limitation. The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM
Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
REDEMPTION OF FUND SHARES
You may redeem Institutional and Investor shares of the Fund at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
You may redeem Institutional and Investor shares of the Fund by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone (excluding retirement accounts where BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company acts as custodian). The value of shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
15
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to:
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9809
Providence, RI 02940
or for overnight delivery to:
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
and must include:
• the share certificates, if issued;
• a letter of instruction, if required, or a stock assignment specifying the number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
• any required Medallion signature guarantees, which are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s), (ii) the redemption request is for $50,000 or more, or (iii) a share transfer request is made. A Medallion signature guarantee is a special signature guarantee that may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker-dealer, clearing agency or savings association which is a participant in a Medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A Medallion imprint or Medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a Medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized signature guarantee Medallion Programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
• other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the Telephone Redemption Option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the Telephone Redemption Option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of shares by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. Shares cannot be redeemed by telephone if share certificates are held for those shares. If the Telephone Redemption Option is authorized, the Fund and its Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with
16
transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholder's account in the Fund (other than those in an IRA account) at any time the value of the account falls below $500. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account is below $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the involuntary redemption is processed.
The Fund may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
INVESTOR CLASS
If you purchased Investor shares through a Shareholder Servicing Agent, you must place all redemption orders for Investor shares through that Shareholder Servicing Agent in accordance with instructions or limitations pertaining to your account with your Shareholder Servicing Agent. Redemption orders for Investor shares are effected at the NAV next determined after the order is received by the Transfer Agent. While no redemption fee is imposed by the Fund, Shareholder Servicing Agents may charge your account for redemption services. You should contact your Shareholder Servicing Agent or the Transfer Agent for further information regarding redemption of Investor shares, including the availability of wire or telephone redemption privileges, or whether you may elect to participate in a systematic withdrawal plan.
OTHER REDEMPTION INFORMATION
Redemption proceeds for shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, the Fund may pay the redemption proceeds in whole or in part by a distribution in-kind of readily marketable securities held by the Fund in lieu of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in the payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
17
EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE
Upon request, beneficial shareholders of Investor Class Shares are eligible to exchange their shares for Institutional Class Shares if the accumulated value of their shares exceeds the minimum initial investment amount for Institutional Class Shares ($1,000,000). The Fund will determine the eligibility of an investor to exercise the exchange privilege based on the current NAV of Investor Class Shares. Such an exchange will be effected at the NAV of the Investor Class Shares next calculated after the exchange request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. Shares of each class of the Fund represent equal pro rata interests in the Fund and accrue dividends and calculate NAV and performance quotations in the same manner. The performance of each class is quoted separately due to different actual expenses. The total return on Institutional Class Shares can be expected to differ from the total return on Investor Class Shares. The Fund reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change or discontinue its exchange privilege, or temporarily suspend the privilege during unusual market conditions when, in the judgment of management, such change or discontinuance is in the best interests of the Fund. Shareholders who exercise the exchange privilege will generally not recognize a taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on an exchange of Investor Class Shares for Institutional Class Shares.
You may make an exchange request by sending a written request to the Transfer Agent or, if authorized, by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-877-264-5346.
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
The Fund declares and pays dividends of substantially all of its net investment income annually. The Fund distributes, at least annually, substantially all net realized capital gains, if any, earned. The Fund will inform shareholders of the amount and nature of all such income or gains.
Dividends are paid in the form of additional shares of the same class of the Fund, unless you have elected prior to the date of distribution to receive payment in cash. Such election, or any revocation thereof, must be made in writing to the Transfer Agent and will become effective with respect to dividends paid after its receipt. Dividends that are otherwise taxable are taxable to you whether received in cash or in additional shares of the Fund. It is anticipated that expenses incurred by each class of shares of the Fund will differ and, accordingly, that the dividends distributed with respect to each class may differ.
TAXES
The following is a summary of certain U.S. tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual U.S. citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Federal Taxes of Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short- term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund
18
distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition of shares of the Fund may be disallowed under "wash sale" rules to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced
19
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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the U.S. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares of the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
20
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income or gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the Fund's SAI.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR TAXABLE INVESTORS
Those investment strategies that require periodic changes to portfolio holdings with the expectation of outperforming equity indices are typically referred to as "active" strategies. These strategies contrast with "passive" ("index") strategies that buy and hold only the stocks in the equity indices. Passive strategies tend to trade infrequently only as the stocks in the indices change (largely due to changes in the sizes of the companies in the indices, takeovers or bankruptcies). Most equity mutual funds pursue active strategies, which have higher portfolio turnover than passive strategies.
The generally higher portfolio turnover of active investment strategies can adversely affect taxable investors, especially those in higher marginal tax brackets, in two ways. First, fund short-term capital gains, which often accompany higher turnover investment strategies, are currently taxed to shareholders as ordinary income. Ordinary income tax rates are higher than long-term capital gain tax rates for middle and upper income taxpayers. Thus, the tax liability is often higher for investors in active strategies. Second, the more frequent realization of gains caused by higher turnover investment strategies means that taxes will be paid sooner. Such acceleration of the tax liability is financially more costly to investors. Less frequent realization of capital gains allows the payment of taxes to be deferred until later years, allowing more of the gains to compound before taxes are paid. Consequently, after-tax compound rates of return will generally be higher for taxable investors using investment strategies with very low turnover, compared with high turnover strategies. The difference is particularly large when the general market rates of return are higher than average.
Although tax considerations should not typically drive investment decisions, the Adviser recommends that all of its investors consider their ability to allocate tax-deferred or non-taxable assets (such as IRAs and other retirement plans) to active strategies, and taxable assets to lower turnover passive strategies, when considering their investment options.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
21
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Fund share. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Fund's financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting
firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Fund's financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Institutional
Class |
Investor
Class |
Institutional
Class |
Investor
Class |
Institutional
Class |
Investor
Class |
Institutional
Class |
Investor
Class |
Institutional
Class |
Investor
Class |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of year |
$ |
29.49 |
$ |
29.00 |
$ |
21.76 |
$ |
21.42 |
$ |
19.38 |
$ |
19.10 |
$ |
14.81 |
$ |
14.61 |
$ |
14.03 |
$ |
13.86 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
(0.23 |
) |
(0.26 |
) |
0.10 |
0.07 |
(0.04 |
) |
(0.07 |
) |
(0.10 |
) |
(0.12 |
) |
(0.07 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain
on investments |
8.87 |
8.74 |
7.63 |
7.51 |
2.42 |
2.39 |
4.67 |
4.61 |
0.85 |
0.84 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net increase in net assets
resulting from operations |
8.64 |
8.48 |
7.73 |
7.58 |
2.38 |
2.32 |
4.57 |
4.49 |
0.78 |
0.75 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and Distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.03 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.03 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
38.07 |
$ |
37.45 |
$ |
29.49 |
$ |
29.00 |
$ |
21.76 |
$ |
21.42 |
$ |
19.38 |
$ |
19.10 |
$ |
14.81 |
$ |
14.61 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Total investment return (1) |
29.34 |
% |
29.28 |
% |
35.52 |
% |
35.39 |
% |
12.28 |
% |
12.15 |
% |
30.86 |
% |
30.73 |
% |
5.56 |
% |
5.41 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year
(000 's omitted) |
$ |
117,923 |
$ |
116,669 |
$ |
98,898 |
$ |
77,584 |
$ |
48,526 |
$ |
58,011 |
$ |
38,274 |
$ |
74,155 |
$ |
31,714 |
$ |
48,446 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
with waivers and reimbursements |
1.25 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
1.25 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
1.25 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
1.25 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
1.25 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
without waivers and reimbursements |
1.32 |
% |
1.43 |
% |
1.39 |
% |
1.49 |
% |
1.51 |
% |
1.60 |
% |
1.44 |
% |
1.54 |
% |
1.51 |
% |
1.62 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/(loss)
to average net assets |
(0.66 |
)% |
(0.76 |
)% |
0.37 |
% |
0.27 |
% |
(0.21 |
)% |
(0.36 |
)% |
(0.48 |
)% |
(0.58 |
)% |
(0.48 |
)% |
(0.58 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
175.06 |
% |
175.06 |
% |
237.59 |
% |
237.59 |
% |
288.88 |
% |
288.88 |
% |
302.71 |
% |
302.71 |
% |
196.03 |
% |
196.03 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(1) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
22
BOGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
P.O. BOX 9808
PROVIDENCE, RI 02940
1-877-264-5346
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
ANNUAL/SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS
These reports contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes Fund strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. The Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders may be obtained free of charge by calling 1-877-264-5346 and are available on the Adviser's website at www.boglefunds.com.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, and the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports, may be obtained free of charge by calling 1-877-264-5346. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus and is legally considered a part of this Prospectus. The SAI is available on the Adviser's website at www.boglefunds.com.
SHAREHOLDER INQUIRIES
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: 1-877-264-5346
PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS
Call your registered representative or 1-877-264-5346.
WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE
Post Office Address:
|
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., PO Box 9809, Providence, RI 02940 |
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Street Address:
|
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 |
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by sending your request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
FREE MARKET U.S. EQUITY FUND
FREE MARKET INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND
FREE MARKET FIXED INCOME FUND
of
THE RBB FUND, INC.
PROSPECTUS
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
MATSON MONEY, INC.
5955 Deerfield Blvd.
Mason, OH 45040
The securities described in this Prospectus have been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The SEC, however, has not judged these securities for their investment merit and has not determined the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a criminal offense.
Ticker Symbols |
|||||||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
FMUEX |
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Free Market International Equity Fund |
FMNEX |
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Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
FMFIX |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE |
|||||||
SUMMARY SECTIONS |
1 | ||||||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
1 |
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Free Market International Equity Fund |
6 |
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Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
12 |
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MORE ABOUT EACH FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
18 | ||||||
Investment Strategies |
18 |
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More About Underlying Investment Company Investments |
19 |
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Investment Risks |
22 |
||||||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
24 |
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Composite Indices |
24 |
||||||
Credit Ratings |
26 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS |
27 | ||||||
Investment Adviser |
27 |
||||||
Portfolio Managers |
27 |
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Management Fees |
27 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
28 | ||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
28 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
29 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
30 |
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Market Timing |
|||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
32 |
||||||
Taxes |
32 |
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
35 | ||||||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
35 |
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Free Market International Equity Fund |
36 |
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Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
37 |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MATSON MONEY FAMILY OF FUNDS |
Back Cover |
i
FREE MARKET U.S. EQUITY FUND |
FMUEX |
Investment Objective
The Free Market U.S. Equity Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
0.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
0.10 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.23 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.83 |
% |
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
85 |
$ |
265 |
$ |
460 |
$ |
1,025 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 3% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered, open-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") (collectively, "investment companies") that have either adopted policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in equity securities, such as common stocks, preferred stocks or securities convertible into stocks, of U.S. companies, or invest substantially all of their assets in such equity securities. The Fund will diversify its investments by investing primarily in investment companies focusing on different segments of the equity markets, including large ("large-cap"), small ("small-cap") and micro-capitalization ("micro-cap") equity securities that the Fund's investment adviser ("Adviser") believes offer the prospect of long-term capital appreciation.
1
Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Fund's net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies that invest in the types of securities described in each asset class below, with less than 2% of the net assets invested in cash or money market instruments.
U.S. Large Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of large cap companies that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013 large cap companies generally were those companies with a market capitalization of $3.522 billion or greater. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
U.S. Small Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of small cap companies that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013 small cap companies generally were those companies with a market capitalization of $3.522 billion or less. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
U.S. Large Company Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase all of the stocks that comprise the S&P 500 ® Index in approximately the proportions they are represented in the S&P 500 ® Index. Generally, these are the U.S. stocks with the largest market capitalizations and, as a group, they represent approximately 75% of the total market capitalization of all publicly traded U.S. stocks.
U.S. Small Cap Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of small cap companies primarily based on market capitalization. As of December 2013 small cap companies were generally those with a market capitalization of $3.522 billion or less. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions. There may be some overlap in the companies in which the U.S. small cap asset class and the U.S. micro cap asset class invest.
U.S. Micro Cap Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of micro cap companies. As of December 2013 micro cap companies were generally those companies with a market capitalization of $1.741 billion or less. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions. There may be some overlap in the companies in which the U.S. micro cap asset class and the U.S. small cap asset class invest.
The underlying investment companies may use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for U.S. equity securities and indices, to gain market exposure on its uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. Underlying index-based ETFs may use derivatives, including futures contracts, options on futures contracts, options and swaps to help the ETF track its underlying index.
The Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets as a temporary defensive measure in cash and money market instruments such as U.S. Government securities, bank obligations and commercial paper. To the extent the Fund employs a temporary defensive measure, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for the Fund in each underlying investment company and may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of the Fund in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders.
2
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Fund involves the same investment risks as those of the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. These risks may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and investment performance. The Fund is subject to the following principal risks:
• Stocks of large cap, small cap or micro cap companies in which the Fund's underlying investment companies invest or in which the Fund invests directly may temporarily fall out of favor with investors or may be more volatile than the rest of the U.S. market as a whole.
• The smaller the capitalization of a company, generally the less liquid its stock and the more volatile its price. Companies with smaller market capitalizations also tend to have unproven track records and are more likely to fail than companies with larger market capitalizations.
• Although the Fund will invest in other investment companies that follow a value oriented strategy, value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and such a strategy may cause the Fund at times to underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
• Companies in which the Fund's underlying investment companies invest may suffer unexpected losses or lower than expected earnings or their securities may become difficult or impossible to sell at the time and for the price that the underlying investment adviser(s) would like.
• The Adviser's judgment about the attractiveness or potential appreciation of a particular underlying investment company security could prove to be wrong or the Fund could miss out on an investment opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of such opportunity are tied up in less advantageous investments.
• Because under normal circumstances the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in shares of registered investment companies that emphasize investments in U.S. equity securities, the NAV of the Fund will change with changes in the share prices of the investment companies in which the Fund invests.
• There is a risk that large, small or micro capitalization stocks may not perform as well as other asset classes or the U.S. stock market as a whole. In the past, large, small and micro capitalization stocks have gone through cycles of doing better or worse than the stock market in general.
• There is a risk that the Fund, which is passively managed, may not perform as well as funds with more active methods of investment management, such as selecting securities based on economic, financial, and market analysis.
• The derivative instruments in which the underlying investment companies may invest are subject to a number of risks including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and it is possible to lose more than the principal amount invested.
• The performance of the Fund will depend on how successfully the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies pursue their investment strategies.
More information about the Fund's investments and risks is contained under the section entitled "More About Each Fund's Investments and Risks."
3
Performance Information
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Total returns would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived or reimbursed. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated information is available at www.matsonmoney.com or by calling (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863.
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the period reflected in the chart above)
Best Quarter: 22.80% (quarter ended June 30, 2009) |
|||
Worst Quarter: (22.63)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008) |
|||
Year to Date Total Return as of September 30, 2014: 0.67% |
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns of the Fund before and after taxes for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and since inception to the average total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns for the
Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Year |
Since
Inception* (December 31, 2007) |
|||||||||||||
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
39.69 |
% |
16.90 |
% |
10.31 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions* |
38.45 |
% |
16.23 |
% |
9.85 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares* |
23.20 |
% |
13.16 |
% |
8.11 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 2500
®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
36.80 |
% |
16.28 |
% |
9.16 |
% |
|||||||||
Composite Index** |
34.69 |
% |
15.56 |
% |
7.16 |
% |
* After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns will depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
** The Composite Index is comprised of the S&P 500 ® Index, Russell 1000 ® Value Index, Russell 2000 ® Index and Russell 2000 ® Value Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. Additional information
4
about the Composite Index can be found under the section entitled "More About Each Fund's Investments and Risks."
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Mark E. Matson: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, since 1991
Daniel J. List: Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Portfolio Management, since 1994
Steven B. Miller: Vice President of Operations and Portfolio Manager, since 2004
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund has no minimum initial investment or minimum subsequent investment. The Fund is exclusively available to clients or customers of service organizations approved by the Adviser, including certain brokerage firms, investment advisers, financial institutions and other industry professionals ("Service Organizations"). Only persons or entities having relationships with these Service Organizations may invest in the Fund. You may submit redemption requests on any business day to your Service Organization in person or by telephone, mail or wire.
You can only purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
5
FREE MARKET INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND |
FMNEX |
Investment Objective
The Free Market International Equity Fund (the "Fund") seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
0.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
0.12 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.45 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.07 |
% |
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
109 |
$ |
340 |
$ |
590 |
$ |
1,306 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 2% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered, open-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") (collectively, "investment companies") that have either adopted policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in equity securities, such as common stocks, preferred stocks or securities convertible into stocks, of foreign companies, or invest substantially all of their assets in such equity securities. The Fund will diversify its investments by investing primarily in investment companies that focus on different segments of the foreign equity markets, including emerging markets, with little or no focus on domestic equity markets.
Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Fund's net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies that invest in the types of securities described in each asset class below, with less than 5% of the net assets invested in cash or money market instruments.
6
International Small Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of small companies in foreign countries with developed markets that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013, the highest maximum market capitalization of a small company in any country in which an underlying investment company invested was $5.399 billion. This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
International Large Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of large companies in foreign countries with developed markets that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013, the lowest minimum market capitalization of a large company in any country or region in which an underlying investment company invested was $1.628 billion. This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
International Small Company Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of small companies in foreign countries with developed markets. As of December 2013, the highest maximum market capitalization of a small company in any country in which an underlying investment company invested was $5.399 billion. This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
International Large Cap Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of large companies in foreign countries with developed markets. As of December 2013, the lowest minimum market capitalization of a large company in any country or region in which an underlying investment company invested was $1.628 billion. This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
Emerging Markets Asset Class, Emerging Markets Value Asset Class, and Emerging Markets Small Cap Asset Class (collectively, the "Emerging Markets Asset Classes"): Underlying investment companies comprising each Emerging Markets Asset Class generally will purchase stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of companies located in emerging market countries. The underlying investment companies investing in securities of the Emerging Markets Asset Class and the Emerging Markets Small Cap Asset Class will generally purchase the equity securities of larger and smaller companies, respectively, within each country. The underlying investment adviser(s) determine company size primarily based on market capitalization. As of December 2013 companies in the Emerging Markets Small Cap Asset Class generally were those companies with a market capitalization of $4.473 billion or less in the largest country and $396 million in the smallest country. This threshold will vary by country or region. These dollar amounts will change from time to time due to market conditions.
The underlying investment companies in the Emerging Markets Value Asset Class generally will purchase emerging market equity securities that are deemed by the underlying investment adviser(s) to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment
7
adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time.
The underlying investment companies may use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices, to gain market exposure on its uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. Underlying index-based ETFs may use derivatives, including futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts, options and swaps to help the ETF track its underlying index.
The Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets as a temporary defensive measure in cash and money market instruments such as U.S. Government securities, bank obligations and commercial paper. To the extent the Fund employs a temporary defensive measure, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for the Fund in each underlying investment company and may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of the Fund in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Fund involves the same investment risks as those of the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. These risks may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and investment performance. The Fund is subject to the following principal risks:
• The value of particular foreign equity securities which the Fund's underlying investment companies may purchase or foreign stock markets on which the securities they may purchase are traded may decline in value.
• Stocks of large cap or small cap foreign companies in which the Fund's underlying investment companies may invest may temporarily fall out of favor with investors or may be more volatile than particular foreign stock markets or foreign stock markets as a whole.
• The smaller the capitalization of a company, generally the less liquid its stock and the more volatile its price. Companies with smaller market capitalizations also tend to have unproven track records and are more likely to fail than companies with larger market capitalizations.
• Stocks of large cap or small cap foreign companies in which the Fund's underlying investment companies may invest may suffer unexpected losses or lower than expected earnings or such securities may become difficult or impossible to sell at the time and for the price the underlying investment advisers would like.
• Because the Fund owns shares of underlying investment companies that invest in foreign issuers, the Fund is subject to risks presented by investments in such issuers. Securities of foreign issuers may be negatively affected by political events, economic conditions, or inefficient, illiquid or unregulated markets in foreign countries. Foreign issuers may be subject to inadequate regulatory or accounting standards.
• Investments in emerging market securities by underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests are subject to higher risks than those in developed market countries because there is greater uncertainty in less established markets and economics.
• Currency risk is the risk that exchange rates for currencies in which securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests are denominated will fluctuate daily. In general, the underlying investment companies do not hedge currency risk. As a result, if currencies in which foreign holdings are denominated depreciate against the U.S. Dollar, the value of your investment in the Fund may be adversely affected.
8
• The Adviser's judgment about the attractiveness or potential appreciation of a particular underlying investment company security could prove to be wrong or the Fund could miss out on an investment opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of such opportunity are tied up in less advantageous investments.
• Because under normal circumstances the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in shares of registered investment companies that emphasize investments in equity securities of foreign companies, the NAV of the Fund will change with changes in the share prices of the investment companies in which the Fund invests.
• There is a risk that the Fund, which is passively managed, may not perform as well as funds with more active methods of investment management, such as selecting securities based on economic, financial, and market analysis.
• The derivative instruments in which the underlying investment companies may invest are subject to a number of risks including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and it is possible to lose more than the principal amount invested.
• The performance of the Fund will depend on how successfully the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies pursue their investment strategies.
More information about the Fund's investments and risks is contained under the section entitled "More Information About Each Fund's Investments and Risks."
Performance Information
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Total returns would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived or reimbursed. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated information is available at www.matsonmoney.com or by calling (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863.
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the period reflected in the chart above)
Best Quarter: 33.53% (quarter ended June 30, 2009)
Worst Quarter: (22.38)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011) Year to Date Total Return as of September 30, 2014: (0.77)% |
9
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns of the Fund before and after taxes for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and since inception to the average total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns for the
Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Year |
Since
Inception* (December 31, 2007) |
|||||||||||||
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
21.80 |
% |
6.04 |
% |
3.03 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions* |
20.45 |
% |
5.05 |
% |
2.29 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares* |
12.66 |
% |
4.35 |
% |
2.08 |
% |
|||||||||
MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index (reflects no deduction
for fees, expenses or taxes) |
21.02 |
% |
7.34 |
% |
0.28 |
% |
|||||||||
Composite Index** |
17.90 |
% |
5.95 |
% |
0.80 |
% |
* After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns will depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
** The Composite Index is comprised of the MSCI EAFE Index, MSCI EAFE Value Index, MSCI EAFE Small Company Index, and MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. Additional information about the Composite Index can be found under the section entitled "more about Each Fund's Investments and Risks."
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Mark E. Matson: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, since 1991
Daniel J. List: Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Portfolio Management, since 1994
Steven B. Miller: Vice President of Operations and Portfolio Manager, since 2004
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund has no minimum initial investment or minimum subsequent investment. The Fund is exclusively available to clients or customers of service organizations approved by the Adviser, including certain brokerage firms, investment advisers, financial institutions and other industry professionals ("Service Organizations"). Only persons or entities having relationships with these Service Organizations may invest in the Fund. You may submit redemption requests on any business day to your Service Organization in person or by telephone, mail or wire.
You can only purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
10
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
11
FREE MARKET FIXED INCOME FUND |
FMFIX |
Investment Objective
The Free Market Fixed Income Fund seeks total return (consisting of current income and capital appreciation).
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
0.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
0.11 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.17 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.78 |
% |
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
80 |
$ |
249 |
$ |
433 |
$ |
966 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered, open-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") (collectively, "investment companies") that have either adopted policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in fixed income securities that the Adviser believes offer the prospect of providing total return, or invest substantially all of their assets in such fixed income securities.
Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Fund's net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies that invest in the types of securities described in each asset class below, with less than 2% of the net assets invested in cash or money market instruments.
One-Year Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase U.S. government obligations, U.S. government agency obligations, dollar-denominated obligations of foreign issuers
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issued in the U.S., foreign government and agency obligations, bank obligations, including the obligations of U.S. subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks, corporate obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, and obligations of supranational organizations such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Generally, obligations comprising this asset class will mature within one year from the date of settlement, but substantial investments may be made in obligations maturing within two years from the date of settlement when greater returns are available.
Two-Year Global Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, corporate debt obligations, bank obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, and other debt obligations of domestic and foreign issuers. Generally, obligations comprising this asset class have a weighted average maturity not exceeding two years, but investments may be made in obligations maturing in a shorter time period (from overnight to less than two years from the date of settlement). Because many of the investments of the underlying investment companies in this asset class will be denominated in foreign currencies, the underlying investment companies may also enter into forward foreign currency contracts to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency rates, to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another.
Intermediate Government Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase debt obligations of the U.S. government and U.S. government agencies. Generally, investment companies in the asset class will purchase securities with maturities of between five and fifteen years, however such investment companies ordinarily will have an average weighted maturity of between three and ten years.
Five-Year Global Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, obligations of other foreign issuers, corporate debt obligations, bank obligations, commercial paper, and obligations of supranational organizations. Generally, obligations comprising this asset class have a weighted average maturity not exceeding five years. However, investments may be made in obligations maturing in a shorter time period (from overnight to less than five years from the date of settlement.) Because many of the investments of the underlying investment companies in this asset class will be denominated in foreign currencies, the underlying investment companies may also enter into forward foreign currency contracts to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency rates, to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another.
The underlying investment companies may also use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices, to gain market exposure on its uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. Underlying index-based ETFs may use derivatives, including futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts, options and swaps to help the ETF track its underlying index.
Certain underlying investment companies may concentrate their investments (invest more than 25% of its total assets) in obligations of U.S. and foreign banks and bank holding companies when the yield to maturity on eligible portfolio investments in banking securities as a group generally exceeds the yield to maturity on all other eligible portfolio investments as a group generally for a period of five consecutive days when the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. While the Fund will not concentrate its investments in any one industry, the Fund may be focused on banking sectors under certain circumstances.
The Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets as a temporary defensive measure in cash and money market instruments such as U.S. Government securities, bank obligations and commercial paper. To the extent the Fund employs a temporary defensive measure, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for the Fund in each underlying investment company and may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of the Fund in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders.
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Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Fund involves the same investment risks as those of the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. These risks may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and investment performance. The Fund is subject to the following principal risks:
• Fixed income securities in which the Fund's underlying investment companies may invest are subject to certain risks, including: interest rate risk, reinvestment risk, prepayment and extension risk, credit/default risk, and the risks associated with investing in repurchase agreements.
• Interest rate risk involves the risk that prices of fixed income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes.
• Reinvestment risk involves the risk that proceeds from matured investments may be re-invested at lower interest rates.
• Prepayment risk involves the risk that in declining interest rates environments prepayments of principal could increase and require the Fund to reinvest proceeds of the prepayments at lower interest rates.
• Extension risk involves the risk that prepayments of principal will decrease when interest rates rise resulting in a longer effective maturity of a security.
• Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. Credit risk also involves the risk that the credit rating of a security may be lowered.
• Repurchase agreement risk involves the risk that the other party to a repurchase agreement will be unable to complete the transaction and the underlying investment company in which the Fund invests may suffer a loss as a result.
• Because the Fund owns shares of underlying investment companies that invest in foreign issuers, the Fund is subject to risks presented by investments in such issuers. Securities of foreign issuers may be negatively affected by political events, economic conditions, or inefficient, illiquid or unregulated markets in foreign countries. Foreign issuers may be subject to inadequate regulatory or accounting standards.
• Currency risk is the risk that exchange rates for currencies in which securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests are denominated will fluctuate daily. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts may limit potential gains from a favorable change in value between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies. Unanticipated changes in currency pricing may result in poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not engaged in these contracts.
• The Adviser's judgment about the attractiveness or potential appreciation of a particular underlying investment company security could prove to be wrong or the Fund could miss out on an investment opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of such opportunity are tied up in less advantageous investments.
• Because under normal circumstances the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in shares of registered investment companies that emphasize investments in fixed income securities, the NAV of the Fund will change with changes in the share prices of the investment companies in which the Fund invests.
• Not all obligations of U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Some are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality. Accordingly, there may be some risk of default by the issuer in such cases.
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• There is a risk that the Fund, which is passively managed, may not perform as well as funds with more active methods of investment management, such as selecting securities based on economic, financial, and market analysis.
• The derivative instruments in which the underlying investment companies may invest are subject to a number of risks including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and it is possible to lose more than the principal amount invested.
• The performance of the Fund will depend on how successfully the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies pursue their investment strategies.
• Banks are very sensitive to changes in money market and general economic conditions. Adverse general economic conditions can cause financial difficulties for a bank's borrowers and the borrowers' failure to repay their loans can adversely affect the bank's financial situation. Banks are subject to extensive regulation and decisions by regulators may limit the loans banks make and the interest rates and fees they charge, which could reduce bank profitability.
More information about the Fund's investments and risks is contained under the section entitled "More About Each Fund's Investments and Risks."
Performance Information
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Total returns would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived or reimbursed. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated information is available at www.matsonmoney.com or by calling (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863.
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the period reflected in the chart above)
Best Quarter: 3.54% (quarter ended December 31, 2008)
Worst Quarter: (1.44)% (quarter ended June 30, 2013) Year to Date Total Return as of September 30, 2014: 0.81% |
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Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns of the Fund before and after taxes for the past calendar year, the past five calendar years and since inception to the average total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns for the
Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Year |
Since
Inception* (December 31, 2007) |
|||||||||||||
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
(1.43 |
)% |
1.13 |
% |
1.96 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions* |
(1.65 |
)% |
0.71 |
% |
1.41 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares* |
(0.77 |
)% |
0.75 |
% |
1.34 |
% |
|||||||||
CitiGroup World Government Bond Index 1-5 Year Currency
Hedged U.S. Dollar Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
0.62 |
% |
1.67 |
% |
2.63 |
% |
|||||||||
Composite Index** |
(0.71 |
)% |
1.76 |
% |
2.82 |
% |
* After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns will depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
** The Composite Index is comprised of the Three-Month Treasury Bill Index, Barclays Capital Intermediate Government Bond Index, Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year US Government/Corporate Index and Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. Additional information about the Composite Index can be found under the section entitled "Shareholder Information."
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Mark E. Matson: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, since 1991
Daniel J. List: Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Portfolio Management, since 1994
Steven B. Miller: Vice President of Operations and Portfolio Manager, since 2004
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund has no minimum initial investment or minimum subsequent investment. The Fund is exclusively available to clients or customers of service organizations approved by the Adviser, including certain brokerage firms, investment advisers, financial institutions and other industry professionals ("Service Organizations"). Only persons or entities having relationships with these Service Organizations may invest in the Fund. You may submit redemption requests on any business day to your Service Organization in person or by telephone, mail or wire.
You can only purchase and redeem shares of a Fund on days the NYSE is open.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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MORE ABOUT EACH FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
Investment Strategies
The Summary of Principal Investment Strategies and Summary of Principal Investment Risks sections describe the investment objective and principal investment strategies and risks of each Fund. This section provides some additional information about the Funds and the underlying investment companies in which the Funds may invest and certain portfolio management techniques that such underlying investment companies may use. More information about the Funds' investments and related risks is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
Each Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") upon prior written notice to shareholders. Shareholders will be given at least 60 days' prior written notice of any change to a Fund's investment objective.
Each Fund pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered investment companies and ETFs. The Adviser focuses on the returns of investment companies within each of the asset classes while keeping trading costs to a minimum. Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Funds net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies with less than 2% of the net assets of the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund, and 5% of the net assets of the Free Market International Equity Fund invested in cash or money market instruments.
Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for each Fund in each underlying investment company. From time to time, the Adviser may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of a Fund in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders. In addition, when the Adviser determines that market forces have caused fundamental changes in the relative values of the assets of the underlying investment companies, the Adviser may modify the allocations of the Fund. To maintain allocation ranges, adjustments may be made by purchasing or selling shares of the underlying investment companies or applying future investments and redemptions by the Fund in proportions necessary to rebalance the investments in the underlying investment companies.
Each Fund may invest directly in individual securities. However, the Adviser will not invest directly in individual securities without prior approval of the Company's Board of Directors, except as described in this Prospectus.
Investments in Investment Companies and the Investment Company Industry. Each Fund invests exclusively in investment companies that are not affiliated with it. These investment companies may be within the same fund complex and/or advised by the same investment adviser. The Funds invest primarily in securities of registered investment companies and will attempt to identify investment companies that have demonstrated superior management, favorable investment results, and relatively lower costs and expenses. There can be no assurance that this result will be achieved. Each Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management fees and other expenses paid by the investment companies in which it invests including the advisory and administration fees paid by the underlying fund. Fees and expenses related to each Fund's investments in underlying funds during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 are disclosed in each Fund's expense table under "Acquired Fund fees and expenses." Some underlying investment companies may concentrate their investments in various industries or industry sectors and may use options, futures, or options on futures in their investment programs.
Investment decisions by the investment advisers of the underlying investment companies are made independently of the Funds and the Adviser. Therefore, the investment adviser of one underlying investment company may be purchasing shares of the same issuer whose shares are being sold by the investment adviser of another underlying investment company. The result of this would be an indirect expense to a Fund without accomplishing any investment purpose.
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Each Fund expects that it will select the investment companies in which it will invest based, in part, upon an analysis of the past and projected performance and investment structure of the underlying investment companies. However, each Fund may consider other factors in the selection of investment companies. These other factors include, but are not limited to the investment company's size, shareholder services, liquidity, investment objective and investment techniques. Each Fund will be affected by the losses of its underlying investment companies and the level of risk arising from the investment practices of such investment companies and has no control over the risks taken by such investment companies.
Investing in investment companies does not eliminate investment risk. When the Adviser has identified a significant upward trend in a particular asset class, each Fund retains the right to invest in investment companies that invest primarily in that particular asset class. Investment companies may have greater fluctuations in value when compared to other categories of investment companies that are not invested primarily in the particular asset class selected by the Adviser.
Each Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective will depend largely on the Adviser's ability to select the appropriate mix of underlying investment companies. In addition, achieving each Fund's investment objective will depend on the performance of the underlying investment companies, which depends on the ability of the underlying investment companies to meet their investment objectives. There can be no assurance that either the Funds or their underlying investment companies will achieve their investment objectives.
ETFs are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. A Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
More About Underlying Investment Company Investments
Underlying Investment Companies. The underlying investment companies in which the Funds may invest reflect a broad spectrum of investment opportunities including equities, fixed income, domestic, foreign and emerging markets. These investment companies may invest in various obligations and employ various investment techniques. The following describes these obligations and techniques:
Derivative Contracts. The underlying investment companies in which each of the Funds invests may, but need not, use derivative contracts to seek to hedge against the possible adverse impact of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates (with respect to the Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund only) or interest rates in the market value of its securities or securities to be purchased.
Examples of derivative contracts include: futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward foreign currency contracts, and interest rate or currency swaps. A derivative contract will obligate or entitle an underlying investment company to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment that is based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on an underlying investment company's stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. An underlying investment company may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the investment company's holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities in that the counterparty may default on its payment obligations or become insolvent. Derivatives can also make an underlying investment company less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets. The underlying investment companies may also utilize derivative contracts to gain market exposure on their uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. The underlying investment companies of the Free Market International Equity Fund and the Free Market Fixed Income
19
Fund may also enter into forward foreign currency contracts to transfer balances from one currency to another. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered more speculative than other types of investments.
Equity Investments. The underlying investment companies in which the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund and Free Market International Equity Fund invest may purchase all types of equity securities. The Free Market Fixed Income Fund may invest a portion of its assets in underlying investment companies that invest in equity securities, although these investments are not part of the Fund's Principal Investment Strategies. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, and equity participations. Investments in equity securities and equity derivatives in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that an underlying investment company could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of such securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation.
Fixed Income Investments. The underlying investment companies in which the Free Market Fixed Income Fund invests may purchase all types of fixed income securities. The Free Market U.S. Equity Fund and the Free Market International Equity Fund may invest a portion of their assets in underlying investment companies that invest in fixed income securities, although these investments are not part of such Funds' principal investment strategies. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate, governmental and foreign issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features.
Foreign Securities. The securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Free Market International Equity Fund invests are generally traded or denominated in foreign currencies. In addition, many of the securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Free Market Fixed Income Fund invests are traded or denominated in foreign currencies. Investments in securities of foreign entities and securities denominated or traded in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of an underlying investment company's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
The underlying investment companies in which the Free Market International Equity Fund invests may purchase depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
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The underlying investment companies investing in stocks and other equity securities of issuers located in developed markets may invest in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The investment adviser(s) of the underlying investment companies may also invest from time to time in securities of issuers located in other developed countries, at their discretion.
The underlying investment companies investing in stocks and other equity securities of issuers located in emerging market countries may invest in the following countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey. The investment adviser(s) of the underlying investment companies may also invest from time to time in securities of issuers located in other emerging market countries, at their discretion.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The underlying investment companies in which the Free Market Fixed Income Fund invests may purchase mortgaged-backed securities as part of their principal investment strategies. Mortgage-backed securities in which the underlying investment companies invest may be issued by private companies or by agencies of the U.S. Government. Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property.
Certain debt instruments may only pay principal at maturity or may only represent the right to receive payments of principal or payments of interest on underlying pools of mortgage or government securities, but not both. The value of these types of instruments may change more drastically than debt securities that pay both principal and interest during periods of changing interest rates. Principal only mortgage-backed securities are particularly subject to prepayment risk. An underlying investment company may obtain a below market yield or incur a loss on such instruments during periods of declining interest rates. Interest only instruments are particularly subject to extension risk, which is the risk that principal repayments will not occur as quickly as anticipated, causing the expected maturity of a security to increase and making its price more sensitive to rate changes and more volatile. Mortgage derivatives and structural securities often employ features that have the effect of leverage. As a result, small changes in interest or prepayment rates may cause large and sudden price movements, especially compared to an investment in a security that is not leveraged. Mortgage derivatives can also become illiquid and hard to value in declining markets. Mortgage-backed securities also include mortgage pass-through certificates and multiple-class pass-through certificates, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs).
Recently, the market for mortgage related securities experienced substantially, often dramatically, lower valuations and greatly reduced liquidity. These instruments may be 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 impact on the Funds to the extent underlying investment companies invest in mortgage-related or other fixed income securities or instruments affected by the volatility in the fixed income markets.
Securities Lending. The underlying investment companies of the Funds may seek to increase their income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. Portfolio securities loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by the underlying investment company will not exceed 331/3% of the value of the investment company's total assets. The underlying investment company may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the investment company. Lending portfolio securities involves the risk of delay in receiving additional collateral if the value of the securities goes up while they are on loan.
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Borrowing. The underlying investment companies of the Funds may borrow money for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes. A Fund will not make any additional investments in an investment company while such investment company's borrowings exceed 5% of its total assets.
Temporary Investments. The Funds may depart from their principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in cash or money market instruments. If a Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.
Investment Risks
The following provides additional information about the risks of investing in the Funds:
Other Investment Companies. Each Fund's NAV will fluctuate due to business developments concerning a particular issuer or industry as well as general market and economic conditions affecting securities held by the particular underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. Investment decisions by the investment advisers of the underlying investment companies in which the Funds invest are made independently of the Funds and the Adviser. Each Fund will be affected by the losses of its underlying investment companies and the risks involved in the investment practices of such investment companies. Neither the Funds nor the Adviser has any control over the risks taken by such investment companies. Some underlying investment companies may concentrate their investments in various industries or sectors and may invest in derivative securities, options or futures.
Small Company Securities. While the securities of small capitalization companies in which the Free Market U.S. Equity and Free Market International Equity Funds' underlying investment companies invest may offer greater opportunity for capital appreciation than larger companies, investment in such companies presents greater risks than investment in larger, more established companies. Historically, small capitalization stocks have been more volatile in price than larger capitalization stocks. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility of these securities are the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such stocks, and the potentially greater sensitivity of such small companies to changes in or failure of management, and to many other changes in competitive, business, industry and economic conditions, including risks associated with limited product lines, markets, management depth, or financial resources. Besides exhibiting greater volatility, micro and small company stocks may, to a degree, fluctuate independently of larger company stocks. Small company stocks may decline in price as large company stocks rise, or rise in price as large company stocks decline. Additionally, while the markets in securities of small companies have grown rapidly in recent years, such securities may trade less frequently and in smaller volume than more widely held securities. The values of these securities may fluctuate more sharply than those of other securities, and the underlying investment companies in which the Funds invest may experience some difficulty in establishing or closing out positions in these securities at prevailing market prices. There may be less publicly available information about the issuers of these securities or less market interest in such securities than in the case of larger companies and it may take a longer period of time for the prices of such securities to reflect the full value of their issuers' underlying earnings potential or assets.
Stock Market. Underlying investment companies in which the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund and Free Market International Equity Fund may invest are subject to fluctuations in the stock markets, which have periods of increasing and decreasing values. Equity securities typically have greater volatility than fixed income securities.
Foreign Investing. Foreign securities in which the Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund's underlying investment companies may invest pose additional risks over U.S.-based securities for a number of reasons. Investments in foreign securities may adversely affect the value of an investment in certain underlying investment companies. Foreign economic, governmental, and political systems may be less favorable than those of the U.S. Foreign governments and may exercise greater control over their economies, industries, and citizens' rights. Specific risk factors related to foreign securities include: inflation, structure and regulation of financial markets, liquidity and volatility of investments, currency exchange rates and regulations, and accounting
22
standards. Foreign companies may also be subject to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation, thereby reducing their earnings potential, and amounts realized on foreign securities may be subject to high levels of foreign taxation and withholding. In addition, these underlying investment companies may incur higher costs and expenses when making foreign investments, which will affect the underlying investment companies' total return.
Currency Risk. With respect to investments in foreign securities by underlying investment companies in which the Free Market International Equity Fund and the Free Market Fixed Income Fund invest, exchange rates for currencies fluctuate daily. The combination of currency risk and market risk tends to make securities traded in foreign markets more volatile than securities traded exclusively in the U.S. Foreign securities are usually denominated in a foreign currency; therefore, changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the NAV of an underlying investment company. Diversification among foreign currencies will not protect the underlying investment companies against a general increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.
Emerging Market Securities. Underlying investment companies in which the Free Market International Equity Fund invests may purchase the securities of issuers located in developing or emerging market countries. The risks of foreign investments are typically increased in less developed countries, which are sometimes referred to as emerging markets, because there is greater uncertainty in less established markets and economies. These risks include political, social or economic systems, smaller securities markets, lower trading volume, and substantial rates of inflation. To the extent an underlying investment company is invested in emerging market securities, it will be subject to higher risk than those investing in securities of developed market countries.
Interest Rate Risk. The underlying investments companies in which the Free Market Fixed Income Fund invests purchase fixed income securities as part of their Principal Investment Strategies. During periods of rising interest rates, an underlying investment company's yield and the market value of the investment company's fixed-income securities will tend to be lower than prevailing market interest rates. Periods of rising interest rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets. In periods of falling interest rates, the underlying investment company's yield and the market value of the underlying investment company's fixed-income securities generally will tend to be higher than prevailing market interest rates. Prices of longer-term fixed income securities are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than prices of shorter-term fixed-income securities.
Cash Flow Risk. The underlying investment companies in which the Free Market Fixed Income Fund invests purchase fixed income securities as part of their Principal Investment Strategies. Payment of principal on the mortgages or other assets underlying a particular fixed income security in which an underlying investment company invests may be faster or slower than estimated. Interest only instrument are particularly subject to extension risk, which is the risk that principal repayment will not occur as quickly as anticipated, causing the expected maturity of a security to increase and making its price more sensitive to rate change and more volatile. When interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their mortgages or other loans sooner than expected and will typically shorten the average life of these instruments. This is known as prepayment risk.
Credit/Default Risk. The underlying investment companies in which the Free Market Fixed Income Fund invests purchase fixed income securities as part of their Principal Investment Strategies. The credit rating of an issuer or guarantor of a security in which an underlying investment company invests may be lowered or an issuer or guarantor of a security or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a repurchase agreement may default on its payment obligations.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. Although a Fund's investments in U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Obligations issued by certain U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises, such as the Government National Mortgage Association, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, while obligations issued by others, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") and Federal Home Loan Banks, are backed solely by the ability
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of the entity to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the entity's own resources. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchange's minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
Derivatives Risk. The underlying investment companies of each Fund may utilize derivatives as part of their principal investment strategies. Loss may result from an underlying investment company's investments in futures, swaps, options and other derivative instruments. These instruments may be leveraged so that small changes in value may produce disproportionate losses to the underlying investment company. Using derivative instruments may involve risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. An underlying investment company's investment in a derivative instrument could lose more than the principal amount invested. Also, suitable derivative transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that the underlying investment company will engage in these transactions to reduce exposure to other risks when they would be beneficial. Pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940 and its rules and SEC interpretations thereunder, the registered investment companies in which the Funds invest are required to segregate cash or liquid securities or otherwise "cover" their positions in certain derivatives.
Non-diversified Investments. The performance of large positions in certain equity or fixed income securities may significantly impact the performance of an underlying investment company of a Fund, resulting in greater volatility.
Concentration. Concentration of investments within one industry or market sector may subject an underlying investment company to greater market fluctuations. The Funds will not knowingly concentrate their investments, directly or indirectly, in any industry.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds' portfolio securities is available in the SAI. The SAI is incorporated herein.
Broad-Based and Composite Indices
Each Fund intends to evaluate its performance as compared to that of a broad-based index and a Composite Index. The information below reflects the most current information available to the Company as of the date of this Prospectus:
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund. The broad-based index is the Russell 2500 ® Index. The Composite Index will be comprised of the S&P 500 ® Index, Russell 1000 ® Value Index, Russell 2000 ® Index and Russell 2000 ® Value Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. The following is a description of the broad-based index and each index comprising the Composite Index:
The Russell 2500 ® Index consists of the small- to mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, commonly referred to as "smid" cap. The Russell 2500 ® Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the small to mid-cap segment and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the Index. The Russell 2500 ® Index includes the smallest 2,500 securities in the Russell 3000 ® Index. The Russell 3000 ® Index is made up of 3,000 of the biggest U.S. stocks. As
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of December 31, 2013, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2500 ® Index was $1.037 billion and the largest stock was $10.813 billion.
The S&P 500 ® Index consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping, among other factors. The S&P 500 ® Index is designed to be a leading indicator of U.S. equities and is meant to reflect the risk/return characteristics of the large-cap universe. The S&P 500 ® Index is a market-value weighted index and each stock's weight in the index is proportionate to its market value.
The Russell 1000 ® Value Index consists of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 1000 ® Value Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer of the large-cap value market.
The Russell 2000 ® Index consists of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 2000 ® Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased small-cap barometer and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the Index. The Russell 2000 ® Index includes the smallest 2000 securities in the Russell 3000 ® Index.
The Russell 2000 ® Value Index consists of the small-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer of the small-cap value market.
Free Market International Equity Fund. The broad-based index is the MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index. The Composite Index will be comprised of the MSCI EAFE Index, MSCI EAFE Value Index, MSCI EAFE Small Company Index, and MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. The following is a description of the broad-based index and each index comprising the Composite Index:
The MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index is a stock market index of 'world' stocks maintained by Morgan Stanley Capital International ("MSCI"). The index includes a selection of stocks of developed markets, as defined by MSCI. This index contains securities from the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. As of December 31, 2013, the median capitalization of the MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index was $9.213 billion and the weighted average market capitalization was $ 65.443 billion.
The MSCI Europe, Australasia, and Far East ("EAFE") Index is a stock market index of foreign stocks that covers 85% of the equity market of the following developed countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
The MSCI EAFE Value Index is a subset of the EAFE Index and includes securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia) and the Far East. The Index generally represents approximately 50% of the market capitalization of the EAFE Index and consists of those securities classified by MSCI as most representing the value style.
The MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index targets 40% of the eligible small cap universe within each industry group, within each country. MSCI defines the small cap universe as all listed securities that have a market capitalization in the range of $200 million to $1.5 billion. The small cap segment covers the 85% 99% range of each market's free float-adjusted market capitalization.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index is designed to measure equity market performance in global emerging markets. The Index contains securities from the following emerging market countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.
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Free Market Fixed Income Fund. The broad-based index is the CitiGroup World Government Bond Index 1-5 Year Currency Hedged U.S. Dollar Index. The Composite Index will be comprised of the Three-Month Treasury Bill Index, Barclays Capital Intermediate Government Bond Index, Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year US Government/Corporate Index and Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. The following is a description of the broad-based index and each index comprising the Composite Index:
CitiGroup World Government Bond Index 1-5 Year Currency Hedged U.S. Dollar Index includes the most significant and liquid government bond markets globally that carry at least an investment grade rating. Currently, this includes the 23 government bond markets of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Three Month Treasury-Bill Index consists of three-month Treasury bills purchased at the beginning of each of three consecutive months. As each bill matures, all proceeds are rolled over or reinvested in a new three-month bill. The income used to calculate the monthly return is derived by subtracting the original amount invested from the maturity value. The index is rebalanced monthly by market capitalization.
Barclays Capital Intermediate Government Bond Index is a weighted index of U.S. government and government agency securities (other than mortgage securities) with maturities of one year or more.
Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year U.S. Government/Corporate Index is an unmanaged index of short-term U.S. government securities and short-term domestic investment-grade corporate bonds with maturities between 1 and 2.99 years.
Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index, meaning the securities in the index are weighted according to the market size of each bond type. Most U.S. traded investment grade bonds are represented. Municipal bonds and Treasury Inflation-Protected securities are excluded. The Index includes Treasury securities, Government agency bonds, mortgage-backed bonds, corporate bonds, and a small amount of foreign bonds traded in the U.S. The Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is an intermediate term index. The average maturity is 7.69 years as of November 30, 2014.
Credit Ratings
Corporate debt obligations and dollar-denominated obligations of foreign issuers issued in the U.S. in which the underlying investment companies of the Free Market Fixed Income Fund may invest will be (i) rated Aa3 or better by Moody's, or AA- or better by S&P, or AA- or better by Fitch; or (ii) if there is no rating for the debt security, (ii) determined by the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies to be of comparable quality to equivalent issues of the same issuer rated at least AA- or Aa3.
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc. ("Matson Money" or the "Adviser") is located at 5955 Deerfield Blvd., Mason, OH 45040. Matson Money was founded in 1991 and provides advisory services to individuals, trusts, corporations, non-profit organizations, retirement plans and foundations. Mark E. Matson, President, Chief Financial Officer and a Director of Matson Money, owns approximately 90% of Matson Money's outstanding voting securities. Matson Money had approximately $5.9 billion in assets under management as of November 30, 2014.
Subject to the general supervision of the Company's Board of Directors, Matson Money manages the Funds' portfolios and is responsible for the selection and management of all investments of the Funds in accordance with the Funds' respective investment objectives and policies.
Portfolio Managers
A team of portfolio managers, led by Daniel J. List, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Funds. Mark E. Matson and Steven B. Miller assist Mr. List in managing the assets of the Funds.
Daniel J. List, Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Portfolio Management of the Adviser, has been employed by the Adviser since 1994. He is responsible for portfolio designs, compliance, trading and system designs.
Mark E. Matson, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Adviser, founded the Adviser in 1991 and serves as head portfolio manager at the Adviser.
Steven B. Miller, Vice President of Operations and Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, has been employed by the Adviser since April 2004 as a portfolio manager and then as Vice President of Operations. Prior thereto, he was a senior financial analyst with F+W Publications Inc. from November 2002 to April 2004, and a financial analyst with MidLand Enterprises, Inc. from April 2002 to November 2002.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Funds.
Management Fees
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee at the annual rate of 0.50% of the first $1 billion of each Fund's average daily net assets, 0.49% of each Fund's average daily net assets over $1 billion to $5 billion and 0.47% of each Fund's average daily net assets over $5 billion, computed daily and payable monthly. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund each paid 0.50% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to Matson Money for its services. The Adviser has voluntarily agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to 1.13%, 1.35% and 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund, respectively. The Adviser may not recoup waived advisory fees or reimbursed expenses. The Adviser may discontinue these arrangements at any time. A discussion regarding the basis for Board of Directors' approving the investment advisory agreement with respect to the Funds is available in the Funds' annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
The Funds' shares ("Shares") are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV per Share of each Fund is calculated as follows:
Each Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Funds will effect purchases and redemptions of Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Fund's Transfer Agent of your purchase order or redemption request in good order (as described below).
Investments in underlying open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies at the close of business that day. Investments in ETFs and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price. A Fund's direct investments in equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange will be valued at the last sale price for all exchanges, except the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price for NASDAQ. Direct investments in equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. A Fund's direct investments in fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Direct investments in fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. Direct investments in foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If a Fund holds foreign securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equity securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Funds' administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, the Fund's investments will be valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before a Fund prices its shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. The use of a pricing service and fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by a Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other mutual funds and investors to price the same investments.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. Excessive short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt Fund management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Fund performance and result in dilution in the value of Fund Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is
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currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise their right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company or the Adviser, has been or may be disruptive to a Fund. 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 a Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of a Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, the Adviser may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with a Fund.
There is no assurance that the Funds will be able to identify market timing, particularly if shareholders invest through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Funds. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Purchase of Fund Shares
General. Shares of the Funds are offered continuously for sale at NAV by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Underwriter"). You can only purchase Shares through the means described below. The Funds have no minimum initial investment or minimum subsequent investment.
Purchases Through Intermediaries. The Funds are exclusively available to clients or customers of service organizations approved by the Adviser, including certain brokerage firms, investment advisers, financial institutions and other industry professionals ("Service Organizations"). Only persons or entities having relationships with these Service Organizations may invest in the Funds. If a shareholder terminates his or her relationship with a Service Organization, the shareholder will not be permitted to purchase additional Fund Shares except for Shares purchased as a result of the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Service Organizations may impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which would not be imposed if shares of the Fund were purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, investors should contact the Service Organization acting on their behalf concerning the fees, if any, charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of shares of the Funds and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing their accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations may impose minimum initial and minimum subsequent investment requirements with respect to their clients' or customers' investments in the Funds and will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company and with clients and customers. A Service Organization or, if applicable, its designee that has entered into such an agreement with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Fund's pricing on the following business day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses.
Good Order. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order. Orders received by a Service Organization in good order will be executed at the Fund's next determined NAV after they are accepted by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
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Retirement Plans. Shares of a Fund may be purchased in connection with various retirement plans, including Individual Retirement Accounts ("IRAs"), section 403(b) plans and retirement plans for self-employed individuals, partnerships and corporations and their employees. Detailed information concerning retirement plans is available from your Service Organization. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact your Service Organization. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax advisor.
Other Purchase Information: The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of a Fund. The Adviser will monitor each Fund's total assets and may decide to close any of the Funds at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of a Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. Subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, the Adviser may also choose to reopen a Fund to new investments at any time and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If a Fund closes to new investments, the Fund would be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons, who are generally subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Company,
b. existing and future clients of financial advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the closed Fund,
c. employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children, and
d. directors of the Company.
Other persons who are shareholders of the other Free Market Funds are not permitted to acquire Shares of the closed Fund by exchange. Distributions to all shareholders of a closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchases limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Customer Identification Program: Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Fund or to involuntarily redeem an investor's Shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
General: You may submit redemption requests to your Service Organization in person or by telephone, mail or wire. Redemption requests are effected at the NAV next calculated after receipt of the redemption request by your Service Organization in proper form and transmission of the request to the Transfer Agent. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares of a Fund on days the NYSE is open. Your Service Organization may refuse a telephone redemption request if it believes it is advisable to do so. You will bear the risk of loss from fraudulent or unauthorized instructions received over the telephone provided your Service Organization reasonably
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believes that the instructions are genuine. Shareholders requesting redemptions by wire are charged a transaction fee of $7.50.
Telephone Redemptions: During periods of dramatic economic or market changes, you may experience difficulty in implementing a telephone redemption with your Service Organization because of increased telephone volume.
Involuntary Redemption: Each Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholder's account in the Fund at any time the value of the account falls below $500 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in a Fund is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed.
Each Fund may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Redemption Information: Redemption proceeds for Shares of a Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by purchasing shares electronically through a wire transfer.
Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC. If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of a Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholders will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so that a Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund's NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order: A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Exchange Privilege
The exchange privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the Shares being acquired may be legally sold. A shareholder may exchange Shares of any Free Market Fund for Shares of another Free Market Fund up to six (6) times per year (one exchange per calendar month). Such an exchange will be effected at the NAV of the exchanged Shares and the NAV of the Shares to be acquired next determined after a Service Organization's receipt of a request for an exchange. An exchange of Shares will be treated as a sale for federal income tax purposes. A shareholder may make an exchange, if authorized, by telephone. Defined contribution plans and IRA accounts are not subject to the above exchange limitations.
If the exchanging shareholder does not currently own Shares of the Fund, a new account will be established with the same registration, dividend and capital gain options as the account from which Shares are exchanged, unless otherwise specified in writing by the shareholder. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, or from time to time, by the Funds, upon 60 days' written notice to shareholders. If a shareholder wants to exchange Shares into a new account in a Fund, the dollar value of the Shares acquired must equal or exceed the Fund's minimum investment requirement for a new account. If a shareholder wants to exchange Shares into an existing account, the dollar value of the shares must equal or exceed the Fund's minimum investment requirement
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for additional investments. If an amount remains in the Fund from which the exchange is being made that is below the minimum account value required, the account will be subject to involuntary redemption.
The Funds' exchange privilege is not intended to afford shareholders a way to speculate on short-term movements in the market. Accordingly, in order to prevent excessive use of the exchange privilege, which may potentially disrupt the management of the Funds and increase transaction costs, the Funds have established a policy of limiting excessive exchange activity. Shareholders are entitled to six (6) exchange redemptions (one exchange per calendar month) from each Fund during any twelve-month period. Notwithstanding these limitations, the Funds reserve the right to reject any purchase request that is deemed to be disruptive to efficient portfolio management.
Dividends and Distributions
Each Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The Free Market U.S. Equity Fund and the Free Market International Equity Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. The Free Market Fixed Income Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income quarterly. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Funds at least annually.
Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the summary assumes you are a U.S. citizen or resident or otherwise subject to U.S. federal income tax. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to their specific situations.
Each Fund contemplates declaring as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of a Fund (including distributions attributable to net capital gains of underlying investment companies) will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long you have held your Shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). Other Fund distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income, except as discussed below. A portion of those distributions, however, may be treated as "qualified dividend income" taxable to non-corporate U.S. shareholders at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. A distribution is treated as qualified dividend income to the extent a Fund or an underlying investment company receives dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain qualified foreign corporations, provided that the holding period and other requirements are met by the Fund, the underlying investment company and the shareholder. Additionally, a portion of the distributions paid by a Fund may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders. Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions from a Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by a Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
It is expected that the underlying funds of the Free Market International Equity Fund will be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign income taxes with respect to dividends or interest received from (and, in some cases, gains recognized on shares of stock of) non-U.S. companies. These underlying funds and the Free Market International Equity Fund may, to the extent eligible, make an election to treat a proportionate amount of those taxes as constituting a distribution to each shareholder, which would allow you either (1) to credit that proportionate
32
amount of taxes against U.S. federal income tax liability as a foreign tax credit, subject to applicable limitations, or (2) to take that amount as an itemized deduction.
You should note that if you purchase Shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of a portion of your purchase price. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale, exchange or redemption of your Shares, based on the difference, if any, between your tax basis in the Shares and the amount you receive for them. This gain or loss will generally be capital gain or loss if you hold your Fund Shares as capital assets and will be long-term if you held your Shares for more than twelve months at the time you dispose of them. Additionally, any loss realized on a disposition of Shares of a Fund may be disallowed under "wash sale" rules to the extent the Shares disposed of are replaced with other shares of the same 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the Shares acquired.
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.
For Shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Funds (or relevant broker or financial adviser) are required to compute and report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such Shares are sold or exchanged. The Funds have elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Funds to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your Shares at the time of each sale or exchange. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Funds and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans: One major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales, exchanges and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such Shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
The Funds may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders: Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of regulated investment companies such as the Funds, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Funds' net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Funds beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Funds' interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Funds.
33
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale, exchange or redemption of Shares in the Funds, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Funds.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in a Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Funds will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Funds will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Funds.
State and Local Taxes: Shareholders may also be subject to state and local taxes on income or gain from Fund Shares. Shareholders should consult their advisers regarding the tax status of distributions in their state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the Funds' SAI.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUNDS' SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
34
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance for the periods indicated. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the tables represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in each Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Funds' financial statements which, together, with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
FREE MARKET U.S. EQUITY FUND
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning
of period |
$ |
14.66 |
$ |
11.70 |
$ |
10.33 |
$ |
8.65 |
$ |
8.21 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income (1) |
0.09 |
0.12 |
0.08 |
0.06 |
0.02 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized
gain/(loss) on investments |
3.18 |
3.07 |
1.43 |
1.68 |
0.46 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in
net assets resulting from operations |
3.27 |
3.19 |
1.51 |
1.74 |
0.48 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions
to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.10 |
) |
(0.15 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.03 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized capital gains |
(0.46 |
) |
(0.08 |
) |
(0.08 |
) |
|
(2) |
|
||||||||||||||
Tax return of capital |
|
|
|
|
(0.01 |
) |
|||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions
to shareholders |
(0.56 |
) |
(0.23 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.04 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
17.37 |
$ |
14.66 |
$ |
11.70 |
$ |
10.33 |
$ |
8.65 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (3) |
22.49 |
% |
27.61 |
% |
14.77 |
% |
20.11 |
% |
5.88 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period
(000 's omitted) |
$ |
1,943,442 |
$ |
1,355,653 |
$ |
933,514 |
$ |
679,147 |
$ |
485,191 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets (4) |
0.60 |
% |
0.62 |
% |
0.64 |
% |
0.64 |
% |
0.67 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income
to average net assets (4) |
0.54 |
% |
0.91 |
% |
0.73 |
% |
0.55 |
% |
0.22 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
3 |
% |
6 |
% |
4 |
% |
9 |
% |
3 |
% |
(1) The selected per share data was calculated using the average shares outstanding method for the period.
(2) Amount less than $(0.005) per share.
(3) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) The Fund also will indirectly bear its prorated share of expenses of the underlying funds. Such expenses are not included in the calculation of this ratio.
35
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
FREE MARKET INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning
of period |
$ |
9.36 |
$ |
8.04 |
$ |
8.78 |
$ |
7.97 |
$ |
8.02 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income (1) |
0.19 |
0.18 |
0.18 |
0.16 |
0.11 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized
gain/(loss) on investments |
1.71 |
1.36 |
(0.64 |
) |
0.78 |
(0.04 |
) |
||||||||||||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in
net assets resulting from operations |
1.90 |
1.54 |
(0.46 |
) |
0.94 |
0.07 |
|||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions
to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.19 |
) |
(0.15 |
) |
(0.17 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized capital gains |
(0.15 |
) |
(0.07 |
) |
(0.11 |
) |
(0.03 |
) |
|||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions
to shareholders |
(0.34 |
) |
(0.22 |
) |
(0.28 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.12 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
10.92 |
$ |
9.36 |
$ |
8.04 |
$ |
8.78 |
$ |
7.97 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (2) |
20.49 |
% |
19.44 |
% |
(4.98 |
)% |
11.60 |
% |
0.86 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period
(000 's omitted) |
$ |
1,414,618 |
$ |
964,096 |
$ |
648,710 |
$ |
516,073 |
$ |
365,465 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets (3) |
0.62 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
0.66 |
% |
0.68 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income
to average net assets (3) |
1.84 |
% |
1.96 |
% |
2.21 |
% |
1.66 |
% |
1.29 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
2 |
% |
3 |
% |
3 |
% |
4 |
% |
8 |
% |
(1) The selected per share data was calculated using the average shares outstanding method for the period.
(2) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(3) The Fund also will indirectly bear its prorated share of expenses of the underlying funds. Such expenses are not included in the calculation of this ratio.
36
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
FREE MARKET FIXED INCOME FUND
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the Year
Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning
of period |
$ |
10.24 |
$ |
10.54 |
$ |
10.48 |
$ |
10.50 |
$ |
10.35 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income (1) |
0.04 |
0.05 |
0.11 |
0.12 |
0.13 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized
gain on investments |
0.09 |
(0.21 |
) |
0.09 |
0.09 |
0.27 |
|||||||||||||||||
Net increase in net assets
resulting from operations |
0.13 |
(0.16 |
) |
0.20 |
0.21 |
0.40 |
|||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions
to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.04 |
) |
(0.08 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.22 |
) |
(0.21 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized capital gains |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
|
(2) |
|
(2) |
(0.04 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Tax return of capital |
|
|
|
(0.01 |
) |
|
|||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions
to shareholders |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.23 |
) |
(0.25 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
10.31 |
$ |
10.24 |
$ |
10.54 |
$ |
10.48 |
$ |
10.50 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (3) |
1.34 |
% |
(1.50 |
)% |
1.90 |
% |
2.06 |
% |
3.96 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period
(000 's omitted) |
$ |
1,824,633 |
$ |
1,316,799 |
$ |
946,975 |
$ |
761,683 |
$ |
459,282 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets (4) |
0.61 |
% |
0.62 |
% |
0.63 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
0.68 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income
to average net assets (4) |
0.37 |
% |
0.52 |
% |
1.08 |
% |
1.12 |
% |
1.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
0 |
% |
0 |
% |
1 |
% |
0 |
% |
1 |
% |
(1) The selected per share data was calculated using the average shares outstanding method for the period.
(2) Amount less than $(0.005) per share.
(3) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) The Fund also will indirectly bear its prorated share of expenses of the underlying funds. Such expenses are not included in the calculation of this ratio.
37
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MATSON MONEY FAMILY OF FUNDS
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Funds is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Funds' investments, describe the Funds' performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The Annual Report includes market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during the last fiscal year.
Statement of Additional Information ("SAI")
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014 has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Funds, may be obtained free of charge, along with the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports when available, by calling (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863 or at the Adviser's website at http://hosted.rightprospectus.com/matsonmoney the SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus (and is legally part of the Prospectus).
Shareholder Inquiries
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863
Written Correspondence
Street Address:
Matson Money, Inc. Family of Funds
c/o BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may also view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-202 -942-8090.
Investment Company Act File No. 811-05518
MATSON MONEY U.S. EQUITY VI PORTFOLIO
MATSON MONEY INTERNATIONAL EQUITY VI PORTFOLIO
MATSON MONEY FIXED INCOME VI PORTFOLIO
of
THE RBB FUND, INC.
PROSPECTUS
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
MATSON MONEY, INC.
5955 Deerfield Blvd.
Mason, OH 45040
The securities described in this Prospectus have been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The SEC, however, has not judged these securities for their investment merit and has not determined the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a criminal offense.
Shares of the Portfolios are offered to separate accounts of participating life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Shares of the Portfolios are not offered directly to the general public.
Ticker Symbols |
|||||||
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio |
FMVUX |
||||||
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio |
FMVIX |
||||||
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio |
FMVFX |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE |
|||||||
SUMMARY SECTIONS |
1 |
||||||
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio |
1 |
||||||
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio |
5 |
||||||
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio |
10 |
||||||
MORE ABOUT EACH PORTFOLIO'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS | 15 | ||||||
Investment Strategies |
15 |
||||||
More About Underlying Investment Company Investments |
16 |
||||||
Investment Risks |
19 |
||||||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
21 |
||||||
Composite Indices |
21 |
||||||
Credit Ratings |
23 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE PORTFOLIOS | 24 | ||||||
Investment Adviser |
24 |
||||||
Portfolio Managers |
24 |
||||||
Management Fees |
24 |
||||||
PRIOR PERFORMANCE OF SIMILAR ACCOUNTS | 25 | ||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION | 29 | ||||||
Pricing of Portfolio Shares |
29 |
||||||
Market Timing |
29 |
||||||
Purchase of Portfolio Shares |
30 |
||||||
Redemption of Portfolio Shares |
31 |
||||||
Voting Rights |
32 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
32 |
||||||
Taxes |
32 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS | 33 | ||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MATSON MONEY FAMILY OF PORTFOLIOS |
Back Cover |
i
MATSON MONEY U.S. EQUITY VI PORTFOLIO |
FMVUX |
Investment Objective
The Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Portfolio as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, overall fees and expenses would be higher.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
0.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
3.57 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.29 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
4.36 |
% |
|||||
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements (1) |
(3.23 |
)% |
|||||
Net Expenses |
1.13 |
% |
(1) Matson Money, Inc. has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses for the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.13%. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.13%: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may discontinue these arrangements any time after December 31, 2015.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This Example does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Portfolio as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, the costs shown below would be higher.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
115 |
$ |
1,027 |
$ |
1,950 |
$ |
4,310 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio
1
Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance. For the period February 18, 2014 through August 31, 2014, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 1.32% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered, open-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") (collectively, "investment companies") that have either adopted policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in equity securities, such as common stocks, preferred stocks or securities convertible into stocks, of U.S. companies, or invest substantially all of their assets in such equity securities. The Portfolio will diversify its investments by investing primarily in investment companies focusing on different segments of the equity markets, including large ("large-cap"), small ("small-cap") and micro-capitalization ("micro-cap") equity securities that the Portfolio's investment adviser ("Adviser") believes offer the prospect of long-term capital appreciation.
Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Portfolio's net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies, including other investment companies funded by insurance company separate accounts, that invest in the types of securities described in each asset class below, with less than 2% of the net assets invested in cash or money market instruments.
U.S. Large Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of large cap companies that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013, large cap companies generally were those companies with a market capitalization of $3.522 billion or greater. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
U.S. Small Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of small cap companies that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013, small cap companies generally were those companies with a market capitalization of $3.522 billion or less. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
U.S. Large Company Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase all of the stocks that comprise the S&P 500 ® Index in approximately the proportions they are represented in the S&P 500 ® Index. Generally, these are the U.S. stocks with the largest market capitalizations and, as a group, they represent approximately 75% of the total market capitalization of all publicly traded U.S. stocks.
U.S. Small Cap Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of small cap companies primarily based on market capitalization. As of December 2013, small cap companies were generally those with a market capitalization of $3.522 billion or less. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions. There may be some overlap in the companies in which the U.S. small cap asset class and the U.S. micro cap asset class invest.
U.S. Micro Cap Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase common stocks and other equity securities of micro cap companies. As of December 2013, micro cap companies were generally
2
those companies with a market capitalization of $1.741 billion or less. This dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions. There may be some overlap in the companies in which the U.S. micro cap asset class and the U.S. small cap asset class invest.
The underlying investment companies may use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for U.S. equity securities and indices, to gain market exposure on its uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. Underlying index-based ETFs may use derivatives, including futures contracts, options on futures contracts, options and swaps to help the ETF track its underlying index.
The Portfolio reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets as a temporary defensive measure in cash and money market instruments such as U.S. Government securities, bank obligations and commercial paper. To the extent the Portfolio employs a temporary defensive measure, the Portfolio may not achieve its investment objective. Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each underlying investment company and may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of the Portfolio in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders or the holders of the variable annuity or variable life insurance policies.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Portfolio involves the same investment risks as those of the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolio invests. These risks may adversely affect the Portfolio's net asset value ("NAV") and investment performance. The Portfolio is subject to the following principal risks:
• Stocks of large cap, small cap or micro cap companies in which the Portfolio's underlying investment companies invest or in which the Portfolio invests directly may temporarily fall out of favor with investors or may be more volatile than the rest of the U.S. market as a whole.
• The smaller the capitalization of a company, generally the less liquid its stock and the more volatile its price. Companies with smaller market capitalizations also tend to have unproven track records and are more likely to fail than companies with larger market capitalizations.
• Although the Portfolio will invest in other investment companies that follow a value oriented strategy, value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and such a strategy may cause the Portfolio at times to underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
• Companies in which the Portfolio's underlying investment companies invest may suffer unexpected losses or lower than expected earnings or their securities may become difficult or impossible to sell at the time and for the price that the underlying investment adviser(s) would like.
• The Adviser's judgment about the attractiveness or potential appreciation of a particular underlying investment company security could prove to be wrong or the Portfolio could miss out on an investment opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of such opportunity are tied up in less advantageous investments.
• Because under normal circumstances the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in shares of registered investment companies that emphasize investments in U.S. equity securities, the NAV of the Portfolio will change with changes in the share prices of the investment companies in which the Portfolio invests.
• There is a risk that large, small or micro capitalization stocks may not perform as well as other asset classes or the U.S. stock market as a whole. In the past, large, small and micro capitalization stocks have gone through cycles of doing better or worse than the stock market in general.
3
• There is a risk that the Portfolio, which is passively managed, may not perform as well as funds with more active methods of investment management, such as selecting securities based on economic, financial, and market analysis.
• The derivative instruments in which the underlying investment companies may invest are subject to a number of risks including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and it is possible to lose more than the principal amount invested.
• The performance of the Portfolio will depend on how successfully the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies pursue their investment strategies.
More information about the Portfolio's investments and risks is contained under the section entitled "More About Each Portfolio's Investments and Risks."
Performance Information
Because the Portfolio has less than one full calendar year of performance, no performance information has been included.
Management of the Portfolio
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Mark E. Matson: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, since 1991
Daniel J. List: Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President Of Portfolio Management, since 1994
Steven B. Miller: Vice President Of Operations and Portfolio Manager, since 2004
Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares
Portfolio shares are not sold directly to the public. Portfolio shares may be purchased and redeemed by separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by participating insurance companies. Orders received from separate accounts to purchase or redeem Portfolio shares are effected on business days. Individual investors may purchase or redeem Portfolio shares indirectly through variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies offered through the separate accounts.
Taxes
Provided that the Portfolio and separate accounts investing in the Portfolio satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Portfolio will not be subject to federal tax, and the separate accounts will not be taxable on distributions from, or gains with respect to, the Portfolio. Special tax rules apply to life insurance companies, variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance contracts. For information on federal income taxation of owners of variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts, see the prospectus for the applicable contract.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
The Portfolio may pay participating insurance companies and securities dealers for the sale of Portfolio shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the insurance company and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company's website for more information.
4
MATSON MONEY INTERNATIONAL EQUITY VI PORTFOLIO |
FMVIX |
Investment Objective
The Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio (the "Portfolio") seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Portfolio as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, overall fees and expenses would be higher.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
0.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
4.57 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.54 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
5.61 |
% |
|||||
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements (1) |
(4.26 |
)% |
|||||
Net Expenses |
1.35 |
% |
(1) Matson Money, Inc. has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses for the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.35%. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.35%: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may discontinue these arrangements any time after December 31, 2015.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This Example does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Portfolio as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, the costs shown below would be higher.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
137 |
$ |
1,293 |
$ |
2,435 |
$ |
5,229 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio
5
Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance. For the period February 18, 2014 through August 31, 2014, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 2.47% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered, open-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") (collectively, "investment companies") that have either adopted policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in equity securities, such as common stocks, preferred stocks or securities convertible into stocks, of foreign companies, or invest substantially all of their assets in such equity securities. The Portfolio will diversify its investments by investing primarily in investment companies that focus on different segments of the foreign equity markets, including emerging markets, with little or no focus on domestic equity markets.
Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Portfolio's net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies, including other investment companies funded by insurance company separate accounts, that invest in the types of securities described in each asset class below, with less than 5% of the net assets invested in cash or money market instruments.
International Small Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of small companies in foreign countries with developed markets that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013, the highest maximum market capitalization of a small company in any country in which an underlying investment company invested was $5.399 billion. This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
International Large Cap Value Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of large companies in foreign countries with developed markets that the underlying investment adviser(s) determine to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time. As of December 2013, the lowest minimum market capitalization of a large company in any country or region in which an underlying investment company invested was $1.628 billion. This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
International Small Company Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of small companies in foreign countries with developed markets. As of December 2013, the highest maximum market capitalization of a small company in any country in which an underlying investment company invested was $5.399 billion. This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
International Large Cap Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase the stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of large companies in foreign countries with developed markets. As of December 2013, the lowest minimum market capitalization of a large company in any country or region in which an underlying investment company invested was $1.628 billion.
6
This threshold will vary by country or region, and the dollar amount will change from time to time due to market conditions.
Emerging Markets Asset Class, Emerging Markets Value Asset Class, and Emerging Markets Small Cap Asset Class (collectively, the "Emerging Markets Asset Classes"): Underlying investment companies comprising each Emerging Markets Asset Class generally will purchase stocks and other equity securities, directly or through sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, of companies located in emerging market countries. The underlying investment companies investing in securities of the Emerging Markets Asset Class and the Emerging Markets Small Cap Asset Class will generally purchase the equity securities of larger and smaller companies, respectively, within each country. The underlying investment adviser(s) determine company size primarily based on market capitalization. As of December 2013, companies in the Emerging Markets Small Cap Asset Class generally were those companies with a market capitalization of $4.473 billion or less in the largest country and $396 million in the smallest country. This threshold will vary by country or region. These dollar amounts will change from time to time due to market conditions.
The underlying investment companies in the Emerging Markets Value Asset Class generally will purchase emerging market equity securities that are deemed by the underlying investment adviser(s) to be value stocks at the time of purchase. An issuer's securities are considered value stocks primarily because they have a high book value in relation to their market value (a "book to market ratio"). In assessing value, the underlying investment adviser(s) may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios as well as economic conditions and developments in the issuer's industry. The criteria used for assessing value are subject to change from time to time.
The underlying investment companies may use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices, to gain market exposure on its uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. Underlying index-based ETFs may use derivatives, including futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts, options and swaps to help the ETF track its underlying index.
The Portfolio reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets as a temporary defensive measure in cash and money market instruments such as U.S. Government securities, bank obligations and commercial paper. To the extent the Portfolio employs a temporary defensive measure, the Portfolio may not achieve its investment objective. Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each underlying investment company and may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of the Portfolio in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders or the holders of the variable annuity or variable life insurance policies.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Portfolio involves the same investment risks as those of the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolio invests. These risks may adversely affect the Portfolio's net asset value ("NAV") and investment performance. The Portfolio is subject to the following principal risks:
• The value of particular foreign equity securities which the Portfolio's underlying investment companies may purchase or foreign stock markets on which the securities they may purchase are traded may decline in value.
• Stocks of large cap or small cap foreign companies in which the Portfolio's underlying investment companies may invest may temporarily fall out of favor with investors or may be more volatile than particular foreign stock markets or foreign stock markets as a whole.
7
• The smaller the capitalization of a company, generally the less liquid its stock and the more volatile its price. Companies with smaller market capitalizations also tend to have unproven track records and are more likely to fail than companies with larger market capitalizations.
• Stocks of large cap or small cap foreign companies in which the Portfolio's underlying investment companies may invest may suffer unexpected losses or lower than expected earnings or such securities may become difficult or impossible to sell at the time and for the price the underlying investment advisers would like.
• Because the Portfolio owns shares of underlying investment companies that invest in foreign issuers, the Portfolio is subject to risks presented by investments in such issuers. Securities of foreign issuers may be negatively affected by political events, economic conditions, or inefficient, illiquid or unregulated markets in foreign countries. Foreign issuers may be subject to inadequate regulatory or accounting standards.
• Investments in emerging market securities by underlying investment companies in which the Portfolio invests are subject to higher risks than those in developed market countries because there is greater uncertainty in less established markets and economics.
• Currency risk is the risk that exchange rates for currencies in which securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolio invests are denominated will fluctuate daily. In general, the underlying investment companies do not hedge currency risk. As a result, if currencies in which foreign holdings are denominated depreciate against the U.S. Dollar, the value of your investment in the Portfolio may be adversely affected.
• The Adviser's judgment about the attractiveness or potential appreciation of a particular underlying investment company security could prove to be wrong or the Portfolio could miss out on an investment opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of such opportunity are tied up in less advantageous investments.
• Because under normal circumstances the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in shares of registered investment companies that emphasize investments in equity securities of foreign companies, the NAV of the Portfolio will change with changes in the share prices of the investment companies in which the Portfolio invests.
• There is a risk that the Portfolio, which is passively managed, may not perform as well as funds with more active methods of investment management, such as selecting securities based on economic, financial, and market analysis.
• The derivative instruments in which the underlying investment companies may invest are subject to a number of risks including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and it is possible to lose more than the principal amount invested.
• The performance of the Portfolio will depend on how successfully the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies pursue their investment strategies.
More information about the Portfolio's investments and risks is contained under the section entitled "More Information About Each Portfolio's Investments and Risks."
Performance Information
Because the Portfolio has less than one full calendar year of performance, no performance information has been included.
8
Management of the Portfolio
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Mark E. Matson: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, since 1991
Daniel J. List: Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President Of Portfolio Management, since 1994
Steven B. Miller: Vice President Of Operations and Portfolio Manager, since 2004
Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares
Portfolio shares are not sold directly to the public, Portfolio shares may be purchased and redeemed by separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by participating insurance companies. Orders received from separate accounts to purchase or redeem Portfolio shares are effected on business days. Individual investors may purchase or redeem Portfolio shares indirectly through variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies offered through the separate accounts.
Taxes
Provided that the Portfolio and separate accounts investing in the Portfolio satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Portfolio will not be subject to federal tax, and the separate accounts will not be taxable on distributions from, or gains with respect to, the Portfolio. Special tax rules apply to life insurance companies, variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance contracts. For information on federal income taxation of owners of variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts, see the prospectus for the applicable contract.
Payments to Broker - Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
The Portfolio may pay participating insurance companies and securities dealers for the sale of Portfolio shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the insurance company and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company's website for more information.
9
MATSON MONEY FIXED INCOME VI PORTFOLIO |
FMVFX |
Investment Objective
The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio seeks total return (consisting of current income and capital appreciation).
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Portfolio as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, overall fees and expenses would be higher.
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
0.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) and/or Service Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
2.90 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.19 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
3.59 |
% |
|||||
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements (1) |
(2.59 |
)% |
|||||
Net Expenses |
1.00 |
% |
(1) Matson Money, Inc. has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses for the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.00%. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.00%: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may discontinue these arrangements any time after December 31, 2015.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This Example does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Portfolio as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, the costs shown below would be higher.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
102 |
$ |
859 |
$ |
1,638 |
$ |
3,683 |
10
Portfolio Turnover
The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance. For the period February 18, 2014 through August 31, 2014, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 0.55% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered, open-end investment companies and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") (collectively, "investment companies") that have either adopted policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in fixed income securities that the Adviser believes offer the prospect of providing total return, or invest substantially all of their assets in such fixed income securities.
Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Portfolio's net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies, including other investment companies funded by insurance company separate accounts, that invest in the types of securities described in each asset class below, with less than 2% of the net assets invested in cash or money market instruments.
One-Year Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase U.S. government obligations, U.S. government agency obligations, dollar-denominated obligations of foreign issuers issued in the U.S., foreign government and agency obligations, bank obligations, including the obligations of U.S. subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks, corporate obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, and obligations of supranational organizations such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Generally, obligations comprising this asset class will mature within one year from the date of settlement, but substantial investments may be made in obligations maturing within two years from the date of settlement when greater returns are available.
Two-Year Global Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, corporate debt obligations, bank obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, and other debt obligations of domestic and foreign issuers. Generally, obligations comprising this asset class have a weighted average maturity not exceeding two years, but investments may be made in obligations maturing in a shorter time period (from overnight to less than two years from the date of settlement). Because many of the investments of the underlying investment companies in this asset class will be denominated in foreign currencies, the underlying investment companies may also enter into forward foreign currency contracts to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency rates, to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another.
Intermediate Government Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase debt obligations of the U.S. government and U.S. government agencies. Generally, investment companies in the asset class will purchase securities with maturities of between five and fifteen years, however such investment companies ordinarily will have an average weighted maturity of between three and ten years.
Five-Year Global Fixed Income Asset Class: The underlying investment companies generally will purchase obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, obligations of other foreign issuers, corporate debt obligations, bank obligations, commercial paper, and obligations of supranational organizations. Generally, obligations comprising this asset class have a weighted average maturity not exceeding five years. However, investments may be made in obligations maturing in a shorter time period (from overnight to less than five years from the date of settlement.) Because many of the investments of the underlying investment companies in this asset class will be denominated in foreign currencies, the underlying investment
11
companies may also enter into forward foreign currency contracts to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency rates, to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another.
The underlying investment companies may also use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices, to gain market exposure on its uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. Underlying index-based ETFs may use derivatives, including futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts, options and swaps to help the ETF track its underlying index.
Certain underlying investment companies may concentrate their investments (invest more than 25% of its total assets) in obligations of U.S. and foreign banks and bank holding companies when the yield to maturity on eligible portfolio investments in banking securities as a group generally exceeds the yield to maturity on all other eligible portfolio investments as a group generally for a period of five consecutive days when the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. While the Portfolio will not concentrate its investments in any one industry, the Portfolio may be focused on banking sectors under certain circumstances.
The Portfolio reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets as a temporary defensive measure in cash and money market instruments such as U.S. Government securities, bank obligations and commercial paper. To the extent the Portfolio employs a temporary defensive measure, the Portfolio may not achieve its investment objective. Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each underlying investment company and may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of the Portfolio in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders or the holders of the variable annuity or variable life insurance policies.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Portfolio involves the same investment risks as those of the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolio invests. These risks may adversely affect the Portfolio's net asset value ("NAV") and investment performance. The Portfolio is subject to the following principal risks:
• Fixed income securities in which the Portfolio's underlying investment companies may invest are subject to certain risks, including: interest rate risk, reinvestment risk, prepayment and extension risk, credit/default risk, and the risks associated with investing in repurchase agreements.
• Interest rate risk involves the risk that prices of fixed income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes.
• Reinvestment risk involves the risk that proceeds from matured investments may be re-invested at lower interest rates.
• Prepayment risk involves the risk that in declining interest rates environments prepayments of principal could increase and require the Portfolio to reinvest proceeds of the prepayments at lower interest rates.
• Extension risk involves the risk that prepayments of principal will decrease when interest rates rise resulting in a longer effective maturity of a security.
• Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. Credit risk also involves the risk that the credit rating of a security may be lowered.
• Repurchase agreement risk involves the risk that the other party to a repurchase agreement will be unable to complete the transaction and the underlying investment company in which the Portfolio invests may suffer a loss as a result.
12
• Because the Portfolio owns shares of underlying investment companies that invest in foreign issuers, the Portfolio is subject to risks presented by investments in such issuers. Securities of foreign issuers may be negatively affected by political events, economic conditions, or inefficient, illiquid or unregulated markets in foreign countries. Foreign issuers may be subject to inadequate regulatory or accounting standards.
• Currency risk is the risk that exchange rates for currencies in which securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolio invests are denominated will fluctuate daily. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts may limit potential gains from a favorable change in value between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies. Unanticipated changes in currency pricing may result in poorer overall performance for the Portfolio than if it had not engaged in these contracts.
• The Adviser's judgment about the attractiveness or potential appreciation of a particular underlying investment company security could prove to be wrong or the Portfolio could miss out on an investment opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of such opportunity are tied up in less advantageous investments.
• Because under normal circumstances the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in shares of registered investment companies that emphasize investments in fixed income securities, the NAV of the Portfolio will change with changes in the share prices of the investment companies in which the Portfolio invests.
• Not all obligations of U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Some are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality. Accordingly, there may be some risk of default by the issuer in such cases.
• There is a risk that the Portfolio, which is passively managed, may not perform as well as funds with more active methods of investment management, such as selecting securities based on economic, financial, and market analysis.
• The derivative instruments in which the underlying investment companies may invest are subject to a number of risks including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and it is possible to lose more than the principal amount invested.
• The performance of the Portfolio will depend on how successfully the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies pursue their investment strategies.
• Banks are very sensitive to changes in money market and general economic conditions. Adverse general economic conditions can cause financial difficulties for a bank's borrowers and the borrowers' failure to repay their loans can adversely affect the bank's financial situation. Banks are subject to extensive regulation and decisions by regulators may limit the loans banks make and the interest rates and fees they charge, which could reduce bank profitability.
More information about the Portfolio's investments and risks is contained under the section entitled "More About Each Portfolio's Investments and Risks."
Performance Information
Because the Portfolio has less than one full calendar of performance, no performance information has been included.
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Management of the Portfolio
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc.
Portfolio Managers
Mark E. Matson: President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, since 1991
Daniel J. List: Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President Of Portfolio Management, since 1994
Steven B. Miller: Vice President Of Operations and Portfolio Manager, since 2004
Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares
Portfolio shares are not sold directly to the public. Portfolio shares may be purchased and redeemed by separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by participating insurance companies. Orders received from separate accounts to purchase or redeem Portfolio shares are effected on business days. Individual investors may purchase or redeem Portfolio shares indirectly through variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies offered through the separate accounts.
Taxes
Provided that the Portfolio and separate accounts investing in the Portfolio satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Portfolio will not be subject to federal tax, and the separate accounts will not be taxable on distributions from, or gains with respect to, the Portfolio. Special tax rules apply to life insurance companies, variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance contracts. For information on federal income taxation of owners of variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts, see the prospectus for the applicable contract.
Payments to Broker - Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
The Portfolio may pay participating insurance companies and securities dealers for the sale of Portfolio shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the insurance company and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company's website for more information.
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MORE ABOUT EACH PORTFOLIO'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
Investment Strategies
The Summary of Principal Investment Strategies and Summary of Principal Investment Risks sections describe the investment objective and principal investment strategies and risks of each Portfolio. This section provides some additional information about the Portfolios and the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolios may invest and certain portfolio management techniques that such underlying investment companies may use. More information about the Portfolios' investments and related risks is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
Each Portfolio's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") upon prior written notice to shareholders. Shareholders will be given at least 60 days' prior written notice of any change to a Portfolio's investment objective.
Each Portfolio pursues its investment objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in shares of registered investment companies and ETFs. The Adviser focuses on the returns of investment companies within each of the asset classes while keeping trading costs to a minimum. Under normal market conditions, the Adviser expects substantially all of the Portfolios' net assets to be invested in the securities of investment companies, including other investment companies funded by insurance company separate accounts, with less than 2% of the net assets of the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio, and 5% of the net assets of the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio invested in cash or money market instruments.
Periodically the Adviser will review the allocations for each Portfolio in each underlying investment company. From time to time, the Adviser may add or remove underlying investment companies and/or change the investment allocation percentages of a Portfolio in the underlying investment companies without notice to shareholders or the holders of the variable annuity or variable life insurance policies. In addition, when the Adviser determines that market forces have caused fundamental changes in the relative values of the assets of the underlying investment companies, the Adviser may modify the allocations of the Portfolio. To maintain allocation ranges, adjustments may be made by purchasing or selling shares of the underlying investment companies or applying future investments and redemptions by the Portfolio in proportions necessary to rebalance the investments in the underlying investment companies.
Each Portfolio may invest directly in individual securities. However, the Adviser will not invest directly in individual securities without prior approval of the Company's Board of Directors, except as described in this Prospectus.
Investments in Investment Companies and the Investment Company Industry. Each Portfolio invests exclusively in investment companies that are not affiliated with it. These investment companies may be within the same fund complex and/or advised by the same investment adviser. The Portfolios invest primarily in securities of registered investment companies and will attempt to identify investment companies that have demonstrated superior management, favorable investment results, and relatively lower costs and expenses. There can be no assurance that this result will be achieved. Each Portfolio will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management fees and other expenses paid by the investment companies in which it invests including the advisory and administration fees paid by the underlying fund. Fees and expenses related to each Portfolio's investments in underlying funds for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 are disclosed in each Portfolio's expense table under "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses." Some underlying investment companies may concentrate their investments in various industries or industry sectors and may use options, futures, or options on futures in their investment programs.
Investment decisions by the investment advisers of the underlying investment companies are made independently of the Portfolios and the Adviser. Therefore, the investment adviser of one underlying investment company may be purchasing shares of the same issuer whose shares are being sold by the investment adviser of
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another underlying investment company. The result of this would be an indirect expense to a Portfolio without accomplishing any investment purpose.
Each Portfolio expects that it will select the investment companies in which it will invest based, in part, upon an analysis of the past and projected performance and investment structure of the underlying investment companies. However, each Portfolio may consider other factors in the selection of investment companies. These other factors include, but are not limited to the investment company's size, shareholder services, liquidity, investment objective and investment techniques. Each Portfolio will be affected by the losses of its underlying investment companies and the level of risk arising from the investment practices of such investment companies and has no control over the risks taken by such investment companies.
Investing in investment companies does not eliminate investment risk. When the Adviser has identified a significant upward trend in a particular asset class, each Portfolio retains the right to invest in investment companies that invest primarily in that particular asset class. Investment companies may have greater fluctuations in value when compared to other categories of investment companies that are not invested primarily in the particular asset class selected by the Adviser.
Each Portfolio's ability to achieve its investment objective will depend largely on the Adviser's ability to select the appropriate mix of underlying investment companies. In addition, achieving each Portfolio's investment objective will depend on the performance of the underlying investment companies, which depends on the ability of the underlying investment companies to meet their investment objectives. There can be no assurance that either the Portfolios or their underlying investment companies will achieve their investment objectives.
ETFs are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. A Portfolio may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
More About Underlying Investment Company Investments
Underlying Investment Companies. The underlying investment companies in which the Portfolios may invest reflect a broad spectrum of investment opportunities including equities, fixed income, domestic, foreign and emerging markets. These investment companies may invest in various obligations and employ various investment techniques. The following describes these obligations and techniques:
Derivative Contracts. The underlying investment companies in which each of the Portfolios invests may, but need not, use derivative contracts to seek to hedge against the possible adverse impact of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates (with respect to the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio only) or interest rates in the market value of its securities or securities to be purchased.
Examples of derivative contracts include: futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward foreign currency contracts, and interest rate or currency swaps. A derivative contract will obligate or entitle an underlying investment company to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment that is based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on an underlying investment company's stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. An underlying investment company may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the investment company's holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities in that the counterparty may default on its payment obligations or become insolvent. Derivatives can also make an underlying investment company less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.
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The underlying investment companies may also utilize derivative contracts to gain market exposure on their uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. The underlying investment companies of the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio may also enter into forward foreign currency contracts to transfer balances from one currency to another. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered more speculative than other types of investments.
Equity Investments. The underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio invest may purchase all types of equity securities. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio may invest a portion of its assets in underlying investment companies that invest in equity securities, although these investments are not part of the Portfolio's principal investment strategies. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, and equity participations. Investments in equity securities and equity derivatives in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that an underlying investment company could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of such securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation.
Fixed Income Investments. The underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio invests may purchase all types of fixed income securities. The Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio and the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio may invest a portion of their assets in underlying investment companies that invest in fixed income securities, although these investments are not part of such Portfolios' principal investment strategies. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate, governmental and foreign issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features.
Foreign Securities. The securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio invests are generally traded or denominated in foreign currencies. In addition, many of the securities held by the underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio invests are traded or denominated in foreign currencies. Investments in securities of foreign entities and securities denominated or traded in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of an underlying investment company's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
The underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio invests may purchase depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts,
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voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
The underlying investment companies investing in stocks and other equity securities of issuers located in developed markets may invest in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The investment adviser(s) of the underlying investment companies may also invest from time to time in securities of issuers located in other developed countries, at their discretion.
The underlying investment companies investing in stocks and other equity securities of issuers located in emerging market countries may invest in the following countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey. The investment adviser(s) of the underlying investment companies may also invest from time to time in securities of issuers located in other emerging market countries, at their discretion.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio invests may purchase mortgage-backed securities as part of their principal investment strategies. Mortgage-backed securities in which the underlying investment companies invest may be issued by private companies or by agencies of the U.S. Government. Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property.
Certain debt instruments may only pay principal at maturity or may only represent the right to receive payments of principal or payments of interest on underlying pools of mortgage or government securities, but not both. The value of these types of instruments may change more drastically than debt securities that pay both principal and interest during periods of changing interest rates. Principal only mortgage-backed securities are particularly subject to prepayment risk. An underlying investment company may obtain a below market yield or incur a loss on such instruments during periods of declining interest rates. Interest only instruments are particularly subject to extension risk, which is the risk that principal repayments will not occur as quickly as anticipated, causing the expected maturity of a security to increase and making its price more sensitive to rate changes and more volatile. Mortgage derivatives and structural securities often employ features that have the effect of leverage. As a result, small changes in interest or prepayment rates may cause large and sudden price movements, especially compared to an investment in a security that is not leveraged. Mortgage derivatives can also become illiquid and hard to value in declining markets. Mortgage-backed securities also include mortgage pass-through certificates and multiple-class pass-through certificates, such as collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs).
Recently, the market for mortgage related securities experienced substantially, often dramatically, lower valuations and greatly reduced liquidity. These instruments may be 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 impact on the Portfolios to the extent underlying investment companies invest in mortgage-related or other fixed income securities or instruments affected by the volatility in the fixed income markets.
Securities Lending. The underlying investment companies of the Portfolios may seek to increase their income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. Portfolio securities loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by the underlying investment company will not exceed 33 1 / 3 % of the value of the investment company's total assets. The underlying investment company may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the investment company. Lending portfolio securities involves the risk of delay in receiving additional collateral if the value of the securities goes up while they are on loan.
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Borrowing. The underlying investment companies of the Portfolios may borrow money for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes. A Portfolio will not make any additional investments in an investment company while such investment company's borrowings exceed 5% of its total assets.
Temporary Investments. The Portfolios may depart from their principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in cash or money market instruments. If a Portfolio were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.
Investment Risks
The following provides additional information about the risks of investing in the Portfolios:
Other Investment Companies. Each Portfolio's NAV will fluctuate due to business developments concerning a particular issuer or industry as well as general market and economic conditions affecting securities held by the particular underlying investment companies in which the Portfolio invests. Investment decisions by the investment advisers of the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolios invest are made independently of the Portfolios and the Adviser. Each Portfolio will be affected by the losses of its underlying investment companies and the risks involved in the investment practices of such investment companies. Neither the Portfolios nor the Adviser has any control over the risks taken by such investment companies. Some underlying investment companies may concentrate their investments in various industries or sectors and may invest in derivative securities, options or futures.
Small Company Securities. While the securities of small capitalization companies in which the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio's and Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio's underlying investment companies invest may offer greater opportunity for capital appreciation than larger companies, investment in such companies presents greater risks than investment in larger, more established companies. Historically, small capitalization stocks have been more volatile in price than larger capitalization stocks. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility of these securities are the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such stocks, and the potentially greater sensitivity of such small companies to changes in or failure of management, and to many other changes in competitive, business, industry and economic conditions, including risks associated with limited product lines, markets, management depth, or financial resources. Besides exhibiting greater volatility, micro and small company stocks may, to a degree, fluctuate independently of larger company stocks. Small company stocks may decline in price as large company stocks rise, or rise in price as large company stocks decline. Additionally, while the markets in securities of small companies have grown rapidly in recent years, such securities may trade less frequently and in smaller volume than more widely held securities. The values of these securities may fluctuate more sharply than those of other securities, and the underlying investment companies in which the Portfolios invest may experience some difficulty in establishing or closing out positions in these securities at prevailing market prices. There may be less publicly available information about the issuers of these securities or less market interest in such securities than in the case of larger companies and it may take a longer period of time for the prices of such securities to reflect the full value of their issuers' underlying earnings potential or assets.
Stock Market. Underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio may invest are subject to fluctuations in the stock markets, which have periods of increasing and decreasing values. Equity securities typically have greater volatility than fixed income securities.
Foreign Investing. Foreign securities in which the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio's and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio's underlying investment companies may invest pose additional risks over U.S.-based securities for a number of reasons. Investments in foreign securities may adversely affect the value of an investment in certain underlying investment companies. Foreign economic, governmental, and political systems may be less favorable than those of the U.S. Foreign governments and may exercise greater control over their economies, industries, and
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citizens' rights. Specific risk factors related to foreign securities include: inflation, structure and regulation of financial markets, liquidity and volatility of investments, currency exchange rates and regulations, and accounting standards. Foreign companies may also be subject to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation, thereby reducing their earnings potential, and amounts realized on foreign securities may be subject to high levels of foreign taxation and withholding. In addition, these underlying investment companies may incur higher costs and expenses when making foreign investments, which will affect the underlying investment companies' total return.
Currency Risk. With respect to investments in foreign securities by underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio invest, exchange rates for currencies fluctuate daily. The combination of currency risk and market risk tends to make securities traded in foreign markets more volatile than securities traded exclusively in the U.S. Foreign securities are usually denominated in a foreign currency; therefore, changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the NAV of an underlying investment company. Diversification among foreign currencies will not protect the underlying investment companies against a general increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.
Emerging Market Securities. Underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio invests may purchase the securities of issuers located in developing or emerging market countries. The risks of foreign investments are typically increased in less developed countries, which are sometimes referred to as emerging markets, because there is greater uncertainty in less established markets and economies. These risks include political, social or economic systems, smaller securities markets, lower trading volume, and substantial rates of inflation. To the extent an underlying investment company is invested in emerging market securities, it will be subject to higher risk than those investing in securities of developed market countries.
Interest Rate Risk. The underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio invests purchase fixed income securities as part of their principal investment strategies. During periods of rising interest rates, an underlying investment company's yield and the market value of the investment company's fixed-income securities will tend to be lower than prevailing market interest rates. Periods of rising interest rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets. In periods of falling interest rates, the underlying investment company's yield and the market value of the underlying investment company's fixed-income securities generally will tend to be higher than prevailing market interest rates. Prices of longer-term fixed income securities are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than prices of shorter-term fixed-income securities.
Cash Flow Risk. The underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio invests purchase fixed income securities as part of their principal investment strategies. Payment of principal on the mortgages or other assets underlying a particular fixed income security in which an underlying investment company invests may be faster or slower than estimated. Interest only instrument are particularly subject to extension risk , which is the risk that principal repayment will not occur as quickly as anticipated, causing the expected maturity of a security to increase and making its price more sensitive to rate change and more volatile. When interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their mortgages or other loans sooner than expected and will typically shorten the average life of these instruments. This is known as prepayment risk.
Credit/Default Risk. The underlying investment companies in which the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio invests purchase fixed income securities as part of their principal investment strategies. The credit rating of an issuer or guarantor of a security in which an underlying investment company invests may be lowered or an issuer or guarantor of a security or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a repurchase agreement may default on its payment obligations.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. Although a Portfolio's investments in U.S. Government securities are considered to be among the safest investments, they are not guaranteed against price movements due to changing interest rates. Obligations issued by certain U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored
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enterprises, such as the Government National Mortgage Association, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, while obligations issued by others, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") and Federal Home Loan Banks, are backed solely by the ability of the entity to borrow from the U.S. Treasury or by the entity's own resources. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to U.S. Government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchange's minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
Derivatives Risk. The underlying investment companies of each Portfolio may utilize derivatives as part of their principal investment strategies. Loss may result from an underlying investment company's investments in futures, swaps, options and other derivative instruments. These instruments may be leveraged so that small changes in value may produce disproportionate losses to the underlying investment company. Using derivative instruments may involve risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. An underlying investment company's investment in a derivative instrument could lose more than the principal amount invested. Also, suitable derivative transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that the underlying investment company will engage in these transactions to reduce exposure to other risks when they would be beneficial. Pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940 and its rules and SEC interpretations thereunder, the registered investment companies in which the Portfolios invest are required to segregate cash or liquid securities or otherwise "cover" their positions in certain derivatives.
Non-diversified Investments. The performance of large positions in certain equity or fixed income securities may significantly impact the performance of an underlying investment company of a Portfolio, resulting in greater volatility.
Concentration. Concentration of investments within one industry or market sector may subject an underlying investment company to greater market fluctuations. The Portfolios will not knowingly concentrate their investments, directly or indirectly, in any industry.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Portfolios' portfolio securities is available in the SAI. The SAI is incorporated herein.
Broad-Based and Composite Indices
Each Portfolio intends to evaluate its performance as compared to that of a broad-based index and a Composite Index. The information below reflects the most current information available to the Company as of the date of this Prospectus:
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio. The broad-based index is the Russell 2500 ® Index. The Composite Index will be comprised of the S&P 500 ® Index, Russell 1000 ® Value Index, Russell 2000 ® Index and Russell 2000 ® Value Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. The following is a description of the broad-based index and each index comprising the Composite Index:
The Russell 2500 ® Index consists of the small- to mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, commonly referred to as "smid" cap. The Russell 2500 ® Index is constructed on a market-cap weighted basis to provide a
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comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the small to mid-cap segment and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the Index. The Russell 2500 ® Index includes the smallest 2,500 securities in the Russell 3000 ® Index. The Russell 3000 ® Index is made up of 3,000 of the biggest U.S. stocks on a market-cap weighted basis. As of December 31, 2013, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2500 ® Index was $1.037 billion and the largest stock was $10.813 billion.
The S&P 500 ® Index consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping, among other factors. The S&P 500 ® Index is designed to be an indicator of U.S. equities and is meant to reflect the risk/return characteristics of the large-cap universe. The S&P 500 ® Index is a market-value weighted index and each stock's weight in the index is proportionate to its market value.
The Russell 1000 ® Value Index consists of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 1000 ® Value Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer of the large-cap value market.
The Russell 2000 ® Index consists of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 2000 ® Index is constructed on a market-cap weighted basis to provide a comprehensive and unbiased small-cap barometer and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the Index. The Russell 2000 ® Index includes the smallest 2000 securities in the Russell 3000 ® Index.
The Russell 2000 ® Value Index consists of the small-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer of the small-cap value market.
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio. The broad-based index is the MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index. The Composite Index will be comprised of the MSCI EAFE Index, MSCI EAFE Value Index, MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index, and MSCI Emerging Markets Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. The following is a description of the broad-based index and each index comprising the Composite Index:
The MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index is a stock market index of 'world' stocks maintained by Morgan Stanley Capital International ("MSCI"). The index includes a selection of stocks of developed markets, as defined by MSCI. As of December 31, 2013, this index contained securities from the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. As of December 31, 2013, the median capitalization of the MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index was $9.213 billion and the weighted average market capitalization was $ 65.443 billion.
The MSCI Europe, Australasia, and Far East ("EAFE") Index is a stock market index of foreign stocks that generally covers 85% of the equity market of the following developed countries as of December 31, 2013: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
The MSCI EAFE Value Index is a subset of the EAFE Index and includes securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia) and the Far East. The Index generally represents approximately 50% of the market capitalization of the EAFE Index and consists of those securities classified by MSCI as most representing the value style.
The MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index generally covers the bottom 85% 99% range of each market's free float-adjusted market capitalization.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is designed to measure equity market performance in global emerging markets. As of December 31, 2013, the Index contained securities from the following emerging market countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.
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Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio. The broad-based index is the CitiGroup World Government Bond Index 1-5 Year Currency Hedged U.S. Dollar Index. The Composite Index will be comprised of the Three-Month Treasury Bill Index, Barclays Capital Intermediate Government Bond Index, Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year US Government/Corporate Index and Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. The following is a description of the broad-based index and each index comprising the Composite Index:
CitiGroup World Government Bond Index 1-5 Year Currency Hedged U.S. Dollar Index includes the most significant and liquid government bond markets globally that carry at least an investment grade rating. Currently, this includes the 23 government bond markets of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Three Month Treasury-Bill Index consists of three-month Treasury bills purchased at the beginning of each of three consecutive months. As each bill matures, all proceeds are rolled over or reinvested in a new three-month bill. The income used to calculate the monthly return is derived by subtracting the original amount invested from the maturity value. The index is rebalanced monthly by market capitalization.
Barclays Capital Intermediate Government Bond Index is a weighted index of U.S. government and government agency securities (other than mortgage securities) with maturities of one year to ten years.
Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year U.S. Government/Corporate Index is an unmanaged index of short-term U.S. government securities and short-term domestic investment-grade corporate bonds with maturities between 1 and 2.99 years.
Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index, meaning the securities in the index are weighted according to the market size of each bond type. Most U.S. traded investment grade bonds are represented. Municipal bonds and Treasury Inflation-Protected securities are excluded. The Index includes Treasury securities, Government agency bonds, mortgage-backed bonds, corporate bonds, and a small amount of foreign bonds traded in the U.S. The Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an intermediate term index. The average maturity is 7.69 years as of November 30, 2014.
Credit Ratings
Corporate debt obligations and dollar-denominated obligations of foreign issuers issued in the U.S. in which the underlying investment companies of the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio may invest will be (i) rated Aa3 or better by Moody's, or AA- or better by S&P, or AA- or better by Fitch; or (ii) if there is no rating for the debt security, (ii) determined by the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies to be of comparable quality to equivalent issues of the same issuer rated at least AA- or Aa3.
Commercial paper in which the underlying investment companies may invest will be rated, at the time of purchase, A-1 or better by S&P or Prime-1 by Moody's, or, if unrated, issued by a corporation having an outstanding unsecured debt issue rated Aaa by Moody's or AAA by S&P.
23
MANAGEMENT OF THE PORTFOLIOS
Investment Adviser
Matson Money, Inc. ("Matson Money" or the "Adviser") is located at 5955 Deerfield Blvd., Mason, OH 45040. Matson Money was founded in 1991 and provides advisory services to individuals, trusts, corporations, non-profit organizations, retirement plans and foundations. Mark E. Matson, President, Chief Financial Officer and a Director of Matson Money, owns approximately 90% of Matson Money's outstanding voting securities. Matson Money had approximately $5.9 billion in assets under management as of November 30, 2014.
Subject to the general supervision of the Company's Board of Directors, Matson Money manages the Portfolios' portfolios and is responsible for the selection and management of all investments of the Portfolios in accordance with the Portfolios' respective investment objectives and policies.
Portfolio Managers
A team of portfolio managers, led by Daniel J. List, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Portfolios. Mark E. Matson and Steven B. Miller assist Mr. List in managing the assets of the Portfolios.
Daniel J. List, Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President Of Portfolio Management of the Adviser, has been employed by the Adviser since 1994. He is responsible for portfolio designs, compliance, trading and system designs.
Mark E. Matson, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Adviser, founded the Adviser in 1991 and serves as head portfolio manager at the Adviser.
Steven B. Miller, Vice President Of Operations and Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, has been employed by the Adviser since April 2004 as a portfolio manager and then as Vice President Of Operations. Prior thereto, he was a senior financial analyst with F+W Publications Inc. from November 2002 to April 2004, and a financial analyst with MidLand Enterprises, Inc. from April 2002 to November 2002.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Portfolios.
Management Fees
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee at the annual rate of 0.50% of the first $1 billion of each Portfolio's average daily net assets, 0.49% of each Portfolio's average daily net assets over $1 billion to $5 billion and 0.47% of each Portfolio's average daily net assets over $5 billion. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in order to limit Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses to 1.13%, 1.35% and 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio, respectively. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.13%, 1.35% and 1.00%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. A discussion regarding the basis for Board of Directors' approving the investment advisory agreement with respect to the Portfolios is available in the Portfolio's semi-annual report to shareholders dated February 28, 2014.
24
PRIOR PERFORMANCE OF SIMILAR ACCOUNTS
The following performance information is of the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, the Free Market International Equity Fund and the Free Market Fixed Income Fund, each an investment portfolio of the Company (collectively, the "Free Market Funds"). The Adviser serves as investment adviser to both the Matson Money Portfolios and the Free Market Funds. The Matson Money Portfolios and the Free Market Funds also share the same portfolio managers. Each Matson Money Portfolio's portfolio will be managed substantially similarly to that of the corresponding Free Market Fund and therefore the following performance information below indicates some of the risks of investing in the Free Market Portfolios.
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund, and therefore the Free Market U.S. Equity Portfolio. The performance for the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio would differ from the information below only to the extent that the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio and the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund do not have the same expenses. If the fees and expenses imposes by the investment vehicle through which an investment in the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio is made were reflected, they would reduce returns. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Total returns would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived or reimbursed. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund or the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio will perform in the future.
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the period reflected in the chart above)
Best Quarter: 22.80% (quarter ended June 30, 2009) |
|||
Worst Quarter: (22.63)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008) |
|||
Year to Date Total Return as of September 30, 2014: 0.67% |
25
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns of the Fund before and after taxes for the past calendar year and since inception to the average total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns for the
Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Year |
Since
Inception* (December 31, 2007 |
|||||||||||||
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
39.69 |
% |
16.90 |
% |
10.31 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions* |
38.45 |
% |
16.23 |
% |
9.85 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares* |
23.20 |
% |
13.16 |
% |
8.11 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 2500
®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
36.80 |
% |
16.28 |
% |
9.16 |
% |
|||||||||
Composite Index** |
34.69 |
% |
15.56 |
% |
7.16 |
% |
* After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns will depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
** The Composite Index is comprised of the S&P 500 ® Index, Russell 1000 ® Value Index, Russell 2000 ® Index and Russell 2000 ® Value Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. Additional information about the Composite Index can be found under the section entitled "More About Each Portfolio's Investments and Risks."
Free Market International Equity Fund
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Free Market International Equity Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund, and therefore the Free Market International Equity Portfolio. The performance for the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio would differ from the information below only to the extent that the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and the Free Market International Equity Fund do not have the same expenses. If the fees and expenses imposes by the investment vehicle through which an investment in the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio is made were reflected, they would reduce returns. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Total returns would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived or reimbursed. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Free Market International Equity Fund or the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio will perform in the future.
26
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the period reflected in the chart above)
Best Quarter: 33.53% (quarter ended June 30, 2009) |
|||
Worst Quarter: (22.38)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011) |
|||
Year to Date Total Return as of September 30, 2014: (0.77)% |
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns of the Fund before and after taxes for the past calendar year and since inception to the average total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns for the
Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Year |
Since
Inception* (December 31, 2007 |
|||||||||||||
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
21.80 |
% |
6.04 |
% |
3.03 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions* |
20.45 |
% |
5.05 |
% |
2.29 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares* |
12.66 |
% |
4.35 |
% |
2.08 |
% |
|||||||||
MSCI World (excluding U.S.) Index (reflects no deduction
expenses or taxes) |
21.02 |
% |
7.34 |
% |
0.28 |
% |
|||||||||
Composite Index** |
17.90 |
% |
5.95 |
% |
0.80 |
% |
* After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns will depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
** The Composite Index is comprised of the MSCI EAFE Index, MSCI EAFE Value Index, MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index, and MSCI Emerging Markets Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. Additional information about the Composite Index can be found under the section entitled "more about Each Portfolio's Investments and Risks."
Free Market Fixed Income Fund
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Free Market Fixed Income Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund, and therefore the Free Market Fixed Income Portfolio. The performance for the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio would differ from the information below only to the extent that the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio and the Free Market Fixed Income Fund do not have the same expenses. If the fees and expenses imposes by the investment vehicle through which an investment in the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio is made were reflected, they would reduce returns. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Total returns would have been lower had certain fees and expenses not been waived or reimbursed. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Free Market Fixed Income Fund or the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio will perform in the future.
27
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the period reflected in the chart above)
Best Quarter: 3.54% (quarter ended December 31, 2008) |
|||
Worst Quarter: (1.44)% (quarter ended June 30, 2013) |
|||
Year to Date Total Return as of September 30, 2014: 0.81% |
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns of the Fund before and after taxes for the past calendar year and since inception to the average total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns for the
Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Year |
Since
Inception* (December 31, 2007 |
|||||||||||||
Fund Returns Before Taxes |
(1.43 |
)% |
1.13 |
% |
1.96 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions* |
(1.65 |
)% |
0.71 |
% |
1.41 |
% |
|||||||||
Fund Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares* |
(0.77 |
)% |
0.75 |
% |
1.34 |
% |
|||||||||
CitiGroup World Government Bond Index 1-5 Year Currency
Hedged U.S. Dollar Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
0.62 |
% |
1.67 |
% |
2.63 |
% |
|||||||||
Composite Index** |
(0.71 |
)% |
1.76 |
% |
2.82 |
% |
* After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns will depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
** The Composite Index is comprised of the Three-Month Treasury Bill Index, Barclays Capital Intermediate Government Bond Index, Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year US Government/Corporate Index and Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, each weighted 25%, 25%, 25% and 25%, respectively. Additional information about the Composite Index can be found under the section entitled "More About Each Portfolio's Investments and Risks."
28
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Portfolio Shares
The Portfolios' shares ("Shares") are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV per Share of each Portfolio is calculated as follows:
Each Portfolio's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Portfolios will effect purchases and redemptions of Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Portfolio's Transfer Agent of your purchase order or redemption request in good order as (described below).
Investments in underlying open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies at the close of business that day. Investments in ETFs and closed-end Portfolios will be valued at their market price. A Portfolio's direct investments in equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange will be valued at the last sale price for all exchanges, except the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price for NASDAQ. Direct investments in equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. A Portfolio's direct investments in fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Direct investments in fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. Direct investments in foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If a Portfolio holds foreign securities, the calculation of the Portfolio's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign securities in the Portfolio's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Portfolios' administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, the Portfolio's investments will be valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before a Portfolio prices its shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. The use of a pricing service and fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by a Portfolio to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other mutual funds and investors to price the same investments.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. Excessive short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt Portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Portfolio performance and result in dilution in the value of Portfolio Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Portfolio Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Portfolio Shares. An investor may receive notice that their
29
purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise their right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company or the Adviser, has been or may be disruptive to a Portfolio. 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 a Portfolio and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of a Portfolio and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, the Adviser may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with a Portfolio.
Portfolio shares are generally held through omnibus arrangements maintained by participating insurance companies or other intermediaries. There is no assurance that the Portfolios will be able to identify market timing, particularly if shareholders invest through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Portfolio shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Portfolios. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Purchase of Portfolio Shares
General. Shares of the Portfolio are not sold directly to the public. Instead, Portfolio shares are sold to separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by participating insurance companies. You may purchase or sell (redeem) shares of the Portfolio through variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies offered through separate accounts. The variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies are described in the separate prospectuses issued by the participating insurance companies. You should refer to those prospectuses for information on how to purchase a variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy, how to select a specific Portfolio as an investment option for your contract or policy and how to redeem monies from the Portfolio.
The separate accounts of the participating insurance companies place orders to purchase and redeem shares of the Portfolios based on, among other things, the amount of premium payments to be invested and the amount of surrender and transfer requests (as defined in the prospectus describing the variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies issued by the participating insurance companies) to be effected on that day pursuant to variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies.
Shares of the Portfolios may be purchased by separate accounts of both affiliated and unaffiliated participating insurance companies in order to fund both variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts, and also may be purchased by qualified plans. This may present certain conflicts of interests among variable annuity owners, variable life insurance policy owners and plan investors. The Company's Board of Directors will monitor the Company for the existence of any materials irreconcilable conflict of interest. The Company currently does not foresee any disadvantages to the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies arising from the fact that interests of the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies may differ due to differences of tax treatment or other considerations or due to conflicts among the participating insurance companies. If, however, a material irreconcilable conflict arises between the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable
30
life insurance policies of participating insurance companies, a participating insurance company may be required to withdraw the assets allocable to some or all of the separate accounts from the Portfolio. Any such withdrawal could disrupt orderly portfolio management to the potential detriment of such holders.
The Portfolios do not currently anticipate offering shares directly to qualified pension and profit-sharing plans.
Good Order. Purchase or redemption orders received by the Transfer Agent in good order will be executed at the Portfolio's next determined NAV.
Other Purchase Information: The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of a Portfolio. The Adviser will monitor each Portfolio's total assets and may decide to close any of the Portfolios at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of a Portfolio may adversely affect the implementation of the Portfolio's strategy. Subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, the Adviser may also choose to reopen a Portfolio to new investments at any time and may subsequently close the Portfolio again should concerns regarding the Portfolio's size recur. If a Portfolio closes to new investments, the Portfolio would be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Portfolio.
Other persons who are shareholders of the other Matson Money VI Portfolios are not permitted to acquire Shares of the closed Portfolio by exchange. Distributions to all shareholders of the Portfolios will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser reserves the right to implement other purchases limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Redemption of Portfolio Shares
General: Redemption requests may be placed by separate accounts of participating insurance companies. Redemption requests are effected at the NAV next calculated after receipt of the redemption request by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Portfolio's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. Shares of a Portfolio can only be redeemed on days the NYSE is open. Redemptions by wire are charged a transaction fee of $7.50.
Other Redemption Information: Payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of a Portfolio to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Portfolio instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholders will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so that a Portfolio is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Portfolio's NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio.
Good Order: A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
31
Voting Rights
Participating insurance companies, not the owners of the variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies or participants therein, are shareholders of the Portfolios. To the extent required by law:
• The participating insurance companies will vote Portfolio Shares held in the separate accounts in a manner consistent with timely voting instructions received from the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies.
• The participating insurance companies will vote Portfolio Shares held in the separate accounts for which no timely instructions are received from the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies, as well as shares they own, in the same proportion as those shares for which voting instructions are received.
As a result of proportional voting, a small number of holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies could determine the outcome of a proposition subject to shareholder vote. It is anticipated that Portfolio Shares held by unregistered separate accounts or qualified plans generally will be voted for or against any proposition in the same proportion as all other Portfolio Shares are voted unless the unregistered separate account's participating insurance company or the plan makes other arrangements.
Additional information concerning voting rights of the participants in the separate accounts is more fully set forth in the prospectus relating to those accounts issued by the participating insurance companies.
Dividends and Distributions
Each Portfolio will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Portfolio unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio and the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio will declare and pay dividends from net investment income quarterly. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Portfolios at least annually.
Taxes
Each Portfolio is treated as a separate corporate entity for federal tax purposes. Each Portfolio has elected to be treated as a regulated investment company and intends to qualify for such treatment for each taxable year under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). In addition, each Portfolio intends to qualify under the Code with respect to the diversification requirements related to variable contracts. Provided that a Portfolio and a separate account investing in the Portfolio satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Portfolio will not be subject to federal tax, and the separate accounts will not be taxable on distributions from, or gains with respect to, the Portfolio.
Persons investing in variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts should refer to the prospectuses with respect to such contracts for further information regarding the tax treatment of the contracts and the separate accounts in which the contracts are invested.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUNDS' SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
32
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance since the Funds' inception on February 18, 2014. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the tables represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in each Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Funds' financial statements which, together, with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
MATSON MONEY U.S. EQUITY VI PORTFOLIO
For the Period
February 18, 2014 (1) Through August 31, 2014 |
|||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
25.00 |
|||||
Net investment loss (2) |
(0.06 |
) |
|||||
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments |
1.85 |
||||||
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations |
1.79 |
||||||
Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: |
|||||||
Net investment income |
|
||||||
Net realized capital gains |
|
||||||
Tax return of capital |
|||||||
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders |
|
||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
26.79 |
|||||
Total investment return (3) |
7.16 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio/Supplemental Data |
|||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) |
$ |
7,816 |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers (5) |
1.13 |
% (6) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers |
4.07 |
% (6) |
|||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets with waivers (5) |
(0.47 |
)% (6) |
|||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
1.32 |
% (4) |
(1) Commencement of operations.
(2) The selected per share data was calculated using the average shares outstanding method for the period.
(3) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) Not Annualized.
(5) The Portfolio also will indirectly bear its prorated share of expenses of the underlying funds. Such expenses are not included in the calculation of this ratio.
(6) Annualized.
33
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
MATSON MONEY INTERNATIONAL EQUITY VI PORTFOLIO
For the Period
February 18, 2014 (1) Through August 31, 2014 |
|||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
25.00 |
|||||
Net investment loss (2) |
(0.07 |
) |
|||||
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments |
0.75 |
||||||
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations |
0.82 |
||||||
Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: |
|||||||
Net investment income |
|
||||||
Net realized capital gains |
|
||||||
Tax return of capital |
|||||||
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders |
|
||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
25.82 |
|||||
Total investment return (3) |
3.28 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio/Supplemental Data |
|||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) |
$ |
5,408 |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers (5) |
1.35 |
% (6) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers |
5.07 |
% (6) |
|||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets with waivers (5) |
(0.49 |
)% (6) |
|||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
2.47 |
% (4) |
(1) Commencement of operations.
(2) The selected per share data was calculated using the average shares outstanding method for the period.
(3) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) Not Annualized.
(5) The Portfolio also will indirectly bear its prorated share of expenses of the underlying funds. Such expenses are not included in the calculation of this ratio.
(6) Annualized.
34
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
MATSON MONEY FIXED INCOME VI PORTFOLIO
For the Period
February 18, 2014 (1) Through August 31, 2014 |
|||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
25.00 |
|||||
Net investment loss (2) |
(0.05 |
) |
|||||
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments |
0.13 |
||||||
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations |
0.08 |
||||||
Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: |
|||||||
Net investment income |
|
||||||
Net realized capital gains |
|
||||||
Tax return of capital |
|||||||
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders |
|
||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
25.08 |
|||||
Total investment return (3) |
0.32 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio/Supplemental Data |
|||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) |
$ |
9,927 |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers (5) |
1.00 |
% (6) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers |
3.40 |
% (6) |
|||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets with waivers (5) |
(0.40 |
)% (6) |
|||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
0.55 |
% (4) |
(1) Commencement of operations.
(2) The selected per share data was calculated using the average shares outstanding method for the period.
(3) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) Not Annualized.
(5) The Portfolio also will indirectly bear its prorated share of expenses of the underlying funds. Such expenses are not included in the calculation of this ratio.
(6) Annualized.
35
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MATSON MONEY FAMILY OF PORTFOLIOS
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Portfolios is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Portfolios' investments, describe the Portfolios' performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The Annual Report will include market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Portfolios' performance during the last fiscal year.
Statement of Additional Information ("SAI")
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014 has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Portfolios, may be obtained free of charge, along with the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports when available, by calling (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863 or at the Adviser's website at http://hosted.rightprospectus.com/MatsonMoney. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus (and is legally part of the Prospectus).
Shareholder Inquiries
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863
Written Correspondence
Street Address:
Matson Money, Inc. Family of Portfolios
c/o BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may also view and copy information about the Company and the Portfolios, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Portfolio documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-202-942-8090.
Investment Company Act File No. 811-05518
Institutional Class
Boston Partners Investment Funds
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
Prospectus December 31, 2014
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II BPSIX
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund BPAIX
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund BPLSX
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund BPIRX
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund WPGTX
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund BPGIX
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund BGLSX
The securities described in this prospectus have been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The SEC, however, has not judged these securities for their investment merit and has not determined the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a criminal offense.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY SECTIONS |
|||||||
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
3 |
||||||
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund |
9 |
||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
15 |
||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
22 |
||||||
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund |
30 |
||||||
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
36 |
||||||
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund |
43 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS'
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
50 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS |
|||||||
Investment Adviser |
54 |
||||||
Portfolio Managers |
55 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
|||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
60 |
||||||
Market Timing |
60 |
||||||
Shareholder Service Fees |
61 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
61 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
65 |
||||||
Exchange Privilege |
68 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
69 |
||||||
Taxes |
69 |
||||||
Multi-Class Structure |
71 |
||||||
Appendix A Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account
of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
72 |
||||||
Appendix B Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts
of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
74 |
||||||
Appendix C Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account
of the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund |
76 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
78 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
A look at the investment objectives, strategies, risks, expenses and financial history of each of the Boston Partners Investment Funds.
Details about the Boston Partners Investment Funds' service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in any of the Boston Partners Investment Funds.
2
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE FUND II
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital primarily through investment in equity securities. Current income is a secondary objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
Institutional Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
None |
||||||
Other expenses |
0.23 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
1.23 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (1) |
(0.13 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
1.10 |
% |
(1) The Fund's investment adviser, Robeco Investment Management, Inc. (the "Adviser"), has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund's Institutional Class shares exceeds 1.10% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Institutional Class shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total annual Fund operating expenses to exceed 1.10%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2016 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. If at any time during the three years from May 28, 2014 to May 28, 2017 the Fund's Advisory Agreement with the Adviser is in effect, the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.10%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund during such three-year period.
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 $100,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5%
3
return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
1,121 |
$ |
3,639 |
$ |
6,500 |
$ |
14,650 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of equity securities, such as common stocks of issuers with small market capitalizations and identified by the Adviser as having value characteristics. A small market capitalization issuer generally is considered to be one whose market capitalization is, at the time the Fund makes the investment, similar to the market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index. The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index that contains stocks from the Russell 2000 ® Index with less than average growth orientation. As of November 30, 2014, the median market capitalization of this index was $601 million and the largest stock was $4.6 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change.
The Fund generally invests in the equity securities of small companies. The Adviser will seek to invest in companies it considers to be well managed and to have attractive fundamental financial characteristics. The Adviser believes greater potential for price appreciation exists among small companies since they tend to be less widely followed by other securities analysts and thus may be more likely to be undervalued by the market. The Fund may invest from time to time a portion of its assets, not to exceed 20% (under normal conditions) at the time of purchase, in companies with larger market capitalizations.
The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price to book value ratios and price to earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals such as return on equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund may also invest up to 25% of its total assets in non U.S. dollar-denominated securities.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing a maximum of 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash
4
and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices.
• Small Cap Companies Risk. The Fund will invest in smaller issuers which are more volatile and less liquid than investments in issuers with a market capitalization greater than the market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index. Small market capitalization issuers are not as diversified in their business activities as issuers with market capitalizations greater than the market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index and are more susceptible to changes in the business cycle.
The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund invests may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 175%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
5
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the long-term performance of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II's Institutional Class. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 29.32% (quarter ended June 30, 2009)
Worst Quarter: (26.32)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: (2.19)%
6
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Institutional Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
|||||||||||||||
Returns Before Taxes |
34.74 |
% |
23.13 |
% |
9.61 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
34.49 |
% |
22.94 |
% |
7.96 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
19.66 |
% |
18.98 |
% |
7.59 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 2000
®
Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
34.52 |
% |
17.63 |
% |
8.60 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
7
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
David M. Dabora, Senior Portfolio Manager since 2000
George Gumpert, Portfolio Manager since 2005
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
You can only purchase and redeem Institutional Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
8
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS ALL-CAP VALUE FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital primarily through investment in equity securities. Current income is a secondary objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
Institutional Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
one year, if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
one year, if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
0.80 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
None |
||||||
Other expenses |
0.14 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
0.94 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (1) |
(0.24 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
0.70 |
% |
(1) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund's Institutional Class shares exceeds 0.70% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Institutional Class shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total annual Fund operating expenses to exceed 0.70%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may not recoup any of its waived investment advisory fees.
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 $100,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
715 |
$ |
2,756 |
$ |
4.967 |
$ |
11,327 |
9
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of equity securities, such as common stocks of issuers across the capitalization spectrum and identified by the Adviser as having value characteristics.
The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price to book value ratios and price to earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals, such as return on equity and earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in non U.S. dollar-denominated securities.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain debt securities and preferred stock.
The Fund may hedge overall portfolio exposure up to 40% of its net assets through the purchase and sale of index and individual put and call options.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing less than 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices.
10
• Small/Mid Cap Companies Risk. Investing in securities of companies with micro, small or mid-sized capitalizations tends to be riskier than investing in securities of companies with large capitalizations.
Securities of companies with micro, small and mid-sized capitalizations tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies and, on occasion, may fluctuate in the opposite direction of large cap company securities or the broader stock market averages.
The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund invests may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 125%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Options Risk. An option is a type of derivative instrument that gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy (a "call") or sell (a "put") an asset in the near future at an agreed upon price prior to the expiration date of the option. The Fund may "cover" a call option by owning the security underlying the option or through other means. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
11
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the long-term performance of the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund's Institutional Class. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 18.60% (quarter ended June 30, 2009)
Worst Quarter: (17.49)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 7.14%
12
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Institutional Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund |
|||||||||||||||
Returns Before Taxes |
39.12 |
% |
18.74 |
% |
10.51 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
37.36 |
% |
17.72 |
% |
9.31 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
22.61 |
% |
14.92 |
% |
8.31 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 3000
®
Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
32.69 |
% |
16.75 |
% |
7.66 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
13
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Manager
Duilio Ramallo, Senior Portfolio Manager since 2007
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
You can only purchase and redeem Institutional Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
14
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS LONG/SHORT EQUITY FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while reducing exposure to general equity market risk. The Fund seeks a total return greater than that of the S&P 500 ® Index over a full market cycle.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
Institutional Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
one year, if applicable) |
2.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
one year, if applicable) |
2.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
2.25 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
None |
||||||
Other expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend expense on short sales (1) |
0.27 |
% |
|||||
Interest expense on borrowings |
1.64 |
% |
|||||
Other operating expenses |
0.17 |
% |
|||||
Total other expenses |
2.08 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses (2) |
4.33 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) for the Fund's Institutional Class exceeds 2.50% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Institutional Class shares. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total annual Fund operating expenses (after fee waivers and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed 2.50%. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may not recoup any of its waived investment advisory fees.
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 $100,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5%
15
return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
4,345 |
$ |
13,121 |
$ |
22,016 |
$ |
44,779 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 65% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate. The Fund will invest, both long and short, in securities principally traded in the United States markets. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less ("unseasoned issuers"). The Adviser will determine the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Fund seeks to construct a portfolio that has less volatility than the United States equity market generally. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals such as return on equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Fund intends, under normal circumstances, to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities. Under normal circumstances, the Adviser expects that the Fund's long positions will not exceed approximately 125% of the Fund's net assets.
The Fund's long and short positions may involve (without limit) equity securities of foreign issuers that are traded in the markets of the United States. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets directly in equity securities of foreign issuers.
To meet margin requirements, redemptions or pending investments, the Fund may also temporarily hold a portion of its assets in full faith and credit obligations of the United States government and in short-term notes, commercial paper or other money market instruments.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
The Fund may invest from time to time a significant portion of its assets in smaller issuers which are more volatile and less liquid than investments in issuers with larger market capitalizations.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing a maximum of 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
16
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, used by corporations and other business organizations.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the long portfolio of the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• High Yield Debt Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices.
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the Adviser may not be successful in its strategy of taking long positions in stocks the manager believes to be undervalued and short positions in stocks the manager believes to be overvalued. Further, since the Adviser will manage both a long and a short portfolio, there is the risk that the Adviser may make more poor investment decisions than an adviser of a typical stock mutual fund with only a long portfolio may make.
• Short Sales Risk. Short sales of securities may result in gains if a security's price declines, but may result in losses if a security's price rises.
• Unseasoned Issuers Risk. Unseasoned issuers may not have an established financial history and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Unseasoned issuers may depend on a few key personnel for management and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. As a result, such securities may be more volatile and difficult to sell.
• Small-Cap Companies Risk. The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund may invest may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 400%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
17
• Segregated Account Risk. A security held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position it is covering is outstanding, unless it is replaced with a similar security. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede portfolio management or the Fund's ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
18
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the long-term performance of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund's Institutional Class. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 38.60% (quarter ended June 30, 2009)
Worst Quarter: (19.45)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 6.38%
19
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Institutional Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods. Although the Fund compares its average total return to a broad-based securities market index, the Fund seeks returns that are not correlated to securities market returns. The Fund seeks to achieve a 12-15% return over a full market cycle; however, there can be no guarantee that such returns will be achieved.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
|||||||||||||||
Returns Before Taxes |
7.90 |
% |
24.27 |
% |
12.72 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
6.37 |
% |
22.16 |
% |
10.14 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
5.61 |
% |
19.44 |
% |
9.42 |
% |
|||||||||
S&P 500
®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
32.39 |
% |
17.94 |
% |
7.40 |
% |
(2) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
20
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Robert T. Jones, Senior Portfolio Manager since 1995
Ali Motamed, Portfolio Manager since 2013
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
The Fund is currently closed due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Fund will still be offered to existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons, as described in the section entitled "Purchase of Fund Shares" in this prospectus.
You can only purchase and redeem Institutional Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
21
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS LONG/SHORT RESEARCH FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term total return.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
Institutional Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
1.25 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
None |
||||||
Other expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend expense on short sales (1) |
0.84 |
% |
|||||
Interest expense on borrowings |
0.30 |
% |
|||||
Other operating expenses |
0.13 |
% |
|||||
Total other expenses |
1.27 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses (2) |
2.52 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) exceeds 1.50% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Institutional Class shares. Because acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total annual Fund operating expenses (after fee waivers and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed 1.50%. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. Effective as of the effective date of the Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.50%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
22
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 $100,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
2,551 |
$ |
7,845 |
$ |
13,405 |
$ |
28,556 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 57% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund uses a hedged strategy. The Fund actively invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales (i.e. sales of securities the Fund does not own) will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate.
The Fund invests, both long and short, in equity securities issued by large-, mid- and small (or "micro") cap companies, as well as other instruments that are convertible into equity securities. Selling securities short is a form of leverage. Equity securities in which the Fund may invest include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less ("unseasoned issuers"). The Fund may also invest in depositary receipts and equity securities of foreign companies (denominated in either U.S. dollars or foreign currencies), put and call options, futures, indexed securities and fixed-income securities (including bonds, notes, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments) and high yield securities (commonly referred to as "junk bonds"). Fixed income securities in which the Fund will invest include those rated between AAA and D by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO"), or deemed of comparable quality by the Adviser. The Adviser may also temporarily invest uninvested cash in money market funds and similar collective investment vehicles. The Fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities.
The Adviser determines the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Fund seeks to construct a portfolio that has less volatility than the U.S. equity market by investing less than 100% of its assets in net long positions. Selection of individual securities to be held long or sold short will be based on a mix of quantitative techniques and fundamental security analysis. The Adviser selects stocks on the basis of three criteria: value, fundamental business strength and momentum. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals such as return on equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
23
Although the Fund seeks to follow a hedged strategy, there can be no assurance that the Fund's portfolio or investments will be insulated from market moves or effectively hedged against risk.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing less than 25% of its total assets in any one industry, except that the Fund may invest up to 30% in exchange-traded funds to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("1940 Act") and applicable SEC orders.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The principal derivative instruments in which the Fund invests are futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the long portfolio of the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the price of these stocks will not move even lower.
• High Yield Debt Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations (of any rating, including defaulted securities and unrated securities), including bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and financial practices.
• Currency Risk. Investment in foreign securities also involves currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and which may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to a foreign currency may cause the U.S. dollar value of an investment in that country to decline. Foreign currencies also are subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government controls.
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. The Adviser may be incorrect in the stocks it buys and believes to be undervalued and in stocks it sells short and believes to be overvalued. Further, since the Adviser will manage both a long and a short portfolio, there is the risk that the Adviser may make more poor investment decisions than an adviser of a typical stock mutual fund with only a long portfolio.
• Short Sales Risk. Short sales of securities may result in gains if a security's price declines, but may result in losses if a security's price rises. In a rising market, short positions may be more likely to result in losses
24
because securities sold short may be more likely to increase in value. Short selling also involves the risks of: increased leverage, and its accompanying potential for losses; the potential inability to reacquire a security in a timely manner, or at an acceptable price; the possibility of the lender terminating the loan at any time, forcing the Fund to close the transaction under unfavorable circumstances; the additional costs that may be incurred; and the potential loss of investment flexibility caused by the Fund's obligations to provide collateral to the lender and set aside assets to cover the open position. Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited.
• Unseasoned Issuers Risk. Unseasoned issuers may not have an established financial history and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Unseasoned issuers may depend on a few key personnel for management and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. As a result, such securities may be more volatile and difficult to sell.
• Small-Cap Companies Risk. The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund may invest may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• REITs Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 300%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days.
• Derivatives Risk. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments, which include futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps, may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
• Indexed Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in indexed securities whose value is linked to securities indices. Most such securities have values that rise and fall according to the change in one or more specified indices and may have characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying securities. Depending on the index, such securities may have greater volatility than the market as a whole.
25
• Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
• Exchange Traded Fund Risk. Exchange traded funds ("ETFs") are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
26
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the performance of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund's Institutional Class. The bar chart below provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendars Year Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 8.37% (quarter ended December 31, 2011)
Worst Quarter: (9.89)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 3.74%
27
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Institutional Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||
1 Year |
Since Inception
(September 30, 2010) |
||||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
|||||||||||
Returns Before Taxes |
17.77 |
% |
12.71 |
% |
|||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
17.66 |
% |
12.46 |
% |
|||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
10.15 |
% |
9.88 |
% |
|||||||
S&P 500
®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
32.29 |
% |
11.96 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
28
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr., Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners, Co-Portfolio Manager since inception of the Fund
Eric Connerly, Director of Research-Quantitative, Co-Portfolio Manager since inception of the Fund
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
You can only purchase and redeem Institutional Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you selected the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
29
SUMMARY SECTION WPG PARTNERS SMALL/MICRO CAP VALUE FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks, securities convertible into common stocks and in special situations.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
Institutional Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
2.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
2.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses*
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
0.80 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
None |
||||||
Other expenses |
0.55 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
1.35 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (1) |
(0.25 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
1.10 |
% |
(1) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund's Institutional Class shares exceeds 1.10% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Institutional Class shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total annual Fund operating expenses to exceed 1.10%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2016 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. If at any time during the three years from May 28, 2014 to May 28, 2017 the Fund's Advisory Agreement with the Adviser is in effect, the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.10%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund during such three-year period.
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 $100,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and
30
that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
1,121 |
$ |
3,771 |
$ |
6,903 |
$ |
15,791 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 75% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
Currently, the Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of U.S. companies that, at the time of purchase, have a market capitalization that is within the range of the market capitalization of issuers in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index. As of November 30, 2014, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index is $601 million and the largest stock is $4.6 billion. The Fund may invest in depository receipts and equity securities of foreign companies. Although the Fund invests primarily in common stocks, the Fund may invest in all types of equity and equity-related securities, including (without limitation):
• Securities convertible into common stocks.
• Shares of real estate investment trusts ("REITs").
• Warrants and rights to purchase common stocks.
• Preferred stocks.
• Exchange traded limited partnerships.
Special Situations: The Fund may invest in companies that may experience unusual and possibly unique developments which may create a special opportunity for significant returns. Special situations include: significant technological improvements or important discoveries; reorganizations, recapitalizations or mergers; favorable resolutions of litigation; new management or material changes in company policies; and actual or potential changes in control of a company.
Strategies: The Adviser uses a value approach to select the Fund's investments. Using this investment style, the Adviser seeks securities selling at substantial discounts to their underlying values and then holds these securities until the market values reflect what the Adviser believes to be their intrinsic values. The Adviser employs a bottom-up strategy, focusing on undervalued industries that the Adviser believes are experiencing positive change. The Adviser then uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess a security's potential value. The portfolio managers managing the Fund meet with a multitude of companies annually to identify companies with increasing returns on capital in their core businesses which are selling at attractive valuations.
Factors the Adviser looks for in selecting investments include (without limitation):
• Increasing returns on invested capital.
• Companies who have demonstrated an ability to generate high return on invested capital (ROIC).
• Companies which provide solid cash flows with appropriate capital.
• Potential catalysts such as new products, cyclical upturns and changes in management.
• Low market valuations relative to earnings forecast, book value, cash flow and sales.
31
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the price of these stocks will not move even lower.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices.
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Small Cap Companies Risk. The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund may invest will often be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
• REITs Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index.
• Special Situations Risk. The Fund will seek to benefit from "special situations," such as mergers, reorganizations, or other unusual events expected to affect a particular issuer. There is a risk that the "special situation" might not occur or involve longer time frames than originally expected, which could have a negative impact on the price of the issuer's securities and fail to produce gains or produce a loss for the Fund.
• Rights and Warrants Risk. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. Also, the purchase of rights and/or warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the right and/or warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed security's market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
32
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the long-term performance of the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund's Institutional Class. The performance for periods prior to April 29, 2005 represents the performance of the WPG Tudor Fund (the "Predecessor Fund").The Predecessor Fund began operations on September 11, 1985. On April 29, 2005, the Predecessor Fund was reorganized as a new portfolio of the Company. Prior to the reorganization, the Predecessor Fund offered only one class of shares. In connection with the reorganization, shareholders of the Predecessor Fund exchanged their shares for Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
The bar chart below shows you how the performance of the Fund's Institutional Class has varied year to year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 28.51% (quarter ended June 30, 2009)
Worst Quarter: (30.21)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: (5.67%)
33
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Institutional Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
(for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013) |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund |
|||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
42.08 |
% |
22.31 |
% |
8.45 |
% |
|||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
39.08 |
% |
21.73 |
% |
6.80 |
% |
|||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Shares |
26.11 |
% |
18.31 |
% |
6.28 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 2000
®
Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
34.52 |
% |
17.63 |
% |
8.60 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The table, like the bar chart, provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns for the one year, five year, and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.
34
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Richard Shuster, Senior Portfolio Manager since 1999
Gregory Weiss, Portfolio Manager since 1999
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
You can only purchase and redeem Institutional Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
35
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS GLOBAL EQUITY FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
Institutional Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses*
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
0.90 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
None |
||||||
Other expenses |
0.49 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
1.39 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (1) |
(0.44 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
0.95 |
% |
(1) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund's Institutional Class shares exceeds 0.95% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Institutional Class shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total annual Fund operating expenses to exceed 0.95%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. Effective as of the effective date of the Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 0.95%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees waived and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
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 $100,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a
36
5% return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
969 |
$ |
3,967 |
$ |
7,186 |
$ |
16,305 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 136% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in a non-diversified portfolio of equity and equity-related securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies of any capitalization size. The Fund may invest in all types of equity and equity- related securities, including without limitation exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, options, rights, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, participatory notes, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies (including exchanged-traded funds ("ETFs")), real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula.
The Fund defines non-U.S. companies as companies (i) that are organized under the laws of a foreign country; (ii) whose principal trading market is in a foreign country; or (iii) that have a majority of their assets, or that derive a significant portion of their revenue or profits from businesses, investments or sales, outside of the United States. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests significantly (ordinarily at least 40% unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Adviser, in which case the Fund would invest at least 30%) in non-U.S. companies. The Fund principally will be invested in issuers located in countries with developed securities markets, but may also invest in issuers located in emerging markets. The Fund will allocate its assets among various regions and countries, including the United States (but in no less than three different countries).
The Fund generally invests in the equity securities of issuers believed by the Adviser to be undervalued in the marketplace, focusing on issuers that combine attractive valuations with catalysts for change. The Adviser applies a bottom-up stock selection process (i.e., one that focuses primarily on issuer-specific factors) in managing the Fund, using a combination of fundamental and quantitative analysis. In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser considers various factors such as price-to-book value, price-to-sales and earnings ratios, dividend yields, strength of management, and cash flow to identify securities that are trading at a price that appears to be lower than the issuer's inherent value.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund may (but is not required to) invest in derivatives, including put and call options, futures, forward contracts and swaps, in lieu of investing directly in a security, currency or instrument, for hedging and non-hedging purposes.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
37
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public. The Fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Participatory notes ("P-notes") are derivative instruments used by investors to take positions in certain foreign securities. P-notes present similar risks to investing directly in such securities and also expose investors to counterparty risk.
• Emerging Markets Risk. Investment in emerging market securities involves greater risk than that associated with investment in securities of issuers in developed foreign countries. These risks include volatile currency exchange rates, periods of high inflation, increased risk of default, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, less governmental supervision and regulation of securities markets, weaker auditing and financial reporting standards, lack of liquidity in the markets, and the significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.
• Currency Risk. Investment in foreign securities also involves currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and which may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to a foreign currency may cause the U.S. dollar value of an investment in that country to decline. Foreign currencies also are subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government controls.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
• Options Risk. An option is a type of derivative instrument that gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy (a "call") or sell (a "put") an asset in the near future at an agreed upon price prior to the expiration date of the option. The Fund may "cover" a call option by owning the security underlying the option or through other means. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations.
• Derivatives Risk. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments, which include futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps, may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
38
• REITs Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index.
• Small/Mid-Cap Companies Risk. Investing in securities of companies with micro, small or mid-sized capitalizations tends to be riskier than investing in securities of companies with large capitalizations. Securities of companies with micro, small and mid-sized capitalizations tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies and, on occasion, may fluctuate in the opposite direction of large cap company securities or the broader stock market averages.
The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund invests may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. Redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker- dealers. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
• Exchange Traded Fund Risk. Exchange traded funds ("ETFs") are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
• Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified. Compared to other funds, the Fund may invest more of its assets in a smaller number of companies. Gains or losses on a single stock may have greater impact on the Fund.
39
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the performance of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund's Institutional Class. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 11.70% (quarter ended March 31, 2012)
Worst Quarter: (5.91)% (quarter ended June 30, 2012)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 2.39%
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Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Institutional Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
(for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013) |
|||||||||||
1 Year |
Since Inception
(December 30, 2011) |
||||||||||
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
|||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
32.67 |
% |
23.67 |
% |
|||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
31.37 |
% |
22.66 |
% |
|||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Shares |
18.66 |
% |
18.04 |
% |
|||||||
MSCI World Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
27.77 |
% |
9.94 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The table, like the bar chart, provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns for the one year and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.
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Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Christopher K. Hart, Portfolio Manager, and a Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Joshua Jones, a Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since June, 2013
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr., Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception and oversees both the team and the strategy
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
You can only purchase and redeem Institutional Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund versus another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
42
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS GLOBAL LONG/SHORT FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Class shares of the Fund.
Institutional Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
1.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and servicing (12b-1) fees |
None |
||||||
Other expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend expense on short sales (1) |
1.06 |
% |
|||||
Interest expense on borrowings |
0.85 |
% |
|||||
Other operating expenses |
1.48 |
% |
|||||
Total other expenses (2) |
3.39 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
4.89 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (2) |
(1.01 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
3.88 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) for the Fund's Institutional Class shares exceeds 2.00% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Institutional Class shares. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total annual Fund operating expenses (after fee waivers and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed 2.00%. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. Effective as of the effective date of the Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 2.00%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees waived and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
43
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 $100,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and Fund operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be different, based on these assumptions your costs of investing $10,000 in the Fund would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
$ |
3,902 |
$ |
13,802 |
$ |
23,724 |
$ |
48,626 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 72% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate. The Fund will invest, both long and short, in securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies of any capitalization size. With a long position, the Fund purchases a stock outright; with a short position, the Fund sells a security that it does not own and must borrow to meet its settlement obligations. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less ("unseasoned issuers"). The Adviser will determine the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals, including return on equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Fund may invest in all types of equity and equity-related securities, including without limitation exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, options, rights, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies (including exchanged-traded funds ("ETFs")), real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula.
The Fund defines non-U.S. companies as companies (i) that are organized under the laws of a foreign country; (ii) whose principal trading market is in a foreign country; or (iii) that have a majority of their assets, or that derive a significant portion of their revenue or profits from businesses, investments or sales, outside of the United States. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests significantly (ordinarily at least 40% unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Adviser, in which case the Fund would invest at least 30%) in non-U.S. companies. The Fund principally will be invested in issuers located in countries with developed securities markets, but may also invest in issuers located in emerging markets. The Fund will allocate its assets among various regions and countries, including the United States (but in no less than three different countries).
44
The Fund's portfolio is rebalanced regularly. The Adviser assesses each investment's changing characteristics relative to its contribution to portfolio risk. The Adviser will sell an investment held long or close out a short position that the Adviser believes no longer offers an appropriate return-to-risk tradeoff.
Under normal circumstances, the Adviser expects to sell securities short so that the Fund's portfolio is approximately 50% net long with an average of between 30% and 70% net long.
To meet margin requirements, redemptions or pending investments, the Fund may also temporarily hold a portion of its assets in full faith and credit obligations of the United States government and in short-term notes, commercial paper or other money market instruments.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
The Fund may invest from time to time a significant portion of its assets in smaller issuers which are more volatile and less liquid than investments in issuers with larger market capitalizations.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing a maximum of 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, used by U.S. and foreign corporations and other business organizations (e.g. trusts or limited liability companies.) Such high yield debt obligations are not considered to be investment grade. Non-investment grade fixed income securities (commonly known as "junk bonds") are rated BB or lower by Standard & Poor's Rating Group, or have a comparable rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO") (or, if unrated are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of investment). The Fund may invest in securities of the lowest rating category, including securities in default. the Adviser may, but is not required to, sell a bond or note held by the Fund in the event that its credit rating is downgraded.
The Fund may (but is not required to) invest in derivatives, including put and call options, futures, forward contracts and swaps, in lieu of investing directly in a security, currency or instrument, for hedging and non-hedging purposes.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the Adviser may not be successful in its strategy of taking long positions in stocks the manager believes to be undervalued and short positions in stocks the manager believes to be overvalued. Further, since the Adviser will manage both a long and a short portfolio, there is the risk that the Adviser may make more poor investment decisions than an adviser of a typical stock mutual fund with only a long portfolio may make.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the long portfolio of the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
45
• High Yield Debt Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Participatory notes ("P-notes") are derivative instruments used by investors to take positions in certain foreign securities. P-notes present similar risks to investing directly in such securities and also expose investors to counterparty risk.
• Emerging Markets Risk. Investment in emerging market securities involves greater risk than that associated with investment in securities of issuers in developed foreign countries. These risks include volatile currency exchange rates, periods of high inflation, increased risk of default, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, less governmental supervision and regulation of securities markets, weaker auditing and financial reporting standards, lack of liquidity in the markets, and the significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.
• Currency Risk. Investment in foreign securities also involves currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and which may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to a foreign currency may cause the U.S. dollar value of an investment in that country to decline. Foreign currencies also are subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government controls.
• Short Sales Risk. Short sales of securities may result in gains if a security's price declines, but may result in losses if a security's price rises. In a rising market, short positions may be more likely to result in losses because securities sold short may be more likely to increase in value. Short selling also involves the risks of: increased leverage, and its accompanying potential for losses; the potential inability to reacquire a security in a timely manner, or at an acceptable price; the possibility of the lender terminating the loan at any time, forcing the Fund to close the transaction under unfavorable circumstances; the additional costs that may be incurred; and the potential loss of investment flexibility caused by the Fund's obligations to provide collateral to the lender and set aside assets to cover the open position. Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited. The use of short sales may cause the Fund to have higher expenses than those of other equity mutual funds because of higher transaction costs, premiums, interest or dividends payable to the lender.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
46
• Options Risk. An option is a type of derivative instrument that gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy (a "call") or sell (a "put") an asset in the near future at an agreed upon price prior to the expiration date of the option. The Fund may "cover" a call option by owning the security underlying the option or through other means. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations. Losses incurred by the Fund in writing options can be potentially unlimited.
• Derivatives Risk. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments, which include futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps, may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
• REITs Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any expenses, including management fees, paid by an externally managed REIT in which it invests.
• Unseasoned Issuers Risk. Unseasoned issuers may not have an established financial history and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Unseasoned issuers may depend on a few key personnel for management and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. As a result, such securities may be more volatile and difficult to sell.
• Small-Cap Companies Risk. The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund may invest may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 400%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Segregated Account Risk. A security held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position it is covering is outstanding, unless it is replaced with a similar security. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede portfolio management or the Fund's ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
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• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
• Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
• Exchange Traded Fund Risk. Exchange traded funds ("ETFs") are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
• Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified. Compared to other funds, the Fund may invest more of its assets in a smaller number of companies. Gains or losses on a single stock may have greater impact on the Fund.
Performance Information
The Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2013, therefore annual returns for the calendar year ended December 31, 2013 are not available for the Fund. The Fund intends to evaluate its performance as compared to that of the MSCI ® World Index. The performance information, when available, will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
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Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Christopher K. Hart, Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Joshua Jones, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr., Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception and oversees both the team and the strategy
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
You can only purchase and redeem Institutional Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS' INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
This section provides some additional information about the Funds' investments and certain portfolio management techniques that certain Funds may use. More information about the Funds' investments and portfolio management techniques, some of which entail risks, is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
Investment Objectives
The Funds' investment objectives may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without shareholder approval. Shareholders will, however, receive 60 days' prior notice of any changes. Any such changes may result in the Funds having investment objectives different from the objectives that the shareholder considered appropriate at the time of investment in the Funds.
Additional Information About the Funds' Principal Investments and Risks
Derivative Contracts. Each of the Funds, except for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts for any of the following purposes:
• To seek to hedge against the possible adverse impact of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates in the market value of its securities or securities to be purchased; or
• As a substitute for buying or selling currencies or securities.
The Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts for the following purpose:
• To seek to enhance the Fund's return in non-hedging situations.
Derivative contracts in which the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may invest include: futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward foreign currency contracts; and interest rate, total return or currency swaps. The Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may use derivative contracts involving foreign currencies. A derivative contract will obligate or entitle a Fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment that is based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on a Fund's stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. A Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the Fund's holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities in that the counterparty may default on its payment obligations or become insolvent. Derivatives can also make a Fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.
Short Sales. The Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund and Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund will engage in short sales, and the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may engage in short sales including those that are not "against the box," which means that each Fund may make short sales where the Fund does not currently own or have the right to acquire, at no added cost, securities identical to those sold short in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act. In a typical short sale, the Funds borrow from a broker a security in order to sell the security to a third party. The Funds are then obligated to return a security of the same issuer and quantity at some future date. The Funds realize a loss to the extent the security increases in value or a profit to the extent the security declines in value (after taking into account any associated costs). Short sales "against the box" may protect the Funds against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a
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corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of each Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited.
Equity and Equity-Related Securities. Each of the Funds may invest in all types of equity securities. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and REITs, and equity participations. Investments in equity securities and equity derivatives in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of such securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause the Fund's net asset value to fluctuate. The number of issuers in the Funds' portfolios will vary over time.
Fixed Income Investments. The Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may each invest a portion of their assets in fixed income securities. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate and governmental issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features.
The credit quality of securities held in a Fund's portfolio is determined at the time of investment. If a security is rated differently by multiple ratings organizations, a Fund treats the security as being rated in the higher rating category. A Fund may choose not to sell securities that are downgraded below the Fund's minimum accepted credit rating after their purchase. Periods of rising interest rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets.
Foreign Securities. Each of the Funds may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) directly or through American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") or International Depositary Receipts ("IDRs"). Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
In addition, the Funds may also invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies and in multinational currencies such as the Euro. The Funds will value their securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. Investments in securities of foreign issuers and securities denominated in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of a
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Fund's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
The Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund will normally invest a significant portion of their assets in the equity securities and equity-related instruments issued by non-U.S. companies. The Funds may invest in securities denominated in the currencies of a variety of developed, emerging and frontier market countries. Unless hedged, currency fluctuations may have a material impact on the performance of a portfolio of non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities and such a portfolio may experience a decline or increase in value, in U.S. dollar terms, due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Adviser may, from time to time, but is not required to, hedge foreign currency exposure in the Funds' portfolios. Further, the Funds may also from time to time enter into speculative currency positions independent of other positions in the Funds' portfolios.
The Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may also invest in participatory notes. Participatory notes (commonly known as "P-notes") are equity access products structured as debt obligations and used by investors to take positions in certain foreign securities. P-notes are generally issued by the associates of foreign-based foreign brokerages and domestic institutional brokerages. P-notes represent interests in securities listed on certain foreign exchanges, and thus present similar risks to investing directly in such securities. P-notes also expose investors to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the entity issuing the note may not be able to honor its financial commitments.
Portfolio Concentration. Under normal market conditions, the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund portfolios will generally be diversified by country and geographic region.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Each Fund may invest in ETFs to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and applicable SEC orders. ETFs are registered investment companies whose shares are listed and traded on U.S. stock exchanges or otherwise traded in the over-the-counter market. In general, ETFs seek to track a specified securities index or a basket of securities that an "index provider," such as Standard & Poor's, selects as representative of a market, market segment or industry sector. An ETF portfolio generally holds the same stocks or bonds as the index it tracks or it may hold a representative sample of such securities. Thus, an ETF is designed so that its performance will correspond closely with that of the index it tracks. As a shareholder in an ETF, the Fund will bear its pro rata portion of an ETF's expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
Other Investment Companies. Each of the Funds may invest up to 10% of its total assets in the securities of other investment companies not affiliated with the Adviser, but may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of any one investment company or acquire more than 3% of the voting securities of any other investment company. Among other things, the Funds may invest in money market mutual funds for cash management purposes by "sweeping" excess cash balances into such funds until the cash is invested or otherwise utilized. A 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 advisory and administration fees paid by the Fund.
Private Investments in Public Equity. The WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund may purchase equity securities in private placements that are issued by issuers who have outstanding, publicly-traded equity securities of the same class ("private investments in public equity" or "PIPEs"). Shares in PIPEs generally are not registered with the SEC until after a certain time period from the date the private sale is completed. This restricted period can last many months. Until the public registration process is completed, PIPEs are restricted as to resale and the Fund cannot freely trade the securities. Generally, such restrictions cause the PIPEs to be illiquid during this time. PIPEs may contain provisions that the issuer will pay specified financial penalties to the holder if the issuer does not publicly register the restricted equity securities within a specified period of time, but there is no assurance that the restricted equity securities will be publicly registered, or that the registration will remain in effect. Please see the Fund's SAI for more information regarding illiquid securities.
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Portfolio Turnover. Each of the Funds may engage in active and frequent trading, resulting in high portfolio turnover. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, increasing their tax liability. Frequent trading may also increase transaction costs, which could detract from the Funds' performance.
Securities Lending. Each Fund may seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. Portfolio security loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by a Fund will not exceed 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund's total assets. A Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
Temporary Investments. Each of the Funds may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking a temporary defensive position (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. If a Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
Broad-Based Securities Market Indices
The MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the US & Canada.
The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.
The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index that contains stocks from the Russell 2000 ® Index with less than average growth orientation. Companies in this index generally have low price-to-book and price-to- earnings ratios, higher dividend yields and lower forecasted growth values. As of November 30, 2014, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index is $601 million and the largest stock is $4.6 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change. The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is a registered trademark of the Frank Russell Corporation.
The Russell 3000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of those Russell 3000 ® Index companies that typically display lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The stocks in this index are also members of either the Russell 1000 ® Value or the Russell 2000 ® Value indices. The Russell 3000 ® Index measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization, which represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. As of November 30, 2014, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 3000 ® Value Index is $1,330 billion and the largest stock is $394.1 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change. The Russell 3000 ® Value Index is a registered trademark of the Frank Russell Corporation.
The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, classified in eleven industry sectors, which represent approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in the index.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
The complete portfolio holdings (or long positions only with respect to the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund and the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund) of each of the Funds are publicly available on the Adviser's website at www.boston-partners.com as of the end of each calendar month, 15 days following the month end. Any postings will remain available on the website at least until the Funds file with the SEC their semi-annual or annual shareholder report or quarterly portfolio holdings report that includes such period. A further description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds' portfolio securities is available in the Funds' SAI.
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc. provides investment management and investment advisory services to investment companies and other institutional and proprietary accounts.
Subject to the general supervision of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board of Directors"), the Boston Partners division of the Adviser (or Weiss, Peck & Greer division of the Adviser with respect to the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund) manages the Funds' portfolios and is responsible for the selection and management of all portfolio investments of the Funds in accordance with the Funds' respective investment objectives and policies.
The Adviser, located at 909 Third Avenue, 32 nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, is a subsidiary of Robeco Groep N.V., a Dutch public limited liability company ("Robeco Groep"). Founded in 1929, Robeco Groep is one of the world's oldest asset management organizations. Robeco Groep is primarily owned by ORIX Corporation, an integrated financial services group based in Tokyo, Japan.
For its services to the Boston Partners Funds, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee under the Advisory Agreement computed at an annual rate of 2.25% of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund's average daily net assets,1.00% of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II's average daily net assets, 0.80% of the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund's average daily net assets, 1.25% of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund's average daily net assets, 0.90% of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund's average daily net assets, and 1.50% of the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund's average daily net assets. Until December 31, 2015, the Adviser has agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain an annualized expense ratio for Institutional Class Shares of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund of 2.50%, 0.70%, 1.50%, 0.95%, and 2.00% (excluding certain items discussed below), respectively. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waivers after December 31, 2015. Until December 31, 2016, the Adviser has agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain an annualized expense ratio for Institutional Class Shares of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II to 1.10% (excluding certain items discussed below). There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waivers after December 31, 2016.
In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause a Fund's net annualized expense ratio to exceed the applicable expense limitation: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes.
For its services to the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee under the Advisory Agreement:
• 0.80% of average daily net assets up to $500 million
• 0.75% of average daily net assets in excess of $500 million
Until December 31, 2016, the Adviser has agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain an annualized expense ratio of 1.10% (excluding certain items discussed below) for the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause the net annualized expense ratio of the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund to exceed 1.10%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waivers after December 31, 2016.
For the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, effective as of the effective date of a Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time the Funds' total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.50%, 0.95%, or 2.00%, respectively, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Funds of the advisory fees waived and other payments
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remitted by the Adviser to the Funds within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made. For the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II and WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, if at any time during the three years from May 28, 2014 to May 28, 2017 the Fund's Advisory Agreement with the Adviser is in effect, the Funds' Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.10% and 1.10%, respectively, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Funds of the advisory fees waived or other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Funds during such three-year period.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approval of the Funds' Advisory Agreement with the Adviser is available in the Funds' annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Managers
The investment results for different strategies of the Adviser are not solely dependent on any one individual. There is a common philosophy and approach that is the backdrop for all of the investment strategies of the Adviser.
This philosophy is then executed through a very disciplined investment process managed by the designated portfolio manager for each of the strategies. This manager will be supported, not only by a secondary manager, but by the Adviser's general research staff and, very often, by dedicated analysts to the particular strategy.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Funds.
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II
David M. Dabora is the primary portfolio manager for the Fund and George Gumpert is the secondary portfolio manager.
Mr. Dabora is a senior portfolio manager of the Adviser responsible for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value, Small Cap Value II, and Small/Mid Cap Value portfolios. Mr. Dabora joined the firm in 1995. Prior to taking on day-to-day responsibilities for the Small Cap Value Fund II, Mr. Dabora was an assistant portfolio manager/analyst of the premium equity product of the Adviser, an all-cap value institutional product. Additionally, he was a research analyst with responsibility for a wide variety of industries. Mr. Dabora holds a B.S. degree in business administration from Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. degree from The Anderson School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of San Francisco and has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Gumpert is a portfolio manager for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value products. Previously, he was a research analyst and specialized in the small capitalization sectors of the equity market. He joined the firm in 2000 from AIG International Asset Management where he was a commodities analyst. Mr. Gumpert holds a B.A. degree in economics from Amherst College. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over ten years of investment experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 0.98% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Fund would have paid 1.00%.
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund
Duilio Ramallo is the primary portfolio manager for the Fund.
Mr. Ramallo is a senior portfolio manager of the Adviser. He is responsible for managing the Boston Partners Premium Equity portfolios. Prior to assuming this role, he was the assistant portfolio fund manager for Boston Partners Small Cap Value portfolios and a research analyst. Mr. Ramallo joined the firm in 1995. He joined the firm from Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he spent three years, most recently in the Los Angeles office. He holds a B.A. degree in economics/business from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.B.A. degree from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. Mr. Ramallo holds the Chartered Financial Analyst ® designation. He has over fifteen years of investment experience.
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For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 0.56% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Fund would have paid 0.80%.
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund
Robert T. Jones is the primary portfolio manager for the Fund and Ali Motamed is the secondary portfolio manager.
Mr. Jones is the portfolio manager for Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund and related strategy. Previously, he was the Director of Research and portfolio manager for the Large Cap Value and Large Cap Value Focused products. He was a founding Partner of Boston Partners Asset Management. He joined the firm from The Boston Company Asset Management, Inc. where he spent seven years as Vice President and equity portfolio manager. Mr. Jones holds a B.A. degree in philosophy from Denison University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Motamed is a long/short generalist with the Adviser, specializing in fundamental research of stocks held in the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund and related strategy. He joined the Adviser in 2003, having previously held positions at Deutsche Bank and BT Wolfensohn, where he was a member of the global mergers and acquisitions teams. Mr. Motamed holds a B.A. degree in economics with a minor in accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over fifteen years of experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 2.25% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services.
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. and Eric S. Connerly serve as co-portfolio managers for the Fund.
Mr. Feeney is Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer for Boston Partners. He is responsible for the firm's strategic, financial and operating decisions, and all aspects of investment management including the firm's fundamental and quantitative research groups. He was one of the original partners of Boston Partners Asset Management in 1995. Prior to assuming these roles, he was Director of Research. Mr. Feeney joined the firm upon its inception in 1995 from Putnam Investments where he managed mortgage-backed securities portfolios. He began his career at the Bank of Boston where he was a loan officer specializing on highly leveraged loan portfolios. Mr. Feeney holds a B.S. degree in finance (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. with High Honors from the University of Chicago. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is past President of the Fixed Income Management Society of Boston. He has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Connerly is the Director of Research-Quantitative for Boston Partners. Prior to assuming this role, he was a research analyst covering the financial, electronics, defense, transportation, and energy sectors and managed a merger arbitrage portfolio. He joined the firm from John Hancock Mutual Funds where he was an analyst and assisted in the management of a small cap portfolio. Prior to that, he was a senior equity analyst at SEI Investments overseeing their small cap equity portfolios. Mr. Connerly holds a BSFS degree cum laude in development economics from Georgetown University and an MBA degree in security analysis and investment management, Beta Gamma Sigma, from Columbia Business School. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over fifteen years of experience.
For the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 1.25% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services.
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund
Richard Shuster and Gregory Weiss serve as co-portfolio managers for the Fund.
Mr. Shuster is the senior portfolio manager for the WPG Partners Small and Micro Cap Equity Products. He has served as managing director of the Adviser since 1999 as well as head of the Adviser's Small/Micro Cap Value
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Team. He holds a B.S. degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Shuster has over thirty years of investment experience fourteen of which were spent specializing in small cap equity investing.
Mr. Weiss joined WPG in mid-1999 to work on the firm's Small Cap Value team. He joined the firm from Bear Stearns where he began his investment career in 1995 as an equity analyst, responsible for covering the building materials, nonferrous metals, steel and steel-related industries. Mr. Weiss holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Cornell University. He has over twenty years of investment experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 0.81% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Fund would have paid 0.87%.
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr., Christopher K. Hart and Joshua Jones manage each Fund as a team. Mr. Hart is the lead portfolio manager and Mr. Jones is the associate portfolio manager of each Fund. Mr. Feeney is the Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners and oversees both the team and the strategy.
Mr. Feeney is Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners. He is responsible for the firm's strategic, financial and operating decisions, and all aspects of investment management including the firm's fundamental and quantitative research groups. He was one of the original partners of Boston Partners Asset Management in 1995. Prior to assuming these roles, he was Director of Research. Mr. Feeney joined the firm upon its inception in 1995 from Putnam Investments where he managed mortgage-backed securities portfolios. He began his career at the Bank of Boston where he was a loan officer specializing on highly leveraged loan portfolios. Mr. Feeney holds a B.S. degree in finance (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. with High Honors from the University of Chicago. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is past President of the Fixed Income Management Society of Boston. He has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Hart is an equity portfolio manager for each Fund. Prior thereto, he was an assistant portfolio manager for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value products for three years. Before that, he was a research analyst and specialized in conglomerates, engineering and construction, building, machinery, aerospace & defense, and REITs sectors of the equity market. He joined the firm from Fidelity Investments where he was a research analyst. Mr. Hart holds a B.S. degree in finance, with a concentration in corporate finance from Clemson University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over twenty years of investment experience.
Mr. Jones is a co-portfolio manager of each Fund and also has research responsibilities for the the Adviser's Boston Partners investment team, specializing in the energy, metals and mining sectors of the equity market and is a global generalist. Mr. Jones has been with Boston Partners since 2006. He joined the firm from Cambridge Associates where he was a consulting associate specializing in hedge fund clients. Mr. Jones holds a B.A. degree in economics from Bowdoin College. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over ten years of professional experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund paid 0.48% and 0.74% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets), respectively, to the Adviser for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Funds would have paid 0.90%. and 1.50%, respectively.
Marketing Arrangements
The Adviser, or its affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of profits derived from the Adviser's management fees and not as an additional charge to the Funds managed by the Adviser, to certain financial institutions (which may include banks, securities dealers and other industry professionals) for the sale and/or distribution of Fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of Fund investors and Fund shares ("revenue sharing").These payments are in addition to any distribution or servicing fees payable under a 12b-1 distribution and/or service plan of the Funds, any record keeping or sub-transfer agency fees payable by the Funds, or other fees described in the fee table or elsewhere in this Prospectus or the SAI. Examples of "revenue sharing" payments include, but are not limited to, payment to financial institutions for "shelf space" or access to a third party platform
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or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, but not limited to, inclusion of the Funds on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Adviser access to the financial institution's sales force, conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial institution's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial institutions may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the Funds attributable to the financial institution, or other factors as agreed to by the Adviser and the financial institution or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Adviser from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial institutions depending upon the services provided by the financial institution. Such payments may provide an incentive for the financial institution to make shares of the Funds available to its customers and may allow the Funds greater access to the financial institution's customers.
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Other Service Providers. The following chart shows the Funds' service providers and includes their addresses and principal activities.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
Institutional Class shares of the Funds ("Shares") are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV per share of each Fund is calculated as follows:
Each Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. Each Fund will effect purchases and redemptions of Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") of your purchase order or redemption request in good order (as described below).
A Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over- the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If a Fund holds foreign equity securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equities securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Funds' administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, securities will be valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before a Fund prices its Shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by a Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in ETFs, REITs and closed-end investments companies will be valued at their market price.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange
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has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser,) has been or may be disruptive to a Fund. 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 a Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of a Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
To deter excessive shareholder trading, the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund generally charge a redemption fee of 1% on shares redeemed within sixty days of purchase. The Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund generally charges a redemption fee of 2% on shares redeemed that have been held for less than one year. The WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund generally charges a redemption fee of 2% on shares redeemed within sixty days of purchase. In addition, the Funds generally limit the number of exchanges to six (6) exchanges per year and one exchange per calendar month. For further information on redemptions and exchanges, please see the sections titled "Shareholder Information Redemption of Fund Shares" and "Shareholder Information Exchange Privilege."
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, the Adviser may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Funds. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
There is no assurance that a Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
Shareholder Service Fees
The Board of Directors of the Company has adopted a Shareholder Services Plan (the "Plan") for the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund's Institutional Class Shares authorizing the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund to pay securities dealers, plan administrators or other service organizations ("Service Organizations") who agree to provide certain shareholder and administrative services to plans or plan participants holding Institutional Class Shares of the Fund a service fee at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net asset value of Institutional Class Shares beneficially owned by such plan participants. The services provided under the Plan include acting as a shareholder of record, processing purchase and redemption orders, maintaining participant account records and answering participant questions regarding the Fund. Please find more information on Service Organizations under the section entitled "Purchase of Fund Shares Purchases through Intermediaries" in this Prospectus.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares representing interests in the Funds are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors, LLC (the "Distributor"). Institutional Class Shares of the Funds are available for purchase by investors who meet the investment minimums described below under "General." An exchange between the Institutional Class shares and the Investor Class shares of any Fund is generally not permitted.
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Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Funds may also be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Certain features of the Shares, such as the initial and subsequent investment minimums and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if Shares are purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of Shares and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following Business Day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by a Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the financial intermediary to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the appropriate Fund's NAV next computed after they are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
For administration, subaccounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee") relating to the average annual NAV of accounts with the Company maintained by such Service Organizations or recordkeepers. The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
General. You may also purchase Shares of each Fund at the NAV per share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Funds' NAVs are calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company records. The minimum initial investment in any Fund is $100,000 and the minimum additional investment is $5,000. The minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements may be reduced or waived from time to time. For purposes of meeting the minimum initial purchase, purchases by clients which are part of endowments, foundations or other related groups may be combined. You can only purchase Shares of each Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. Shares may be purchased by principals and employees of the Adviser and its subsidiaries and by their spouses and children either directly or through any trust that has the principal, employee, spouse or child as the primary beneficiaries, their individual retirement accounts, or any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser and its subsidiaries without being subject to the minimum investment limitations.
Initial Investment By Mail. An account may be opened by completing and signing the application included with this Prospectus and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check ($100,000 minimum) payable to the Fund in which you would like to invest. Third party checks will not be accepted.
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
[name of Fund]
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940 |
[name of Fund]
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
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The name of the Fund to be purchased should be designated on the application and should appear on the check. Payment for the purchase of Shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Shares of each Fund may be purchased by wiring federal funds. A completed application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. For each Fund, notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) Request account information and routing instructions by calling the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE is open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time (minimum additional investment $5,000) by purchasing Shares of any Fund at the NAV per Share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to [name of Fund]) or by wiring monies as outlined under "Initial Investment by Wire." For each Fund, notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the date of purchase.
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in Shares of the Funds may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through an Automatic Investment Plan ($5,000 minimum, except WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund $50 minimum). Investors desiring to participate in an Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073.
Retirement Plans. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax advisor.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Funds may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Funds will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Funds that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Funds and must be delivered to the Funds by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Funds will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Funds and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Funds.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of the Funds. Subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, the Adviser will monitor each Fund's total assets and may decide to close any of the Funds at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of a Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. Subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, the Adviser may also choose to reopen a closed Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close such Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If a Fund closes to new investments, generally the closed Fund would be offered only to certain existing
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shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons, who are generally subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. Purchases of Shares by fee-based advisory model programs or financial advisors who manage fee-based wrap accounts that systematically trade in and out of the closed Fund based on model portfolio allocations;
b. Persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by financial intermediaries by arrangement with the Company;
c. Existing and future clients of registered investment advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the closed Fund on transaction fee and non-transaction fee platforms;
d. Existing and future clients of consultants whose clients already hold shares of the closed Fund;
e. Employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children;
f. Directors of the Company; and
g. Defined contribution retirement plans of private employers and governed by ERISA or of state and local governments.
Other persons who are shareholders of other Boston Partners Funds are not permitted to acquire Shares of the closed Fund by exchange. Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places.
The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Effective July 26, 2010, the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund was closed except to existing shareholders and certain other persons, as described above. The Adviser reserves the right to reopen the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund to new investments from time to time should the assets of the Fund decline by more than 5% from the date of the last closing of the Fund. If the Adviser reopens the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund pursuant to this paragraph, the Adviser has discretion to close the Fund thereafter should the assets of the Fund increase by more than 5% from the date of the last reopening of the Fund.
Effective March 31, 2014, the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund was closed except to existing shareholders and certain other persons, as described above. The Adviser reserves the right to reopen the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund to new investments from time to time should the assets of the Fund decline by more than 5% from the date of the last closing of the Fund. If the Adviser reopens the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund pursuant to this paragraph, the Adviser has discretion to close the Fund thereafter should the assets of the Fund increase by more than 5% from the date of the last reopening of the Fund.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's Shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in
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an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
Normally, your investment professional will send your request to redeem Shares to the Transfer Agent. Consult your investment professional for more information. You can redeem some or all of your Fund Shares directly through the Fund only if the account is registered in your name. All IRA shareholders must complete an IRA withdrawal form to redeem shares from their IRA account.
You may redeem Shares of the Funds at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Funds' NAVs are calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
You may redeem Shares of each Fund by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone (excluding retirement accounts).The value of Shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by a Fund. There is generally no charge for a redemption. However, with the exception of defined contribution plans and certain clients of financial intermediaries who systematically trade in and out of the Fund based on model portfolio allocations, if a shareholder of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund redeems Shares held for less than one year, a transaction fee of 2% of the NAV of the Shares redeemed at the time of redemption will be charged. In addition, with the exception of defined contribution plans and certain clients of financial intermediaries who systematically trade in and out of a Fund based on model portfolio allocations, if a shareholder of the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, or Boston Partners Global/Long Short Fund redeems Shares held for less than 60 days, a transaction fee of 2%, 1%, 1%, 1%, or 1% respectively, of the NAV of the Shares redeemed at the time of redemption will be charged.
For purposes of this redemption feature, Shares purchased first will be considered to be Shares first redeemed. (See "Transaction Fees on Certain Redemptions" below).
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to [name of Fund], c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9816, Providence, RI 02940; for overnight delivery, requests should be addressed to [name of Fund], c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 and must include:
a. Name of the Fund;
b. Account number;
c. Your Share certificates, if any, properly endorsed or with proper powers of attorney;
d. A letter of instruction specifying the number of Shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the Shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
e. Medallion signature guarantees are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s) or (ii) the redemption request is for $50,000 or more. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a Medallion Program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. The three recognized Medallion Programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
f. Other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
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Redemption By Telephone. In order to request a telephone redemption, you must have returned your account application containing a telephone election. To add a telephone redemption option to an existing account, contact the Transfer Agent by calling (888) 261-4073. Please note that IRA accounts are not eligible for telephone redemption.
Once you are authorized to utilize the telephone redemption option, a redemption of Shares may be requested by calling the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option or the telephone exchange option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Company or the Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Company or the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Company and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if the Company and Transfer Agent do not, they may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Company and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Transaction Fees on Certain Redemptions
The following Funds require the payment of a transaction fee equal to a percentage of the NAV of the Shares redeemed that are held for less than the indicated period of time in the chart below
Fund |
Fee |
Shares held less than: |
|||||||||
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days | ||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
2.00 |
% |
1 Year | ||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days | ||||||||
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund |
2.00 |
% |
60 Days | ||||||||
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days | ||||||||
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days |
This additional transaction fee is paid to each Fund, NOT to the Adviser, the Distributor or the Transfer Agent. It is NOT a sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge. The fee does not apply to: (i) defined contribution plans, (ii) redeemed Shares that were purchased through reinvested dividends or capital gain distributions, or (iii) redemptions of Shares by certain clients of financial intermediaries who systematically trade in and out of the Fund based on model portfolio allocations. The additional transaction fee is intended to limit short-term trading in each Fund or, to the extent that short-term trading persists, to impose the costs of that type of activity on the shareholders who engage in it. These costs include: (i) brokerage costs; (ii) market impact costs i.e. , the decrease in market prices which may result when a Fund sells certain securities in order to raise cash to meet the redemption request; (iii) the realization of capital gains by the other shareholders in each Fund; and (iv) the effect of the "bid-ask" spread in the over-the-counter market. The transaction fee represents each Fund's estimate of the brokerage and other transaction costs which may be incurred by each Fund in disposing of stocks in which each Fund may invest. Without the additional transaction fee, each Fund would generally be selling its shares at a price less than the cost to each Fund of acquiring the portfolio securities necessary to maintain its investment characteristics, resulting in reduced investment performance for all shareholders in the Funds. With the additional transaction fee, the transaction costs of selling additional stocks are not borne by all existing shareholders, but the source of funds for these costs is the transaction fee paid by those investors making redemptions of the Funds. The Funds reserve the right, at their discretion, to waive, modify or terminate the additional transaction fee.
Each Fund will use the first-in, first-out method to determine your holding period. Under this method, the date of redemption or exchange will be compared with the earliest purchase date of Shares held in your account. The short-term redemption fee will be assessed on the net asset value of those Shares calculated at the time the redemption is effected.
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Shares may be held through omnibus arrangements maintained by intermediaries such as broker-dealers, investment advisers, transfer agents, administrators and insurance companies. Omnibus accounts include multiple investors and such accounts typically provide the Funds with a net purchase or redemption request on any given day where the purchases and redemptions of Shares by the investors are netted against one another. Although the Funds and their service providers may, in certain circumstances, request access to information about individual shareholder transactions made through such omnibus arrangements, the identities of individual investors whose purchase and redemption orders are aggregated are not generally known by the Funds. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Funds' market timing policies or redemption fee, the Funds may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value. If your account has a value of at least $10,000, you may establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan and receive regular periodic payments. A request to establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan must be submitted in writing to the Transfer Agent at P.O. Box 9816, Providence, RI 02940. Each withdrawal redemption will be processed on or about the 25 th of the month and mailed as soon as possible thereafter. There are no service charges for maintenance; the minimum amount that you may withdraw each period is $50. (This is merely the minimum amount allowed and should not be mistaken for a recommended amount.) The holder of a Systematic Withdrawal Plan will have any income dividends and any capital gains distributions reinvested in full and fractional shares at NAV. To provide funds for payment, Shares will be redeemed in such amounts as are necessary at the redemption price. The systematic withdrawal of Shares may reduce or possibly exhaust the Shares in your account, particularly in the event of a market decline. As with other redemptions, a systematic withdrawal payment is a sale for federal income tax purposes. Payments made pursuant to a Systematic Withdrawal Plan cannot be considered as actual yield or income since part of such payments may be a return of capital.
You will ordinarily not be allowed to make additional investments of less than the aggregate annual withdrawals under the Systematic Withdrawal Plan during the time you have the plan in effect and, while a Systematic Withdrawal Plan is in effect, you may not make periodic investments under the Automatic Investment Plan. You will receive a confirmation of each transaction and the Share and cash balance remaining in your plan. The plan may be terminated on written notice by the shareholder or by the Fund and will terminate automatically if all Shares are liquidated or withdrawn from the account or upon the death or incapacity of the shareholder. You may change the amount and schedule of withdrawal payments or suspend such payments by giving written notice to the Fund's transfer agent at least ten Business Days prior to the end of the month preceding a scheduled payment.
Involuntary Redemption. The Funds reserve the right to redeem a shareholder's account in any Fund at any time the value of the account in such Fund falls below $500 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in a Fund is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed. The transaction fee applicable to the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund will not be charged when Shares are involuntarily redeemed.
The Funds may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse a Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of a Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for Shares of the Funds recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option.
Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Funds to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole
67
or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by a Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that a Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of a Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Please see "Redemption of Fund Shares" for instructions. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Exchange Privilege
The exchange privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the Shares being acquired may be legally sold. The Boston Partners Investment Funds reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to change or discontinue the exchange privilege, or temporarily suspend the privilege during unusual market conditions when, in the judgment of management, such change or discontinuance is in the best interests of the Funds. A shareholder may exchange Institutional Class Shares of any Boston Partners Investment Fund for Institutional Class Shares of another Boston Partners Investment Fund, up to six (6) times per year (one exchange per calendar month). Such an exchange will be effected at the NAV of the exchanged Institutional Class Shares and the NAV of the Institutional Class Shares to be acquired next determined after BNY Mellon's receipt of a request for an exchange. An exchange of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund Shares, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund. Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, or Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund held for less than sixty days, less than one year, less than sixty days, less than sixty days or less than sixty days respectively, (with the exception of Shares purchased through dividend reinvestment or the reinvestment of capital gains) will be subject to a transaction fee of 1.00% with respect to the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II and the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, 2.00% with respect to the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, 1.00% with respect to the Boston Partners Global Equity, and 1.00% with respect to the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund. An exchange of the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund held for less than 60 days (with the exception of Shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends and/or capital gain distributions) will be subject to a transaction fee of 2.00% with respect to the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund. An exchange of Shares of one Boston Partners Investment Fund for Shares of another Boston Partners Investment Fund will be treated as a sale for federal income tax purposes. A shareholder may make an exchange by sending a written request to the Transfer Agent or, if authorized, by telephone (see "Redemption by Telephone" above). Defined contribution plans are not subject to the above exchange limitations, including any applicable redemption fee.
If the exchanging shareholder does not currently own Institutional Class Shares of the Fund, a new account will be established with the same registration, dividend and capital gain options as the account from which Shares are exchanged, unless otherwise specified in writing by the shareholder with all signatures guaranteed. See "Redemption by Mail" for information on signature guarantees. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, or from time to time, by the Funds, upon 60 days' written notice to shareholders.
If a shareholder wants to exchange Shares into a new account in a Fund, the dollar value of the Shares acquired must equal or exceed the Fund's minimum investment requirement for a new account. If a shareholder wants to exchange Shares into an existing account, the dollar value of the Shares must equal or exceed the Fund's minimum investment requirement for additional investments. If an amount remains in the Fund from which the exchange is being made that is below the minimum account value required, the account will be subject to involuntary redemption.
The Funds' exchange privilege is not intended to afford shareholders a way to speculate on short-term movements in the market. Accordingly, in order to prevent excessive use of the exchange privilege, which may potentially disrupt the management of the Funds and increase transaction costs, the Funds have established a policy of limiting excessive exchange activity. Shareholders are entitled to six (6) exchange redemptions (one exchange
68
per calendar month) from each Fund during any twelve-month period. Notwithstanding these limitations, the Funds reserve the right to reject any purchase request (including exchange purchases from other Boston Partners Investment Funds) that is deemed to be disruptive to efficient portfolio management.
Dividends and Distributions
Each Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The Funds will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Funds at least annually. The estimated amount of any annual distribution will be posted to the Adviser's website at www.boston-partners.com or a free copy may be obtained by calling (888) 261-4073.
The Funds may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for a Fund to avoid U.S. federal tax. The Funds' distributions and dividends, whether received in cash or reinvested in additional Fund Shares, are subject to U.S. federal income tax.
Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Federal Taxes of Distributions. Each Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of a Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is currently 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of a Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of a Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend).The amount of a Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations.
Distributions from a Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by a Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
It is expected that the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund will each be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign income taxes with respect to dividends or interest
69
received from (and, in some cases, gains recognized on shares of stock of) non-U.S. companies. These Funds may, to the extent eligible, make an election to treat a proportionate amount of those taxes as constituting a distribution to each shareholder, which would allow you either (1) to credit that proportionate amount of taxes against U.S. federal income tax liability as a foreign tax credit, subject to applicable limitations, or (2) to take that amount as an itemized deduction.
A portion of distributions paid by a Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales and Exchanges. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale, exchange or redemption of your shares, including an exchange for shares of another Fund, based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition of shares of a Fund may be disallowed under "wash sale" rules to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced with other shares of the same 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 a Fund. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected in an upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, each Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold or exchanged. Each Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale or exchange. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales, exchanges and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Funds may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with
70
the United States. In the case of regulated investment companies such as the Funds, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Funds' net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Funds beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Funds' interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Funds.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale, exchange or redemption of shares in the Funds, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Funds.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in a Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Funds will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Funds.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of a Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
Multi-Class Structure
Each Fund, except the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, also offers Investor Class Shares, which are offered directly to individual investors in a separate prospectus. Shares of each class of a Fund represent equal pro rata interests in the Fund and accrue dividends and calculate NAV and performance quotations in the same manner. The performance of each class is quoted separately due to different actual expenses. The total return on Institutional Class Shares of a Fund can be expected to differ from the total return on Investor Class Shares of the same Fund. Information concerning other classes of the Funds can be requested by calling the Funds at (888) 261-4073.
71
Appendix A
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund
The Adviser has experience in managing a private fund with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund. The table on the following page is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Adviser in managing the private fund and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Adviser. The performance information has been adjusted to show the performance of the private fund net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011 (after contractual waivers that were in place through December 31, 2012).The fees and expenses of the Fund are higher than those of the private fund, in part, because the general partner of the private fund waived its right to receive an incentive allocation from each limited partner's capital account, generally equal to 20% of any profits achieved in a fiscal year after recoupment of prior losses. The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the private fund is not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the private fund. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the private fund.
The performance of the private fund is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. This index is unmanaged and is not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in the Index. The performance information is accompanied by additional disclosures, which are an integral part of the information.
Monthly Performance Table (since inception April 1, 2002) 1,2,3,4
PRO FORMA NET OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(1.02 |
)% |
2.17 |
% |
2.67 |
% |
0.16 |
% |
(3.71 |
)% |
(3.46 |
)% |
4.01 |
% |
(3.71 |
)% |
5.96 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(0.46 |
)% |
(5.50 |
)% |
3.55 |
% |
6.04 |
% |
3.68 |
% |
2.12 |
% |
2.16 |
% |
2.78 |
% |
(0.28 |
)% |
(0.75 |
)% |
2.80 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
18.40 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
1.25 |
% |
0.69 |
% |
(4.35 |
)% |
2.02 |
% |
2.78 |
% |
(3.24 |
)% |
0.99 |
% |
1.89 |
% |
(3.10 |
)% |
(4.68 |
)% |
(5.19 |
)% |
2.79 |
% |
(8.38 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 |
0.98 |
% |
0.73 |
% |
0.61 |
% |
2.69 |
% |
1.29 |
% |
(0.69 |
)% |
(2.31 |
)% |
0.87 |
% |
2.37 |
% |
(0.74 |
)% |
0.78 |
% |
(0.62 |
)% |
6.01 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2006 |
1.82 |
% |
(1.19 |
)% |
0.17 |
% |
0.67 |
% |
(0.58 |
)% |
0.23 |
% |
0.60 |
% |
0.15 |
% |
0.19 |
% |
(0.07 |
)% |
0.30 |
% |
1.22 |
% |
3.54 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005 |
(0.68 |
)% |
1.22 |
% |
0.32 |
% |
(0.63 |
)% |
(0.50 |
)% |
0.93 |
% |
2.41 |
% |
2.36 |
% |
2.29 |
% |
0.76 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
0.66 |
% |
9.87 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 |
0.45 |
% |
1.29 |
% |
2.39 |
% |
(1.14 |
)% |
(0.01 |
)% |
3.25 |
% |
0.98 |
% |
0.19 |
% |
1.42 |
% |
0.62 |
% |
5.48 |
% |
2.09 |
% |
18.21 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 |
0.29 |
% |
(3.55 |
)% |
0.05 |
% |
(1.71 |
)% |
(1.55 |
)% |
(0.05 |
)% |
0.11 |
% |
(1.35 |
)% |
(0.98 |
)% |
(0.11 |
)% |
0.65 |
% |
0.19 |
% |
(7.79 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002 |
0.10 |
% |
3.62 |
% |
(2.36 |
)% |
(1.43 |
)% |
1.97 |
% |
(2.35 |
)% |
0.15 |
% |
1.38 |
% |
1.83 |
% |
2.76 |
% |
GROSS OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(0.82 |
)% |
2.38 |
% |
2.87 |
% |
0.36 |
% |
(3.51 |
)% |
(3.26 |
)% |
4.22 |
% |
(3.50 |
)% |
6.16 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(0.26 |
)% |
(5.29 |
)% |
3.75 |
% |
6.25 |
% |
3.88 |
% |
2.32 |
% |
2.36 |
% |
2.99 |
% |
(0.08 |
)% |
(0.54 |
)% |
3.01 |
% |
1.56 |
% |
21.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
1.45 |
% |
0.90 |
% |
(4.15 |
)% |
2.22 |
% |
2.98 |
% |
(3.04 |
)% |
1.19 |
% |
2.09 |
% |
(2.89 |
)% |
(4.47 |
)% |
(4.99 |
)% |
2.99 |
% |
(6.08 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 |
1.18 |
% |
0.93 |
% |
0.81 |
% |
2.89 |
% |
1.49 |
% |
(0.48 |
)% |
(2.10 |
)% |
1.08 |
% |
2.57 |
% |
(0.54 |
)% |
0.99 |
% |
(0.41 |
)% |
8.64 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2006 |
2.03 |
% |
(0.99 |
)% |
0.38 |
% |
0.87 |
% |
(0.38 |
)% |
0.44 |
% |
0.80 |
% |
0.36 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
0.14 |
% |
0.51 |
% |
1.43 |
% |
6.11 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005 |
(0.48 |
)% |
1.43 |
% |
0.52 |
% |
(0.43 |
)% |
(0.29 |
)% |
1.13 |
% |
2.61 |
% |
2.57 |
% |
2.50 |
% |
0.96 |
% |
0.60 |
% |
0.87 |
% |
12.59 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 |
0.66 |
% |
1.50 |
% |
2.60 |
% |
(0.93 |
)% |
0.19 |
% |
3.45 |
% |
1.19 |
% |
0.40 |
% |
1.62 |
% |
0.82 |
% |
5.69 |
% |
2.29 |
% |
21.11 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 |
0.49 |
% |
(3.34 |
)% |
0.25 |
% |
(1.51 |
)% |
(1.34 |
)% |
0.15 |
% |
0.31 |
% |
(1.14 |
)% |
(0.77 |
)% |
0.10 |
% |
0.85 |
% |
0.40 |
% |
(5.48 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002 |
0.31 |
% |
3.83 |
% |
(2.15 |
)% |
(1.23 |
)% |
2.17 |
% |
(2.15 |
)% |
0.36 |
% |
1.58 |
% |
2.03 |
% |
4.67 |
% |
72
S&P 500 INDEX
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(3.60 |
)% |
3.10 |
% |
6.03 |
% |
1.58 |
% |
(7.98 |
)% |
(5.24 |
)% |
7.01 |
% |
(4.51 |
)% |
8.92 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.43 |
)% |
(10.65 |
)% |
8.76 |
% |
9.57 |
% |
5.59 |
% |
0.20 |
% |
7.56 |
% |
3.61 |
% |
3.73 |
% |
(1.86 |
)% |
6.00 |
% |
1.93 |
% |
26.45 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(6.00 |
)% |
(3.25 |
)% |
(0.43 |
)% |
4.87 |
% |
1.29 |
% |
(8.43 |
)% |
(0.84 |
)% |
1.45 |
% |
(8.91 |
)% |
(16.79 |
)% |
(7.17 |
)% |
1.06 |
% |
(36.99 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 |
1.51 |
% |
(1.96 |
)% |
1.12 |
% |
4.43 |
% |
3.49 |
% |
(1.66 |
)% |
(3.10 |
)% |
1.50 |
% |
3.74 |
% |
1.59 |
% |
(4.18 |
)% |
(0.69 |
)% |
5.50 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2006 |
2.65 |
% |
0.27 |
% |
1.24 |
% |
1.34 |
% |
(2.88 |
)% |
0.14 |
% |
0.62 |
% |
2.38 |
% |
2.58 |
% |
3.26 |
% |
1.90 |
% |
1.40 |
% |
15.79 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005 |
(2.44 |
)% |
2.10 |
% |
(1.77 |
)% |
(1.90 |
)% |
3.18 |
% |
0.14 |
% |
3.72 |
% |
(0.91 |
)% |
0.81 |
% |
(1.67 |
)% |
3.78 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
4.89 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 |
1.84 |
% |
1.39 |
% |
(1.51 |
)% |
(1.57 |
)% |
1.37 |
% |
1.94 |
% |
(3.31 |
)% |
0.40 |
% |
1.08 |
% |
1.53 |
% |
4.05 |
% |
3.40 |
% |
10.87 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 |
(2.62 |
)% |
(1.50 |
)% |
0.97 |
% |
8.24 |
% |
5.27 |
% |
1.27 |
% |
1.76 |
% |
1.95 |
% |
(1.06 |
)% |
5.66 |
% |
0.88 |
% |
5.24 |
% |
28.68 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002 |
(6.06 |
)% |
(0.74 |
)% |
(7.12 |
)% |
(7.79 |
)% |
0.66 |
% |
(10.87 |
)% |
8.80 |
% |
5.89 |
% |
(5.88 |
)% |
(22.31 |
)% |
CALENDAR YEAR RETURNS 1,2,3,4
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
2.76 |
% |
(7.79 |
)% |
18.21 |
% |
9.87 |
% |
3.54 |
% |
6.01 |
% |
(8.38 |
)% |
18.40 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
4.67 |
% |
(5.48 |
)% |
21.11 |
% |
12.59 |
% |
6.11 |
% |
8.64 |
% |
(6.08 |
)% |
21.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||
S&P 500 |
(22.31 |
)% |
28.68 |
% |
10.87 |
% |
4.89 |
% |
15.79 |
% |
5.50 |
% |
(36.99 |
)% |
26.45 |
% |
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended June 30, 2010)
1,2,3,4
RETURN
YTD |
1 Year |
2 Year |
3 Year |
5 year |
7 Year |
Since
Inception |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
2.57 |
% |
6.07 |
% |
6.22 |
% |
3.42 |
% |
4.46 |
% |
6.93 |
% |
4.91 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
4.48 |
% |
8.70 |
% |
8.85 |
% |
5.99 |
% |
7.05 |
% |
9.57 |
% |
7.51 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||
S&P 500 |
3.89 |
% |
10.16 |
% |
1.26 |
% |
(7.16 |
)% |
0.63 |
% |
4.03 |
% |
1.92 |
% |
1 Performance was calculated using Global Investment Performance Standards ("GIPS"). This method of calculating performance differs from the SEC's standardized methodology, which may produce different results.
2 Performance is calculated using a net asset value to net asset value methodology which incorporates all trades, prices, accruals and updated security records on a trade date basis.
3 Performance is presented gross and net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011 (after contractual waivers).
4 The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, classified in eleven industry sectors, which represent approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in the index.
73
Appendix B
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund
The Adviser has experience in managing other accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund. The table on the following pages is provided to illustrate the past performance of Robeco in managing all such other accounts and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Adviser. The performance information has been adjusted to show the performance of the other accounts net of the Fund's annual operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011 (after contractual waivers that were in place until September 30, 2013). The other accounts' fees and expenses are lower than those of the Fund. The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the other accounts are not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the other accounts. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the other accounts.
The performance of the other accounts is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. This index is unmanaged and is not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in the Index. The performance information is accompanied by additional disclosures, which are an integral part of the information.
Monthly Returns (since July 31, 2008) 1,2,3,4,5
COMPOSITE PRO FORMA NET OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 |
1.90 |
% |
3.43 |
% |
0.83 |
% |
4.56 |
% |
(1.85 |
)% |
(1.16 |
)% |
(1.11 |
)% |
(7.73 |
)% |
(8.67 |
)% |
11.36 |
% |
(2.36 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(3.84 |
)% |
0.42 |
% |
5.94 |
% |
0.28 |
% |
(9.73 |
)% |
(4.56 |
)% |
7.66 |
% |
(3.68 |
)% |
10.10 |
% |
4.62 |
% |
(2.53 |
)% |
8.79 |
% |
11.93 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.69 |
)% |
(9.47 |
)% |
5.20 |
% |
11.74 |
% |
8.46 |
% |
0.05 |
% |
7.44 |
% |
5.34 |
% |
4.35 |
% |
(1.10 |
)% |
2.87 |
% |
2.10 |
% |
29.35 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(2.35 |
)% |
(0.54 |
)% |
(9.54 |
)% |
(19.20 |
)% |
(6.15 |
)% |
3.18 |
% |
COMPOSITE GROSS OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 |
2.01 |
% |
3.54 |
% |
0.94 |
% |
4.67 |
% |
(1.74 |
)% |
(1.05 |
)% |
(1.00 |
)% |
(7.62 |
)% |
(8.56 |
)% |
11.47 |
% |
(2.25 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(3.73 |
)% |
0.52 |
% |
6.05 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
(9.62 |
)% |
(4.46 |
)% |
7.77 |
% |
(3.58 |
)% |
10.21 |
% |
4.73 |
% |
(2.42 |
)% |
8.90 |
% |
13.38 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.59 |
)% |
(9.36 |
)% |
5.31 |
% |
11.85 |
% |
8.57 |
% |
0.16 |
% |
7.54 |
% |
5.45 |
% |
4.46 |
% |
(1.00 |
)% |
2.98 |
% |
2.21 |
% |
31.01 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(2.24 |
)% |
(0.43 |
)% |
(9.43 |
)% |
(19.09 |
)% |
(6.04 |
)% |
3.29 |
% |
MSCI ® WORLD INDEX
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 |
2.28 |
% |
3.55 |
% |
(0.94 |
)% |
4.31 |
% |
(1.97 |
)% |
(1.54 |
)% |
(1.79 |
)% |
(7.00 |
)% |
(8.60 |
)% |
10.37 |
% |
(2.38 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(4.11 |
)% |
1.45 |
% |
6.25 |
% |
0.07 |
% |
(9.48 |
)% |
(3.39 |
)% |
8.13 |
% |
(3.69 |
)% |
9.36 |
% |
3.75 |
% |
(2.11 |
)% |
7.39 |
% |
12.34 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.73 |
)% |
(10.17 |
)% |
7.60 |
% |
11.32 |
% |
9.19 |
% |
(0.41 |
)% |
8.50 |
% |
4.17 |
% |
4.02 |
% |
(1.76 |
)% |
4.14 |
% |
1.83 |
% |
30.79 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(2.42 |
)% |
(1.36 |
)% |
(11.85 |
)% |
(18.93 |
)% |
(6.40 |
)% |
3.26 |
% |
74
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended November 30, 2011)
1,2,3,4,5
RETURN
YTD |
1 Year |
2 Years |
3 Years |
Since
July 1, 2008 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
(2.33 |
)% |
6.26 |
% |
5.65 |
% |
13.42 |
% |
(0.82 |
)% |
|||||||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
(1.15 |
)% |
7.64 |
% |
7.03 |
% |
14.89 |
% |
0.48 |
% |
|||||||||||||
MSCI ® World Index |
(5.00 |
)% |
2.02 |
% |
4.25 |
% |
12.96 |
% |
(2.17 |
)% |
1 Performance was calculated using Global Investment Performance Standards ("GIPS"). This method of calculating performance differs from the SEC's standardized methodology, which may produce different results.
2 Performance is calculated using a net asset value to net asset value methodology which incorporates all trades, prices, accruals and updated security records on trade date basis.
3 Performance is presented gross and net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses (after contractual waivers that were in place until September 30, 2013).
4 The MSCI ® World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.
5 Although the other accounts commenced operations on January 1, 2007 or April 17, 1998, the other accounts only began investing in accordance with their current investment strategies on July 1, 2008. The performance shown represents performance since the other accounts began investing in accordance with their current investment strategies.
75
Appendix C
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account of the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund
The Adviser has experience in managing a private fund with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund. The table on the following page is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Adviser in managing the private fund and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Adviser. The performance information has been adjusted to show the performance of the private fund net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses (after contractual waivers that will be in place through December 31, 2015). The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the private fund is not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the private fund. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the private fund.
The performance of the private fund is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. This index is unmanaged and is not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in the Index. The performance information is accompanied by additional disclosures, which are an integral part of the information.
Monthly Performance Table (since inception July 1, 2013) 1,2,3,4,5
PRO FORMA NET OF FEES
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 |
(1.99 |
)% |
2.28 |
% |
0.55 |
% |
(0.81 |
)% |
1.90 |
% |
(0.18 |
)% |
1.26 |
% |
0.88 |
% |
(1.18 |
)% |
(0.18 |
)% |
1.06 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 |
2.10 |
% |
(2.25 |
)% |
1.68 |
% |
2.82 |
% |
1.89 |
% |
1.61 |
% |
GROSS OF FEES
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 |
(1.84 |
)% |
2.28 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
(0.66 |
)% |
2.05 |
% |
(0.03 |
)% |
1.40 |
% |
1.03 |
% |
(1.04 |
)% |
(0.03 |
)% |
1.20 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 |
2.25 |
% |
(2.11 |
)% |
1.82 |
% |
2.96 |
% |
2.04 |
% |
1.76 |
% |
MSCI ® WORLD INDEX
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 |
(3.68 |
)% |
5.06 |
% |
0.20 |
% |
1.08 |
% |
2.06 |
% |
1.83 |
% |
(1.57 |
)% |
2.24 |
% |
(2.67 |
)% |
0.67 |
% |
2.05 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 |
5.29 |
% |
(2.09 |
)% |
5.04 |
% |
3.94 |
% |
1.82 |
% |
2.15 |
% |
76
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended November 30, 2014)
1,2,3,4,5
RETURN
|
3 Months |
YTD |
Since
Inception |
||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
(0.32 |
)% |
3.56 |
% |
8.24 |
% |
|||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
0.12 |
% |
5.09 |
% |
10.03 |
% |
|||||||||
MSCI ® World Index |
(0.01 |
)% |
7.19 |
% |
17.39 |
% |
1 Performance was calculated using Global Investment Performance Standards ("GIPS"). This method of calculating performance differs from the SEC's standardized methodology, which may produce different results.
2 Performance is calculated using a net asset value to net asset value methodology which incorporates all trades, prices, accruals and updated security records on a trade date basis.
3 Performance is presented gross and net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses (after contractual waivers that will be in place until December 31, 2014) of the Fund's average daily net assets.
4 The MSCI ® World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.
5 Although the private fund commenced operations on March 1, 2013, the private fund only began investing in accordance with its current investment strategies on July 1, 2013. The performance shown represents performance since the private fund began investing in accordance with its current investment strategies.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUNDS' SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
77
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The tables in the Financial Highlights section below set forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Fund share. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. The information has been derived from the Funds' financial statements and has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Funds' financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Funds' annual report for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 and is available at no cost upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
|
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
||||||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
19.06 |
$ |
15.31 |
$ |
12.92 |
$ |
11.02 |
$ |
10.49 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
0.15 |
0.09 |
0.05 |
0.03 |
0.06 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
3.53 |
3.75 |
2.39 |
1.91 |
0.52 |
||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
3.68 |
3.84 |
2.44 |
1.94 |
0.58 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.09 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
(0.05 |
) |
(0.04 |
) |
(0.05 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(0.09 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
(0.05 |
) |
(0.04 |
) |
(0.05 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
(3) |
|
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
22.65 |
$ |
19.06 |
$ |
15.31 |
$ |
12.92 |
$ |
11.02 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
19.33 |
% |
25.19 |
% |
18.98 |
% |
17.59 |
% |
5.47 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
102,112 |
$ |
76,442 |
$ |
53,604 |
$ |
30,172 |
$ |
25,736 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any |
1.21 |
% |
1.29 |
% |
1.30 |
% |
1.30 |
% |
1.30 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any |
1.23 |
% |
1.29 |
% |
1.36 |
% |
1.37 |
% |
1.39 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/
(loss) to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
0.68 |
% |
0.53 |
% |
0.37 |
% |
0.22 |
% |
0.51 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
16 |
% |
19 |
% |
32 |
% |
38 |
% |
43 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005 per share.
78
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund |
||||||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
19.19 |
$ |
15.57 |
$ |
14.34 |
$ |
12.85 |
$ |
12.56 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
0.22 |
0.24 |
0.20 |
0.15 |
0.10 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
4.39 |
3.75 |
2.04 |
1.63 |
0.32 |
||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
4.61 |
3.99 |
2.24 |
1.78 |
0.42 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.18 |
) |
(0.27 |
) |
(0.12 |
) |
(0.10 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.62 |
) |
(0.10 |
) |
(0.89 |
) |
(0.19 |
) |
|
||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(0.80 |
) |
(0.37 |
) |
(1.01 |
) |
(0.29 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
23.00 |
$ |
19.19 |
$ |
15.57 |
$ |
14.34 |
$ |
12.85 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
24.52 |
% |
26.11 |
% |
16.73 |
% |
13.75 |
% |
3.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
736,475 |
$ |
441,856 |
$ |
343,885 |
$ |
210,113 |
$ |
112,437 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers and reimbursements |
0.70 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
0.80 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers and reimbursements |
0.94 |
% |
0.97 |
% |
1.03 |
% |
1.03 |
% |
1.15 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/
(loss) to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
1.05 |
% |
1.37 |
% |
1.38 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
0.75 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
26 |
% |
32 |
% |
33 |
% |
47 |
% |
48 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
79
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
||||||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
20.94 |
$ |
20.47 |
$ |
19.88 |
$ |
17.41 |
$ |
15.75 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
(0.63 |
) |
(0.54 |
) |
(0.54 |
) |
(0.47 |
) |
(0.37 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
3.57 |
2.24 |
3.15 |
4.55 |
1.98 |
||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
2.94 |
1.70 |
2.61 |
4.08 |
1.61 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(1.24 |
) |
(1.24 |
) |
(2.03 |
) |
(1.62 |
) |
|
||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(1.24 |
) |
(1.24 |
) |
(2.03 |
) |
(1.62 |
) |
|
||||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
0.01 |
0.01 |
0.01 |
0.01 |
0.05 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
22.65 |
$ |
20.94 |
$ |
20.47 |
$ |
19.88 |
$ |
17.41 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
14.72 |
% |
8.61 |
% |
14.16 |
% |
23.66 |
% |
10.54 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
676,756 |
$ |
620,804 |
$ |
505,108 |
$ |
344,935 |
$ |
164,438 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any |
4.33 |
% |
4.30 |
% |
4.29 |
% |
3.70 |
% |
3.40 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any (excluding dividend and interest expense) |
2.42 |
% |
2.43 |
% |
2.48 |
% |
2.47 |
% |
2.50 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any |
4.33 |
% |
4.30 |
% |
4.29 |
% |
3.71 |
% |
3.46 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment gain/
(loss) to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
(2.93 |
)% |
(2.58 |
)% |
(2.68 |
)% |
(2.35 |
)% |
(2.10 |
)% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
65 |
% |
67 |
% |
71 |
% |
103 |
% |
81 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005 per share.
80
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the Period
September 30, 2010** through August 31, 2011 |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
|||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
13.30 |
$ |
11.91 |
$ |
10.60 |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
(0.12 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.12 |
) |
|||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
2.02 |
1.66 |
1.53 |
0.71 |
|||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
1.90 |
1.52 |
1.40 |
0.59 |
|||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to shareholders
from: |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|
||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|
||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
0.01 |
||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
15.14 |
$ |
13.30 |
$ |
11.91 |
$ |
10.60 |
|||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
14.28 |
% |
12.81 |
% |
13.32 |
% |
6.00 |
% |
|||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
5,054,388 |
$ |
1,743,406 |
$ |
254,170 |
$ |
37,237 |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any |
2.52 |
% |
2.75 |
% |
2.81 |
% |
2.70 |
% (5) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any (excluding dividend and interest expense) |
1.39 |
% |
1.48 |
% |
1.54 |
% |
1.74 |
% (5) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
without waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any |
2.52 |
% |
2.71 |
% |
2.84 |
% |
4.05 |
% (5) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/(loss) to
average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
(0.81 |
)% |
(1.09 |
)% |
(1.12 |
)% |
(1.21 |
)% (5) |
|||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
57 |
% |
65 |
% |
53 |
% (4) |
61 |
% (6) |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
** Inception date.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005 per share.
(4) Portfolio turnover rate excludes securities received from processing a subscription-in-kind.
(5) Annualized.
(6) Not Annualized.
81
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund |
||||||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
19.06 |
$ |
14.32 |
$ |
12.31 |
$ |
11.65 |
$ |
10.57 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
0.07 |
0.07 |
(0.05 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.05 |
) |
|||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
3.16 |
4.74 |
2.06 |
0.72 |
1.16 |
||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
3.23 |
4.81 |
2.01 |
0.66 |
1.11 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.07 |
) |
|
|
(0.03 |
) |
|||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(1.85 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(1.87 |
) |
(0.07 |
) |
|
|
(0.03 |
) |
|||||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
|
|
(3) |
|
|
(3) |
||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
20.42 |
$ |
19.06 |
$ |
14.32 |
$ |
12.31 |
$ |
11.65 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
17.46 |
% |
33.71 |
% |
16.33 |
% |
5.67 |
% |
10.54 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
46,008 |
$ |
40,754 |
$ |
37,367 |
$ |
33,238 |
$ |
32,394 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers and reimbursements |
1.36 |
% |
1.54 |
% |
1.70 |
% |
1.67 |
% |
1.69 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers and reimbursements |
1.42 |
% |
1.54 |
% |
1.70 |
% |
1.72 |
% |
1.77 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/
(loss) to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
0.35 |
% |
0.41 |
% |
(0.34 |
)% |
(0.43 |
)% |
(0.39 |
)% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
75 |
% |
72 |
% |
84 |
% |
85 |
% |
94 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005 per share.
82
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
||||||||||||||
For the Period
Ending August 31, 2014 |
For the Period
Ending August 31, 2013 |
For the Period
December 30, 2011** through August 31, 2012 |
|||||||||||||
Institutional Class |
|||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
12.97 |
$ |
11.00 |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
0.18 |
0.12 |
0.10 |
||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments |
2.82 |
2.07 |
0.90 |
||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
3.00 |
2.19 |
1.00 |
||||||||||||
Dividends and distribution to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.36 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders |
(0.38 |
) |
(0.22 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
|
|
||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
15.59 |
$ |
12.97 |
$ |
11.00 |
|||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
23.39 |
% |
20.14 |
% |
10.00 |
% (4) |
|||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
60,087 |
$ |
11,496 |
$ |
11,234 |
|||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with
waivers and reimbursements |
0.96 |
% |
1.30 |
% |
1.30 |
% (3) |
|||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without
waivers and reimbursements |
1.39 |
% |
3.05 |
% |
3.56 |
% (3) |
|||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/(loss) to average
net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
1.20 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
1.39 |
% (3) |
|||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
136 |
% |
102 |
% |
83 |
% (4) |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
** Inception date.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Annualized.
(4) Not Annualized.
83
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Boston Partners Global
Long/Short Fund |
|||||||
|
For the Period
December 31, 2013** through August 31, 2014 |
||||||
|
Institutional Class |
||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||
Net investment gain/(loss)* |
(0.14 |
) |
|||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments |
0.44 |
||||||
Total from investment operations |
0.30 |
Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: |
Net investment income |
|
||||||
Net realized gains |
|
||||||
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders |
|
||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
(3) |
|||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
10.30 |
|||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
3.00 |
% |
|||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
37,403 |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
3.88 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers, reimbursements
(excluding dividend and interest expenses) |
2.00 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers and reimbursements |
4.89 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio of net investment gain/(loss) to average net assets with waivers
and reimbursements |
(2.04 |
)% (4) |
|||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
72 |
% (5) |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding, unless otherwise noted.
** Inception date.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005 per share.
(4) Annualized.
(5) Not Annualized.
84
BOSTON PARTNERS INVESTMENT FUNDS
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
(888) 261-4073
http://www.boston-partners.com
For More Information:
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Boston Partners Investment Funds is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about each Fund's investments, describe each Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes fund strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during their last fiscal year. The annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders may be obtained by visiting http://www.boston-partners.com.
Statement of Additional Information
The Funds' SAI, dated December 31, 2014 has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Boston Partners Investment Funds, may be obtained free of charge, along with the annual and semi-annual reports, by calling (888) 261-4073. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus (and is legally part of the prospectus).The SAI is available on the Adviser's website at http://www.boston-partners.com.
Shareholder Inquiries
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (888) 261-4073 or visit the website of the Adviser at http://www.boston-partners.com.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call (888) 261-4073.
Written Correspondence
Street Address:
Boston Partners Investment Funds (formerly Robeco Investment Funds), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581
P.O. Box Address:
Boston Partners Investment Funds (formerly Robeco Investment Funds), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9816, Providence, RI 02940
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may also view and copy information about the Company and the Funds, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov.You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520.You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
Investor Class
Boston Partners Investment Funds
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
Prospectus December 31, 2014
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II BPSCX
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund BPAVX
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund BPLEX
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund BPRRX
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund BPGRX
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund BGRSX
The securities described in this prospectus have been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The SEC, however, has not judged these securities for their investment merit and has not determined the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a criminal offense.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the investment objectives, strategies, risks, expenses and financial history of each of the Boston Partners Investment Funds.
Details about the Boston Partners Investment Funds' service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in any of the Boston Partners Investment Funds.
SUMMARY SECTIONS |
|||||||
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
3 |
||||||
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund |
9 |
||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
15 |
||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
22 |
||||||
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
30 |
||||||
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund |
38 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS'
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
45 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS |
|||||||
Investment Adviser |
49 |
||||||
Portfolio Managers |
49 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
|||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
54 |
||||||
Market Timing |
54 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
55 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
59 |
||||||
Exchange Privilege |
62 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
63 |
||||||
Taxes |
63 |
||||||
Multi-Class Structure |
65 |
||||||
Appendix A Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account
of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
66 |
||||||
Appendix B Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts of
the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
68 |
||||||
Appendix C Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account of
the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund |
70 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
72 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
2
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE FUND II
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital primarily through investment in equity securities. Current income is a secondary objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Class shares of the Fund.
Investor Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and servicing (12b-1) fees |
0.25 |
% |
|||||
Other expenses |
0.23 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
1.48 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (1) |
(0.13 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
1.35 |
% |
(1) The Fund's investment adviser, Robeco Investment Management, Inc. (the "Adviser"), has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund's Investor Class shares exceeds 1.35% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Investor Class shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total annual Fund operating expenses to exceed 1.35%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2016 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. If at any time during the three years from May 28, 2014 to May 28, 2017 the Fund's Advisory Agreement with the Adviser is in effect, the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.35%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund during such three-year period.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5%
3
return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 years |
||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
$ |
137 |
$ |
428 |
$ |
769 |
$ |
1,733 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of equity securities, such as common stocks of issuers with small market capitalizations and identified by the Adviser as having value characteristics. A small market capitalization issuer generally is considered to be one whose market capitalization is, at the time the Fund makes the investment, similar to the market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index. The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index that contains stocks from the Russell 2000 ® Index with less than average growth orientation. As of November 30, 2014, the median market capitalization of this index was $601 million and the largest stock was $4.6 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change.
The Fund generally invests in the equity securities of small companies. The Adviser will seek to invest in companies it considers to be well managed and to have attractive fundamental financial characteristics. The Adviser believes greater potential for price appreciation exists among small companies since they tend to be less widely followed by other securities analysts and thus may be more likely to be undervalued by the market. The Fund may invest from time to time a portion of its assets, not to exceed 20% (under normal conditions) at the time of purchase, in companies with larger market capitalizations.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price to book value ratios and price to earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals such as return on equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Fund may also invest up to 25% of its total assets in non U.S. dollar-denominated securities.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing a maximum of 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
4
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices.
• Small Cap Companies Risk. The Fund will invest in smaller issuers which are more volatile and less liquid than investments in issuers with a market capitalization greater than the market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index. Small market capitalization issuers are not as diversified in their business activities as issuers with market capitalizations greater than the market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index and are more susceptible to changes in the business cycle.
The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund invests may be traded only in the over-the- counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 175%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
5
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the long-term performance of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II's Investor Class. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
29.32% (quarter ended June 30, 2009) |
||||||
Worst Quarter: |
(26.42)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: (2.42)%
6
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Investor Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
|||||||||||||||
Returns Before Taxes |
34.40 |
% |
22.82 |
% |
9.33 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
34.27 |
% |
22.73 |
% |
7.73 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
19.47 |
% |
18.76 |
% |
7.41 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 2000
®
Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
34.52 |
% |
17.63 |
% |
8.60 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
7
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
David M. Dabora, Senior Portfolio Manager since 2000
George Gumpert, Portfolio Manager since 2005
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $2,500
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
You can only purchase and redeem Investor Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Investor Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
8
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS ALL-CAP VALUE FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital primarily through investment in equity securities. Current income is a secondary objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Class shares of the Fund.
Investor Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
0.80 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and servicing (12b-1) fees |
0.25 |
% |
|||||
Other expenses |
0.14 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
1.19 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (1) |
(0.24 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
0.95 |
% |
(1) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund's Investor Class shares exceeds 0.95% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Investor Class shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total annual Fund operating expenses to exceed 0.95%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may not recoup any of its waived investment advisory fees.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
$ |
97 |
$ |
354 |
$ |
631 |
$ |
1,422 |
9
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of equity securities, such as common stocks of issuers across the capitalization spectrum and identified by the Adviser as having value characteristics.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price to book value ratios and price to earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals, such as return on equity and earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in non U.S. dollar denominated securities.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain debt securities and preferred stock.
The Fund may hedge overall portfolio exposure up to 40% of its net assets through the purchase and sale of index and individual put and call options.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing less than 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices.
10
• Small/Mid-Cap Companies Risk. Investing in securities of companies with micro, small or mid-sized capitalizations tends to be riskier than investing in securities of companies with large capitalizations. Securities of companies with micro, small and mid-sized capitalizations tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies and, on occasion, may fluctuate in the opposite direction of large cap company securities or the broader stock market averages.
The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund invests may be traded only in the over-the- counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 125%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Options Risk. An option is a type of derivative instrument that gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy (a "call") or sell (a "put") an asset in the near future at an agreed upon price prior to the expiration date of the option. The Fund may "cover" a call option by owning the security underlying the option or through other means. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
11
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the long-term performance of the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund's Investor Class. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
18.56% (quarter ended June 30, 2009) |
||||||
Worst Quarter: |
(17.62)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 6.97%
12
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Investor Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund |
|||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
38.92 |
% |
18.52 |
% |
10.25 |
% |
|||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
37.23 |
% |
17.58 |
% |
9.13 |
% |
|||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
22.49 |
% |
14.78 |
% |
8.14 |
% |
|||||||||
Russell 3000
®
Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
32.69 |
% |
16.75 |
% |
7.66 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
13
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Manager
Duilio Ramallo, Senior Portfolio Manager since 2007
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $2,500
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
You can only purchase and redeem Investor Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Investor Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073 |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
14
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS LONG/SHORT EQUITY FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while reducing exposure to general equity market risk. The Fund seeks a total return greater than that of the S&P 500 ® Index over a full market cycle.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Class shares of the Fund.
Investor Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
one year, if applicable) |
2.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
one year, if applicable) |
2.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
2.25 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees |
0.25 |
% |
|||||
Other expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend expense on short sales (1) |
0.27 |
% |
|||||
Interest expense on borrowings |
1.64 |
% |
|||||
Other operating expenses |
0.17 |
% |
|||||
Total other expenses |
2.08 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses (2) |
4.58 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) for the Fund's Investor Class shares exceeds 2.75% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Investor Class shares. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total annual Fund operating expenses (after fee waivers and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed 2.75%.This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may not recoup any of its waived investment advisory fees.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5%
15
return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
$ |
459 |
$ |
1,383 |
$ |
2,314 |
$ |
4,677 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 65% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate. The Fund will invest, both long and short, in securities principally traded in the United States markets. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less ("unseasoned issuers"). The Adviser will determine the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Fund seeks to construct a portfolio that has less volatility than the United States equity market generally. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals such as return on equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund intends, under normal circumstances, to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities.
Under normal circumstances, the Adviser expects that the Fund's long positions will not exceed approximately 125% of the Fund's net assets.
The Fund's long and short positions may involve (without limit) equity securities of foreign issuers that are traded in the markets of the United States. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets directly in equity securities of foreign issuers.
To meet margin requirements, redemptions or pending investments, the Fund may also temporarily hold a portion of its assets in full faith and credit obligations of the United States government and in short-term notes, commercial paper or other money market instruments.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
The Fund may invest from time to time a significant portion of its assets in smaller issuers which are more volatile and less liquid than investments in issuers with larger market capitalizations.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
16
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing a maximum of 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, used by corporations and other business organizations.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the long portfolio of the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• High Yield Debt Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices.
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the Adviser may not be successful in its strategy of taking long positions in stocks the manager believes to be undervalued and short positions in stocks the manager believes to be overvalued. Further, since the Adviser will manage both a long and a short portfolio, there is the risk that the Adviser may make more poor investment decisions than an adviser of a typical stock mutual fund with only a long portfolio may make.
• Short Sales Risk. Short sales of securities may result in gains if a security's price declines, but may result in losses if a security's price rises.
• Unseasoned Issuers Risk. Unseasoned issuers may not have an established financial history and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Unseasoned issuers may depend on a few key personnel for management and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. As a result, such securities may be more volatile and difficult to sell.
• Small-Cap Companies Risk. The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund may invest may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio
17
turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 400%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Segregated Account Risk. A security held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position it is covering is outstanding, unless it is replaced with a similar security. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede portfolio management or the Fund's ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
18
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the long-term performance of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund's Investor Class. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
38.45% (quarter ended June 30, 2009) |
||||||
Worst Quarter: |
(19.44)% (quarter ended December 31, 2008) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 6.20%
19
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Investor Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods. Although the Fund compares its average total return to a broad-based securities market index, the Fund seeks returns that are not correlated to securities market returns. The Fund seeks to achieve a 12-15% return over a full market cycle; however, there can be no guarantee that such returns will be achieved.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
|||||||||||||||
Returns Before Taxes |
7.59 |
% |
23.83 |
% |
12.38 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
5.98 |
% |
21.62 |
% |
9.74 |
% |
|||||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
5.50 |
% |
19.03 |
% |
9.11 |
% |
|||||||||
S&P 500
®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
32.39 |
% |
17.94 |
% |
7.40 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
20
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Robert T. Jones, Senior Portfolio Manager since 1995
Ali Motamed, Portfolio Manager since 2013
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $2,500
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
The Fund is currently closed due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Fund will still be offered to existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons, as described in the section entitled "Purchase of Fund Shares" in this prospectus.
You can only purchase and redeem Investor Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Investor Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073 |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
21
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS LONG/SHORT RESEARCH FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term total return.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Class shares of the Fund.
Investor Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
1.25 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
0.25 |
% |
|||||
Other expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend expense on short sales (1) |
0.84 |
% |
|||||
Interest expense on borrowings |
0.30 |
% |
|||||
Other operating expenses |
0.13 |
% |
|||||
Total other expenses |
1.27 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses (2) |
2.77 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) exceeds 1.75% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Investor Class shares. Because acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (after fee waivers and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed 1.75%.This contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. Effective as of the effective date of the Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.75%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
22
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
$ |
280 |
$ |
859 |
$ |
1,464 |
$ |
3,099 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 57% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund uses a hedged strategy. The Fund actively invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales (i.e. sales of securities the Fund does not own) will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate.
The Fund invests, both long and short, in equity securities issued by large-, mid- and small (or "micro")-cap companies, as well as other instruments that are convertible into equity securities. Selling securities short is a form of leverage. Equity securities in which the Fund may invest include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less ("unseasoned issuers"). The Fund may also invest in depository receipts and equity securities of foreign companies (denominated in either U.S. dollars or foreign currencies), put and call options, futures, indexed securities and fixed-income securities (including bonds, notes, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments) and high yield securities (commonly referred to as "junk bonds"). Fixed income securities in which the Fund will invest include those rated between AAA and D by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO"), or deemed of comparable quality by the Adviser. The Adviser may also temporarily invest uninvested cash in money market funds and similar collective investment vehicles. The Fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities.
The Adviser determines the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Fund seeks to construct a portfolio that has less volatility than the U.S. equity market by investing less than 100% of its assets in net long positions. Selection of individual securities to be held long or sold short will be based on a mix of quantitative techniques and fundamental security analysis. The Adviser selects stocks on the basis of three criteria: value, fundamental business strength and momentum. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals such as return on
23
equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
Although the Fund seeks to follow a hedged strategy, there can be no assurance that the Fund's portfolio or investments will be insulated from market moves or effectively hedged against risk.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing less than 25% of its total assets in any one industry, except that the Fund may invest up to 30% in exchange-traded funds to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("1940 Act") and applicable SEC orders.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
The principal derivative instruments in which the Fund invests are futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the long portfolio of the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the price of these stocks will not move even lower.
• High Yield Debt Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations (of any rating, including defaulted securities and unrated securities), including bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and financial practices.
• Currency Risk. Investment in foreign securities also involves currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and which may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to a foreign currency may cause the U.S. dollar value of an investment in that country to decline. Foreign currencies also are subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government controls.
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. The Adviser may be incorrect in the stocks it buys and believes to be undervalued and in stocks it sells short and believes to be overvalued. Further, since the Adviser will manage both a long and a short portfolio, there is the risk that the Adviser
24
may make more poor investment decisions than an adviser of a typical stock mutual fund with only a long portfolio.
• Short Sales Risk. Short sales of securities may result in gains if a security's price declines, but may result in losses if a security's price rises. In a rising market, short positions may be more likely to result in losses because securities sold short may be more likely to increase in value. Short selling also involves the risks of: increased leverage, and its accompanying potential for losses; the potential inability to reacquire a security in a timely manner, or at an acceptable price; the possibility of the lender terminating the loan at any time, forcing the Fund to close the transaction under unfavorable circumstances; the additional costs that may be incurred; and the potential loss of investment flexibility caused by the Fund's obligations to provide collateral to the lender and set aside assets to cover the open position. Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited.
• Unseasoned Issuers Risk. Unseasoned issuers may not have an established financial history and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Unseasoned issuers may depend on a few key personnel for management and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. As a result, such securities may be more volatile and difficult to sell.
• Small-Cap Companies Risk. The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund may invest may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• REITs Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 300%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days.
• Derivatives Risk. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments, which include futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps, may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
25
• Indexed Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in indexed securities whose value is linked to securities indices. Most such securities have values that rise and fall according to the change in one or more specified indices and may have characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying securities. Depending on the index, such securities may have greater volatility than the market as a whole.
• Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker- dealers. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
• Exchange Traded Fund Risk. Exchange traded funds ("ETFs") are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
26
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below illustrate the performance of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund's Investor Class. The bar chart below provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Year Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
8.29% (quarter ended December 31, 2011) |
||||||
Worst Quarter: |
(9.91)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 3.49%
27
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Investor Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||
1 Year |
Since Inception
(November 29, 2010) |
||||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
|||||||||||
Returns Before Taxes |
17.45 |
% |
11.73 |
% |
|||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
17.34 |
% |
11.46 |
% |
|||||||
Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of
Fund Shares |
9.96 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
|||||||
S&P 500
®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
32.39 |
% |
11.96 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
28
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32nd Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr., Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners, Co-Portfolio Manager since
inception of the Fund
Eric Connerly, Director of Research-Quantitative, Co-Portfolio Manager since inception of the Fund
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $2,500
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
You can only purchase and redeem Investor Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Investor Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you selected the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
29
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS GLOBAL EQUITY FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Class shares of the Fund.
Investor Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
0.90 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and servicing (12b-1) fees |
0.25 |
% |
|||||
Other expenses |
0.49 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
1.64 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (1) |
(0.44 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
1.20 |
% |
(1) The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund's Investor Class shares exceeds 1.20% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Investor Class shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total annual Fund operating expenses to exceed 1.20%: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. Effective as of the effective date of the Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.20%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees waived and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5%
30
return each year and that the operating expenses of the Fund remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
$ |
122 |
$ |
474 |
$ |
850 |
$ |
1,907 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund's Institutional Class was 136% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in a non-diversified portfolio of equity and equity-related securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies of any capitalization size. The Fund may invest in all types of equity and equity- related securities, including without limitation exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, options, rights, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, participatory notes, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies (including exchanged-traded funds ("ETFs")) and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula.
The Fund defines non-U.S. companies as companies (i) that are organized under the laws of a foreign country; (ii) whose principal trading market is in a foreign country; or (iii) that have a majority of their assets, or that derive a significant portion of their revenue or profits from businesses, investments or sales, outside of the United States. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests significantly (ordinarily at least 40% unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Adviser, in which case the Fund would invest at least 30%) in non-U.S. companies. The Fund principally will be invested in issuers located in countries with developed securities markets, but may also invest in issuers located in emerging markets. The Fund will allocate its assets among various regions and countries, including the United States (but in no less than three different countries).
The Fund generally invests in the equity securities of issuers believed by the Adviser to be undervalued in the marketplace, focusing on issuers that combine attractive valuations with catalysts for change. The Adviser applies a bottom-up stock selection process (i.e., one that focuses primarily on issuer-specific factors) in managing the Fund, using a combination of fundamental and quantitative analysis. In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser considers various factors such as price-to-book value, price-to-sales and earnings ratios, dividend yields, strength of management, and cash flow to identify securities that are trading at a price that appears to be lower than the issuer's inherent value.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund may (but is not required to) invest in derivatives, including put and call options, futures, forward contracts and swaps, in lieu of investing directly in a security, currency or instrument, for hedging and non-hedging purposes.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
31
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO").An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public. The Fund may also seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or through depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Participatory notes ("P-notes") are derivative instruments used by investors to take positions in certain foreign securities. P-notes present similar risks to investing directly in such securities and also expose investors to counterparty risk.
• Emerging Markets Risk. Investment in emerging market securities involves greater risk than that associated with investment in securities of issuers in developed foreign countries. These risks include volatile currency exchange rates, periods of high inflation, increased risk of default, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, less governmental supervision and regulation of securities markets, weaker auditing and financial reporting standards, lack of liquidity in the markets, and the significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.
• Currency Risk. Investment in foreign securities also involves currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and which may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to a foreign currency may cause the U.S. dollar value of an investment in that country to decline. Foreign currencies also are subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government controls.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
• Options Risk. An option is a type of derivative instrument that gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy (a "call") or sell (a "put") an asset in the near future at an agreed upon price prior to the expiration date of the option. The Fund may "cover" a call option by owning the security underlying the option or through other means. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations.
32
• Derivatives Risk. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments, which include futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps, may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
• REITs Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index.
• Small/Mid-Cap Companies Risk. Investing in securities of companies with micro, small or mid-sized capitalizations tends to be riskier than investing in securities of companies with large capitalizations. Securities of companies with micro, small and mid-sized capitalizations tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies and, on occasion, may fluctuate in the opposite direction of large cap company securities or the broader stock market averages.
The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund invests may be traded only in the over-the- counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. Redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker- dealers. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
• Exchange Traded Fund Risk. Exchange traded funds ("ETFs") are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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
33
to the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
• Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified. Compared to other funds, the Fund may invest more of its assets in a smaller number of companies. Gains or losses on a single stock may have greater impact on the Fund.
34
Performance Information
As of the date of this Prospectus, the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund's Investor Class has not yet commenced operations. The bar chart and table below illustrate the performance of the Fund's Institutional Class, which is offered in a separate Prospectus. Had the Investor Class been operational during the periods in the chart and table below, it would have had substantially similar annual returns as the Institutional Class because the Investor Class is invested in the same portfolio of securities. Annual returns would differ only to the extent that the Investor Class and Institutional Class do not have the same expenses. The bar chart below shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risk of investing in the Fund. The bar chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
Total Returns for the Calendar Year Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
11.70% (quarter ended March 31, 2012) |
||||||
Worst Quarter: |
(5.91)% (quarter ended June 30, 2012) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 2.39%
35
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the average annual total returns for the Fund's Institutional Class both before and after taxes for the past calendar year and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods.
|
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Period Ended December 31, 2013 |
||||||||||
1 Year |
Since Inception
(December 30, 2011) |
||||||||||
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
|||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
32.67 |
% |
23.67 |
% |
|||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
31.37 |
% |
22.66 |
% |
|||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares |
18.66 |
% |
18.04 |
% |
|||||||
MSCI World Index (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes) |
27.77 |
% |
9.94 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The table, like the bar chart, provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns for the one year and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.
36
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Christopher K. Hart, Portfolio Manager, and a Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Joshua Jones, a Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since June, 2013
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception and oversees both the team and the strategy
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $2,500
Minimum Additional Investment: $100
You can only purchase and redeem Investor Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Investor Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
37
SUMMARY SECTION BOSTON PARTNERS GLOBAL LONG/SHORT FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Class shares of the Fund.
Investor Class |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange fee (as a percentage of amount exchanged on shares held for less than
60 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management fees |
1.50 |
% |
|||||
Distribution and servicing (12b-1) fees |
0.25 |
% |
|||||
Other expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend expense on short sales (1) |
1.06 |
% |
|||||
Interest expense on borrowings |
0.85 |
% |
|||||
Other operating expenses |
1.48 |
% |
|||||
Total other expenses |
3.39 |
% |
|||||
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
5.14 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee waivers and expense reimbursements (2) |
(1.01 |
)% |
|||||
Net expenses |
4.13 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) The Fund's Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) for the Fund's Investor Class shares exceeds 2.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Investor Class shares. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (after fee waivers and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed 2.25%. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. Effective as of the effective date of the Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time, the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 2.25%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees waived and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
38
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and Fund operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be different, based on these assumptions your costs of investing $10,000 in the Fund would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
$ |
414 |
$ |
1,450 |
$ |
2,483 |
$ |
5,052 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate for the Fund was 72% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in long positions in stocks identified by the Adviser as undervalued and takes short positions in stocks that the Adviser has identified as overvalued. The cash proceeds from short sales will be invested in short-term cash instruments to produce a return on such proceeds just below the federal funds rate. The Fund will invest, both long and short, in securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies of any capitalization size.
With a long position, the Fund purchases a stock outright; with a short position, the Fund sells a security that it does not own and must borrow to meet its settlement obligations. The Fund may invest in securities of companies operating for three years or less ("unseasoned issuers"). The Adviser will determine the size of each long or short position by analyzing the tradeoff between the attractiveness of each position and its impact on the risk of the overall portfolio. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such issuers including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. These value characteristics are examined in the context of the issuer's operating and financial fundamentals, including return on equity, earnings growth and cash flow. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria.
The Fund may invest in all types of equity and equity-related securities, including without limitation exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, options, rights, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies (including exchanged-traded funds ("ETFs")), real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and equity participations. An equity participation is a type of loan that gives the lender a portion of equity ownership in a property, in addition to principal and interest payments. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula.
The Fund defines non-U.S. companies as companies (i) that are organized under the laws of a foreign country; (ii) whose principal trading market is in a foreign country; or (iii) that have a majority of their assets, or that derive a significant portion of their revenue or profits from businesses, investments or sales, outside of the United States. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests significantly (ordinarily at least 40% unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Adviser, in which case the Fund would invest at least 30%) in non-U.S. companies. The Fund principally will be invested in issuers located in countries with developed securities markets, but may also invest in issuers located in emerging markets. The Fund will allocate its assets among various regions and countries, including the United States (but in no less than three different countries).
39
The Fund's portfolio is rebalanced regularly. The Adviser assesses each investment's changing characteristics relative to its contribution to portfolio risk. The Adviser will sell an investment held long or close out a short position that the Adviser believes no longer offers an appropriate return-to-risk tradeoff.
Under normal circumstances, the Adviser expects to sell securities short so that the Fund's portfolio is approximately 50% net long with an average of between 30% and 70% net long.
To meet margin requirements, redemptions or pending investments, the Fund may also temporarily hold a portion of its assets in full faith and credit obligations of the United States government and in short-term notes, commercial paper or other money market instruments.
The Adviser will sell a stock when it no longer meets one or more investment criteria, either through obtaining target value or due to an adverse change in fundamentals or business momentum. Each holding has a target valuation established at purchase, which the Adviser constantly monitors and adjusts as appropriate.
The Fund may participate as a purchaser in initial public offerings of securities ("IPO"). An IPO is a company's first offering of stock to the public.
The Fund may invest from time to time a significant portion of its assets in smaller issuers which are more volatile and less liquid than investments in issuers with larger market capitalizations.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale.
In general, the Fund's investments are broadly diversified over a number of industries and, as a matter of policy, the Fund is limited to investing a maximum of 25% of its total assets in any one industry.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, used by U.S. and foreign corporations and other business organizations (e.g. trusts or limited liability companies). Such high yield debt obligations are not considered to be investment grade. Non-investment grade fixed income securities (commonly known as "junk bonds") are rated BB or lower by Standard & Poor's Rating Group, or have a comparable rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO") (or, if unrated are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of investment). The Fund may invest in securities of the lowest rating category, including securities in default. The Adviser may, but is not required to, sell a bond or note held by the Fund in the event that its credit rating is downgraded.
The Fund may (but is not required to) invest in derivatives, including put and call options, futures, forward contracts and swaps, in lieu of investing directly in a security, currency or instrument, for hedging and non-hedging purposes.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Adviser will determine when market conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Summary of Principal Risks
• Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the Adviser may not be successful in its strategy of taking long positions in stocks the manager believes to be undervalued and short positions in stocks the manager believes to be overvalued. Further, since the Adviser will manage both a long and a short portfolio, there is the risk that the Adviser may make more poor investment decisions than an adviser of a typical stock mutual fund with only a long portfolio may make.
• Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the long portfolio of the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
40
• High Yield Debt Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Securities Risk. International investing is subject to special risks, including, but not limited to, currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Participatory notes ("P-notes") are derivative instruments used by investors to take positions in certain foreign securities. P-notes present similar risks to investing directly in such securities and also expose investors to counterparty risk.
• Emerging Markets Risk. Investment in emerging market securities involves greater risk than that associated with investment in securities of issuers in developed foreign countries. These risks include volatile currency exchange rates, periods of high inflation, increased risk of default, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, less governmental supervision and regulation of securities markets, weaker auditing and financial reporting standards, lack of liquidity in the markets, and the significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.
• Currency Risk. Investment in foreign securities also involves currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and which may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. An increase in the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to a foreign currency may cause the U.S. dollar value of an investment in that country to decline. Foreign currencies also are subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government controls.
• Short Sales Risk. Short sales of securities may result in gains if a security's price declines, but may result in losses if a security's price rises. In a rising market, short positions may be more likely to result in losses because securities sold short may be more likely to increase in value. Short selling also involves the risks of: increased leverage, and its accompanying potential for losses; the potential inability to reacquire a security in a timely manner, or at an acceptable price; the possibility of the lender terminating the loan at any time, forcing the Fund to close the transaction under unfavorable circumstances; the additional costs that may be incurred; and the potential loss of investment flexibility caused by the Fund's obligations to provide collateral to the lender and set aside assets to cover the open position. Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited. The use of short sales may cause the Fund to have higher expenses than those of other equity mutual funds because of higher transaction costs, premiums, interest or dividends payable to the lender.
• Convertible Securities Risk. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
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• Options Risk. An option is a type of derivative instrument that gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy (a "call") or sell (a "put") an asset in the near future at an agreed upon price prior to the expiration date of the option. The Fund may "cover" a call option by owning the security underlying the option or through other means. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations. Losses incurred by the Fund in writing options can be potentially unlimited.
• Derivatives Risk. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments, which include futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies, options on these futures, forward foreign currency contracts and interest rate or currency swaps, may be leveraged and result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
• REITs Risk. REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any expenses, including management fees, paid by an externally managed REIT in which it invests.
• Unseasoned Issuers Risk. Unseasoned issuers may not have an established financial history and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Unseasoned issuers may depend on a few key personnel for management and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. As a result, such securities may be more volatile and difficult to sell.
• Small-Cap Companies Risk. The small capitalization equity securities in which the Fund may invest may be traded only in the over-the-counter market or on a regional securities exchange, may be listed only in the quotation service commonly known as the "pink sheets," and may not be traded every day or in the volume typical of trading on a national securities exchange. These securities may also be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. The trading market for any given small capitalization equity security may be sufficiently small as to make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of a substantial block of such securities. The sale by the Fund of portfolio securities to meet redemptions may require the Fund to sell its small capitalization securities at a discount from market prices or during periods when, in the Adviser's judgment, such sale is not desirable. Moreover, the lack of an efficient market for these securities may make them difficult to value.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. If the Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities, the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains. The annual portfolio turnover rate for the Fund is not expected to exceed 400%; however, it may be higher if the Adviser believes it will improve the Fund's performance.
• Segregated Account Risk. A security held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position it is covering is outstanding, unless it is replaced with a similar security. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede portfolio management or the Fund's ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
• Illiquid Securities Risk. Investing in illiquid securities is subject to certain risks, such as limitations on resale and uncertainty in determining valuation. Limitations on resale may adversely affect the marketability of portfolio securities and the Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. The Fund might, in order to dispose of restricted securities, have to register securities resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of such securities.
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• IPO Risk. IPO risk is the risk that the market value of IPO shares will fluctuate considerably due to certain 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. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
• Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
• Exchange Traded Fund Risk. Exchange traded funds ("ETFs") are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
• Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified. Compared to other funds, the Fund may invest more of its assets in a smaller number of companies. Gains or losses on a single stock may have greater impact on the Fund.
Performance Information
The Investor Class commenced operations on April 11, 2014, therefore annual returns for one full calendar year are not available for the Fund. The Fund intends to evaluate its performance as compared to that of the MSCI ® World Index. The performance information, when available, will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Updated performance information will be available at www.boston-partners.com or 1-888-261-4073.
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Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc.
909 Third Avenue, 32
nd
Floor, New York, New York 10022
Portfolio Managers
Christopher K. Hart, Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Joshua Jones, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr., Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception and oversees both the team and the strategy
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $100,000
Minimum Additional Investment: $5,000
You can only purchase and redeem Investor Class shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Investor Class shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940-8042 |
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Request routing instructions by calling the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073. |
Redemption By Telephone: If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Fund's transfer agent at 1-888-261-4073.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS' INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
This section provides some additional information about the Funds' investments and certain portfolio management techniques that certain Funds may use. More information about the Funds' investments and portfolio management techniques, some of which entail risks, is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
Investment Objectives
The Funds' investment objectives may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without shareholder approval. Shareholders will, however, receive 60 days' prior notice of any changes. Any such changes may result in the Funds having investment objectives different from the objectives that the shareholder considered appropriate at the time of investment in the Funds.
Additional Information About the Funds' Principal Investments and Risks
Derivative Contracts. Each of the Funds except for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts for any of the following purposes:
• To seek to hedge against the possible adverse impact of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates in the market value of its securities or securities to be purchased; or
• As a substitute for buying or selling currencies or securities.
The Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts for the following purpose:
• To seek to enhance the Fund's return in non-hedging situations.
Derivative contracts in which the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may invest include: futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward foreign currency contracts; and interest rate, total return or currency swaps. The Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may use derivative contracts involving foreign currencies. A derivative contract will obligate or entitle a Fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment that is based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on a Fund's stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. A Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the Fund's holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities in that the counterparty may default on its payment obligations or become insolvent. Derivatives can also make a Fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.
Short Sales. The Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund and Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund will engage in short sales and the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may engage in short sales including those that are not "against the box," which means that each Fund may make short sales where the Fund does not currently own or have the right to acquire, at no added cost, securities identical to those sold short in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act. In a typical short sale, the Funds borrow from a broker a security in order to sell the security to a third party. The Funds are then obligated to return a security of the same issuer and quantity at some future date. The Funds realize a loss to the extent the security increases in value or a profit to the extent the security declines in value (after taking into account any associated costs). Short sales "against the box" may protect the Funds against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of each Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited.
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Equity and Equity-Related Securities. Each of the Funds may invest in all types of equity securities. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and REITs, and equity participations. Investments in equity securities and equity derivatives in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of such securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause the Fund's net asset value to fluctuate. The number of issuers in the Funds' portfolios will vary over time.
Fixed Income Investments. The Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may each invest a portion of its assets in fixed income securities. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate and governmental issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features.
The credit quality of securities held in a Fund's portfolio is determined at the time of investment. If a security is rated differently by multiple ratings organizations, a Fund treats the security as being rated in the higher rating category. A Fund may choose not to sell securities that are downgraded below the Fund's minimum accepted credit rating after their purchase. Periods of rising interest rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets.
Foreign Securities. Each of the Funds may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) directly or through American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") or International Depositary Receipts ("IDRs"). Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
In addition, the Funds may also invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies and in multinational currencies such as the Euro. The Funds will value their securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. Investments in securities of foreign issuers and securities denominated in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of a Fund's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
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The Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund will normally invest a significant portion of their assets in the equity securities and equity-related instruments issued by non-U.S. companies. The Funds may invest in securities denominated in the currencies of a variety of developed, emerging and frontier market countries. Unless hedged, currency fluctuations may have a material impact on the performance of a portfolio of non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities and such a portfolio may experience a decline or increase in value, in U.S. dollar terms, due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Adviser may, from time to time, but is not required to, hedge foreign currency exposure in the Funds' portfolios. Further, the Funds may also from time to time enter into speculative currency positions independent of other positions in the Funds' portfolios.
The Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund may also invest in participatory notes. Participatory notes (commonly known as "P-notes") are equity access products structured as debt obligations and used by investors to take positions in certain foreign securities. P-notes are generally issued by the associates of foreign-based foreign brokerages and domestic institutional brokerages. P-notes represent interests in securities listed on certain foreign exchanges, and thus present similar risks to investing directly in such securities. P-notes also expose investors to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the entity issuing the note may not be able to honor its financial commitments.
Portfolio Concentration. Under normal market conditions, the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund portfolios will generally be diversified by country and geographic region.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Each Fund may invest in ETFs to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and applicable SEC orders. ETFs are registered investment companies whose shares are listed and traded on U.S. stock exchanges or otherwise traded in the over-the-counter market. In general, ETFs seek to track a specified securities index or a basket of securities that an "index provider," such as Standard & Poor's, selects as representative of a market, market segment or industry sector. An ETF portfolio generally holds the same stocks or bonds as the index it tracks or it may hold a representative sample of such securities. Thus, an ETF is designed so that its performance will correspond closely with that of the index it tracks. As a shareholder in an ETF, the Fund will bear its pro rata portion of an ETF's expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
Other Investment Companies. Each of the Funds may invest up to 10% of its total assets in the securities of other investment companies not affiliated with the Adviser, but may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of any one investment company or acquire more than 3% of the voting securities of any other investment company. Among other things, the Funds may invest in money market mutual funds for cash management purposes by "sweeping" excess cash balances into such funds until the cash is invested or otherwise utilized. A 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 advisory and administration fees paid by the Fund.
Portfolio Turnover. Each of the Funds may engage in active and frequent trading, resulting in high portfolio turnover. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, increasing their tax liability. Frequent trading may also increase transaction costs, which could detract from the Funds' performance.
Securities Lending. Each Fund may seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. Portfolio security loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by a Fund will not exceed 33 1 / 3 % of the value of the Fund's total assets. A Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund.
Temporary Investments. Each of the Funds may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking a temporary defensive position (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. If a Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
Broad-Based Securities Market Indices
The MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the US & Canada.
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The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.
The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index that contains stocks from the Russell 2000 ® Index with less than average growth orientation. Companies in this index generally have low price-to-book and price-to- earnings ratios, higher dividend yields and lower forecasted growth values. As of November 30, 2014, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index is $601 million and the largest stock is $4.6 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change. The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is a registered trademark of the Frank Russell Corporation.
The Russell 3000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of those Russell 3000 ® Index companies that typically display lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The stocks in this index are also members of either the Russell 1000 ® Value or the Russell 2000 ® Value indices. The Russell 3000® Index measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization, which represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. As of November 30, 2014, the median market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 3000 ® Value Index is $1,330 billion and the largest stock is $394.1 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change. The Russell 3000 ® Value Index is a registered trademark of the Frank Russell Corporation.
The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, classified in eleven industry sectors, which represent approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in the index.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
The complete portfolio holdings (or long positions only with respect to the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund) of each of the Funds are publicly available on the Adviser's website at www.boston-partners.com as of the end of each calendar month, 15 days following the month end. Any postings will remain available on the website at least until the Funds file with the SEC their semi-annual or annual shareholder report or quarterly portfolio holdings report that includes such period. A further description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds' portfolio securities is available in the Funds' SAI.
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
Investment Adviser
Robeco Investment Management, Inc. provides investment management and investment advisory services to investment companies and other institutional and proprietary accounts.
Subject to the general supervision of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board of Directors"), the Boston Partners division of the Adviser manages the Funds' portfolios and is responsible for the selection and management of all portfolio investments of the Funds in accordance with the Funds' respective investment objectives and policies.
The Adviser, located at 909 Third Avenue, 32 nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, is a subsidiary of Robeco Groep N.V., a Dutch public limited liability company ("Robeco Groep"). Founded in 1929, Robeco Groep is one of the world's oldest asset management organizations. Robeco Groep is primarily owned by ORIX Corporation, an integrated financial services group based in Tokyo, Japan.
For its services to the Boston Partners Funds, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee under the advisory agreement computed at an annual rate of 2.25% of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund's average daily net assets, 1.00% of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II's average daily net assets, 0.80% of the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund's average daily net assets, 1.25% of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund's average daily net assets, 0.90% of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund's average daily net assets, and 1.50% of the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund's average daily net assets. Until December 31, 2015, the Adviser has agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain an annualized expense ratio for the Investor Class shareholders of Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund of 2.75%, 0.95%, 1.75%, 1.20%, and 2.25% (excluding certain items discussed below), respectively. Until December 31, 2016, the Adviser has agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain an annualized expense ratio for the Investor Class shareholders of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II to 1.35%. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause a Fund's net annualized expense ratio to exceed the applicable expense limitation: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waivers for the Funds after December 31, 2015, or after December 31, 2016 with respect to the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II.
For the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, effective as of the effective date of a Fund's first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.75%, 1.20%, or 2.25%, respectively, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Funds of the advisory fees waived and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Funds within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made. For the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, if at any time during the three years from May 28, 2014 through May 28, 2017 the Fund's advisory agreement with the Adviser is in effect, the Fund's Total annual Fund operating expenses for the year are less than 1.35%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees waived and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund during such three-year period. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waivers for the Funds after December 31, 2015, or after December 31, 2016 for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approval of the Fund's advisory agreement with the Adviser is available in the Funds' annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Managers
The investment results for different strategies of the Adviser are not solely dependent on any one individual. There is a common philosophy and approach that is the backdrop for all of the investment strategies of the Adviser. This philosophy is then executed through a very disciplined investment process managed by the designated portfolio
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manager for each of the strategies. This manager will be supported, not only by a secondary manager, but by the Adviser's general research staff and, very often, by dedicated analysts to the particular strategy.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Funds.
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II
David M. Dabora is the primary portfolio manager for the Fund and George Gumpert is the secondary portfolio manager.
Mr. Dabora is a senior portfolio manager of the Adviser responsible for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value, Small Cap Value II, and Small/Mid Cap Value portfolios. Mr. Dabora joined the firm in 1995. Prior to taking on day-to-day responsibilities for the Small Cap Value Fund II, Mr. Dabora was an assistant portfolio manager of the premium equity product of the Adviser, an all-cap value institutional product. Additionally, he was a research analyst with responsibility for a wide variety of industries. Mr. Dabora holds a B.S. degree in business administration from Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. degree from The Anderson School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of San Francisco and has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Gumpert is a portfolio manager for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value products. Previously, he was a research analyst and specialized in the small capitalization sectors of the equity market. He joined the firm in 2000 from AIG International Asset Management where he was a commodities analyst. Mr. Gumpert holds a B.A. degree in economics from Amherst College. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over ten years of investment experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 0.98% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Fund would have paid 1.00%.
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund
Duilio Ramallo is the primary portfolio manager for the Fund.
Mr. Ramallo is a senior portfolio manager of the Adviser. He is responsible for managing the Boston Partners Premium Equity portfolios. Prior to assuming this role, he was the assistant portfolio fund manager for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value portfolios and a research analyst. Mr. Ramallo joined the firm in 1995. He joined the firm from Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he spent three years, most recently in the Los Angeles office. He holds a B.A. degree in economics/business from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.B.A. degree from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. Mr. Ramallo holds the Chartered Financial Analyst ® designation. He has over fifteen years of investment experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013, the Fund paid 0.56% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Fund would have paid 0.80%.
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund
Robert T. Jones is the primary portfolio manager for the Fund and Ali Motamed is the secondary portfolio manager.
Mr. Jones is the portfolio manager for Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund and related strategy. Previously, he was the Director of Research and portfolio manager for the Large Cap Value and Large Cap Value Focused products. He was a founding Partner of Boston Partners Asset Management. He joined the firm from The Boston Company Asset Management, Inc. where he spent seven years as Vice President and equity portfolio manager. Mr. Jones holds a B.A. degree in philosophy from Denison University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Motamed is a long/short generalist with the Adviser, specializing in fundamental research of stocks held in the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund and related strategy. He joined the Adviser in 2003, having previously
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held positions at Deutsche Bank and BT Wolfensohn, where he was a member of the global mergers and acquisitions teams. Mr. Motamed holds a B.A. degree in economics with a minor in accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over fifteen years of experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 2.25% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services.
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. and Eric S. Connerly serve as co-portfolio managers for the Fund. Mr. Feeney is Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer for Boston Partners. He is responsible for the firm's strategic, financial and operating decisions, and all aspects of investment management including the firm's fundamental and quantitative research groups. He was one of the original partners of Boston Partners Asset Management in 1995. Prior to assuming these roles, he was Director of Research. Mr. Feeney joined the firm upon its inception in 1995 from Putnam Investments where he managed mortgage-backed securities portfolios. He began his career at the Bank of Boston where he was a loan officer specializing on highly leveraged loan portfolios. Mr. Feeney holds a B.S. degree in finance (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. with High Honors from the University of Chicago. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is past President of the Fixed Income Management Society of Boston. He has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Connerly is the Director of Research-Quantitative for Boston Partners. Prior to assuming this role, he was a research analyst covering the financial, electronics, defense, transportation, and energy sectors and managed a merger arbitrage portfolio. He joined the firm from John Hancock Mutual Funds where he was an analyst and assisted in the management of a small cap portfolio. Prior to that, he was a senior equity analyst at SEI Investments overseeing their small cap equity portfolios. Mr. Connerly holds a BSFS degree cum laude in development economics from Georgetown University and an MBA degree in security analysis and investment management, Beta Gamma Sigma, from Columbia Business School. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over fifteen years of experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid 1.25% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets) to the Adviser for its services.
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr., Christopher K. Hart and Joshua Jones manage each Fund as a team. Mr. Hart is the lead portfolio manager and Mr. Jones is the associate portfolio manager of each Fund. Mr. Feeney is the Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners and oversees both the team and the strategy.
Mr. Feeney is Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Boston Partners. He is responsible for the firm's strategic, financial and operating decisions, and all aspects of investment management including the firm's fundamental and quantitative research groups. He was one of the original partners of Boston Partners Asset Management in 1995. Prior to assuming these roles, he was Director of Research. Mr. Feeney joined the firm upon its inception in 1995 from Putnam Investments where he managed mortgage-backed securities portfolios. He began his career at the Bank of Boston where he was a loan officer specializing on highly leveraged loan portfolios. Mr. Feeney holds a B.S. degree in finance (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. with High Honors from the University of Chicago. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is past President of the Fixed Income Management Society of Boston. He has over twenty-five years of investment experience.
Mr. Hart is an equity portfolio manager for each Fund. Prior thereto, he was an assistant portfolio manager for the Boston Partners Small Cap Value products for three years. Before that, he was a research analyst and specialized in conglomerates, engineering and construction, building, machinery, aerospace & defense, and REITs sectors of the equity market. He joined the firm from Fidelity Investments where he was a research analyst. Mr. Hart
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holds a B.S. degree in finance, with a concentration in corporate finance from Clemson University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over twenty years of investment experience.
Mr. Jones is a co-portfolio manager of each Fund and also has research responsibilities for the Boston Partners investment team, specializing in the energy, metals and mining sectors of the equity market and is a global generalist. Mr. Jones has been with Boston Partners since 2006. He joined the firm from Cambridge Associates where he was a consulting associate specializing in hedge fund clients. Mr. Jones holds a B.A. degree in economics from Bowdoin College. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has over ten years of professional experience.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund paid 0.48% and 0.74% (expressed as a percentage of average net assets), respectively, to the Adviser for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Funds would have paid 0.90% and 1.50%, respectively.
Marketing Arrangements
The Adviser or its affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of profits derived from the Adviser's management fee and not as an additional charge to the Funds managed by the Adviser, to certain financial institutions (which may include banks, securities dealers and other industry professionals) for the sale and/or distribution of Fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of Fund investors and Fund shares ("revenue sharing"). These payments are in addition to any distribution or servicing fees payable under a 12b-1 distribution and/or service plan of the Funds, any record keeping or sub-transfer agency fees payable by the Funds, or other fees described in the fee table or elsewhere in the Prospectus or SAI. Examples of "revenue sharing" payments include, but are not limited to, payment to financial institutions for "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, but not limited to, inclusion of the Funds on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Adviser access to the financial institution's sales force; conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial institution's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial institutions may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the Funds attributable to the financial institution, or other factors as agreed to by the Adviser and the financial institution or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Adviser from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial institutions depending upon the services provided by the financial institution. Such payments may provide an incentive for the financial institution to make shares of the Funds available to its customers and may allow the Funds greater access to the financial institution's customers.
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Other Service Providers. The following chart shows the Funds' service providers and includes their addresses and principal activities.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
Investor Class shares of the Funds ("Shares") are priced at their net asset value ("NAV").The NAV per share of each Fund is calculated as follows:
Each Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. Each Fund will effect purchases and redemptions of Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") of your purchase order or redemption request in good order (as described below).
A Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over- the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If a Fund holds foreign equity securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equities securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Funds' administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, securities will be valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before a Fund prices its Shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by a Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in ETFs, REITs and closed-end investment companies will be valued at their market price.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 Shares held by long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any
54
exchange involving the purchase of Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to a Fund. 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 a Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of a Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
To deter excessive shareholder trading, the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund generally charge a redemption fee of 1% on shares redeemed within sixty days of purchase. The Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund generally charges a redemption fee of 2% on shares redeemed that have been held for less than one year. In addition, the Funds generally limit the number of exchanges to six (6) exchanges per year (and one exchange per calendar month). For further information on redemptions and exchanges, please see the sections titled "Shareholder Information Redemption of Fund Shares" and "Shareholder Information Exchange Privilege."
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, the Adviser may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Funds. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
There is no assurance that a Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares representing interests in the Funds are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC, (the "Distributor").The Board of Directors has approved a Distribution Agreement and adopted a separate Plan of Distribution for the shares (the "Plan") pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Distributor is entitled to receive from the Funds a distribution fee with respect to the Shares, which is accrued daily and paid monthly, of up to 0.25% on an annualized basis of the average daily net assets of the Shares. The actual amount of such compensation under the Plan is agreed upon by the Company's Board of Directors and by the Distributor. Because these fees are paid out of the Funds' assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Amounts paid to the Distributor under the Plan may be used by the Distributor to cover expenses that are related to (i) the sale of the Shares, (ii) ongoing servicing and/or maintenance of the accounts of shareholders, and (iii) sub-transfer agency services, subaccounting services or administrative services related to the sale of the Shares, all as set forth in the Funds' 12b-1 Plan. Ongoing servicing and/or maintenance of the accounts of shareholders may include updating and mailing prospectuses and shareholder reports, responding to inquiries regarding shareholder accounts and acting as agent or intermediary between shareholders and the Funds or their service providers. The Distributor may delegate some or all of these functions to Service Organizations. See "Purchases Through Intermediaries" below.
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The Plan obligates the Funds, during the period it is in effect, to accrue and pay to the Distributor on behalf of the Shares the fee agreed to under the Distribution Agreement. Payments under the Plan are not tied exclusively to expenses actually incurred by the Distributor, and the payments may exceed distribution expenses actually incurred.
Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Funds may also be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Certain features of the Shares, such as the initial and subsequent investment minimums and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if Shares are purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of Shares and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following Business Day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the financial intermediary to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the appropriate Fund's NAV next computed after they are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
For administration, subaccounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee") relating to the average annual NAV of accounts with the Company maintained by such Service Organizations or recordkeepers. The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
General. You may also purchase Shares of each Fund at the NAV per share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Funds' NAVs are calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company records. The minimum initial investment in any Fund is $2,500 and the minimum additional investment is $100. The minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements may be reduced or waived from time to time. For purposes of meeting the minimum initial purchase, purchases by clients which are part of endowments, foundations or other related groups may be combined. You can only purchase Shares of each Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. Shares may be purchased by principals and employees of the Adviser and its subsidiaries and by their spouses and children either directly or through any trust that has the principal, employee, spouse or child as the primary beneficiaries, their individual retirement accounts, or any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser and its subsidiaries without being subject to the minimum investment limitations.
Initial Investment By Mail. An account may be opened by completing and signing the application included with this Prospectus and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check ($2,500 minimum) payable to the Fund in which you would like to invest. Third party checks will not be accepted.
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Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
[name of Fund]
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9816 Providence, RI 02940 |
[name of Fund]
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
The name of the Fund to be purchased should be designated on the application and should appear on the check. Payment for the purchase of Shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Shares of each Fund may be purchased by wiring federal funds. A completed application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. For each Fund, notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) Request account information and routing instructions by calling the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE is open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time (minimum additional investment $100) by purchasing Shares of any Fund at the NAV per Share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to Boston Partners[name of Fund]) or by wiring monies as outlined under "Initial Investment by Wire." For each Fund, notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the date of purchase.
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in Shares of the Funds may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through an Automatic Investment Plan ($100 minimum). Investors desiring to participate in an Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073.
Retirement Plans. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax advisor.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Funds may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Funds will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. Fund Shares that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the receiving Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. A Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the receiving Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of the Funds. Subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, the Adviser will monitor each Fund's total assets and may decide to close any of the Funds at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of a Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's
57
strategy. Subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, the Adviser may also choose to reopen a closed Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close such Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If a Fund closes to new investments, generally the closed Fund would be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons, who are generally subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. Purchases of Shares by fee-based advisory model programs or financial advisors who manage fee-based wrap accounts that systematically trade in and out of the closed Fund based on model portfolio allocations;
b. Persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by financial intermediaries by arrangement with the Company;
c. Existing and future clients of registered investment advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the closed Fund on transaction fee and non-transaction fee platforms;
d. Existing and future clients of consultants whose clients already hold shares of the closed Fund;
e. Employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children;
f. Directors of the Company; and
g. Defined contribution retirement plans of private employers and governed by ERISA or of state and local governments.
Other persons who are shareholders of other Boston Partners Funds are not permitted to acquire Shares of the closed Fund by exchange. Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. the Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places.
The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Effective July 26, 2010, the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund was closed except to existing shareholders and certain other persons, as described above. the Adviser reserves the right to reopen the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund to new investments from time to time should the assets of the Fund decline by more than 5% from the date of the last closing of the Fund. If the Adviser reopens the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund pursuant to this paragraph, the Adviser has discretion to close the Fund thereafter should the assets of the Fund increase by more than 5% from the date of the last reopening of the Fund.
Effective March 31, 2014, the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund was closed except to existing shareholders and certain other persons, as described above. The Adviser reserves the right to reopen the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund to new investments from time to time should the assets of the Fund decline by more than 5% from the date of the last closing of the Fund. If the Adviser reopens the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund pursuant to this paragraph, the Adviser has discretion to close the Fund thereafter should the assets of the Fund increase by more than 5% from the date of the last reopening of the Fund.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an
58
investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's Shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
Normally, your investment professional will send your request to redeem Shares to the Transfer Agent. Consult your investment professional for more information. You can redeem some or all of your Fund Shares directly through the Fund only if the account is registered in your name. All IRA shareholders must complete an IRA withdrawal form to redeem shares from their IRA account.
You may redeem Shares of the Funds at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Funds' NAVs are calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
You may redeem Shares of each Fund by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone (excluding retirement accounts).The value of Shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by a Fund. There is generally no charge for a redemption. However, with the exception of defined contribution plans and certain clients of financial intermediaries who systematically trade in and out of the Fund based on model portfolio allocations, if a shareholder of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund redeems Shares held for less than one year, a transaction fee of 2% of the NAV of the Shares redeemed at the time of redemption will be charged. In addition, with the exception of defined contribution plans and certain clients of financial intermediaries who systematically trade in and out of a Fund based on model portfolio allocations, if a shareholder of the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, or Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund redeems Shares held for less than 60 days, a transaction fee of 2%, 1%, 1%, 1%, or 1%, respectively, of the NAV of the Shares redeemed at the time of redemption will be charged. For purposes of this redemption feature, Shares purchased first will be considered to be Shares first redeemed. (See "Transaction Fees on Certain Redemptions" below).
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to [name of Fund], c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9816, Providence, RI 02940; for overnight delivery, requests should be addressed to [name of Fund], c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 and must include:
a. Name of the Fund;
b. Account number;
c. Your share certificates, if any, properly endorsed or with proper powers of attorney;
d. A letter of instruction specifying the number of Shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the Shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
e. Medallion signature guarantees are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s) or (ii) the redemption request is for $50,000 or more. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a Medallion Program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. The three recognized Medallion Programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
f. Other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
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Redemption By Telephone. In order to request a telephone redemption, you must have returned your account application containing a telephone election. To add a telephone redemption option to an existing account, contact the Transfer Agent by calling (888) 261-4073. Please note that IRA accounts are not eligible for telephone redemption.
Once you are authorized to utilize the telephone redemption option, a redemption of Shares may be requested by calling the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option or the telephone exchange option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Company or the Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Company or the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Company and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if the Company and Transfer Agent do not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Company and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan. If your account has a value of at least $10,000, you may establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan and receive regular periodic payments. A request to establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan must be submitted in writing to the Transfer Agent at P.O. Box 9816, Providence, RI 02940. Each withdrawal redemption will be processed on or about the 25th of the month and mailed as soon as possible thereafter. There are no service charges for maintenance; the minimum amount that you may withdraw each period is $100. (This is merely the minimum amount allowed and should not be mistaken for a recommended amount.) The holder of a Systematic Withdrawal Plan will have any income dividends and any capital gains distributions reinvested in full and fractional shares at NAV. To provide funds for payment, Shares will be redeemed in such amounts as are necessary at the redemption price. The systematic withdrawal of Shares may reduce or possibly exhaust the Shares in your account, particularly in the event of a market decline. As with other redemptions, a systematic withdrawal payment is a sale for federal income tax purposes. Payments made pursuant to a Systematic Withdrawal Plan cannot be considered as actual yield or income since part of such payments may be a return of capital.
You will ordinarily not be allowed to make additional investments of less than the aggregate annual withdrawals under the Systematic Withdrawal Plan during the time you have the plan in effect and, while a Systematic Withdrawal Plan is in effect, you may not make periodic investments under the Automatic Investment Plan. You will receive a confirmation of each transaction and the Share and cash balance remaining in your plan. The plan may be terminated on written notice by the shareholder or by a Fund and will terminate automatically if all Shares are liquidated or withdrawn from the account or upon the death or incapacity of the shareholder. You may change the amount and schedule of withdrawal payments or suspend such payments by giving written notice to the Transfer Agent at least ten Business Days prior to the end of the month preceding a scheduled payment.
Transaction Fees on Certain Redemptions
The following Funds require the payment of a transaction fee equal to a percentage of the NAV of the Shares redeemed that are held for less than the indicated period of time in the chart below.
Fund |
Fee |
Shares held less than: |
|||||||||
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days | ||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
2.00 |
% |
1 Year | ||||||||
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days | ||||||||
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days | ||||||||
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund |
1.00 |
% |
60 Days |
60
This additional transaction fee is paid to each Fund, NOT to the Adviser, Distributor or Transfer Agent. It is NOT a sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge. The fee does not apply to: (i) defined contribution plans, (ii) redeemed Shares that were purchased through reinvested dividends or capital gain distributions, or (iii) redemptions of Shares by certain clients of financial intermediaries who systematically trade in and out of the Fund based on model portfolio allocations. The additional transaction fee is intended to limit short-term trading in each Fund or, to the extent that short-term trading persists, to impose the costs of that type of activity on the shareholders who engage in it. These costs include: (i) brokerage costs; (ii) market impact costs i.e., the decrease in market prices which may result when a Fund sells certain securities in order to raise cash to meet the redemption request; (iii) the realization of capital gains by the other shareholders in each Fund; and (iv) the effect of the "bid- ask" spread in the over-the-counter market. The transaction fee represents each Fund's estimate of the brokerage and other transaction costs which may be incurred by each Fund in disposing of stocks in which each Fund may invest. Without the additional transaction fee, each Fund would generally be selling its shares at a price less than the cost to each Fund of acquiring the portfolio securities necessary to maintain its investment characteristics, resulting in reduced investment performance for all shareholders in the Funds. With the additional transaction fee, the transaction costs of selling additional stocks are not borne by all existing shareholders, but the source of funds for these costs is the transaction fee paid by those investors making redemptions of the Funds. The Funds reserve the right, at their discretion, to waive, modify or terminate the additional transaction fee. Each Fund will use the first-in, first-out method to determine your holding period. Under this method, the date of redemption or exchange will be compared with the earliest purchase date of Shares held in your account. The short-term redemption fee will be assessed on the net asset value of those Shares calculated at the time the redemption is effected.
Shares may be held through omnibus arrangements maintained by intermediaries such as broker-dealers, investment advisers, transfer agents, administrators and insurance companies. Omnibus accounts include multiple investors and such accounts typically provide the Funds with a net purchase or redemption request on any given day where the purchases and redemptions of Shares by the investors are netted against one another. Although the Funds and their service providers may, in certain circumstances, request access to information about individual shareholder transactions made through such omnibus arrangements, the identities of individual investors whose purchase and redemption orders are aggregated are not generally known by the Funds. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Funds' market timing policies or redemption fee, the Funds may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Involuntary Redemption. The Funds reserve the right to redeem a shareholder's account in any Fund at any time the value of the account in such Fund falls below $500 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in a Fund is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed. The transaction fee applicable to the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund will not be charged when Shares are involuntarily redeemed.
The Funds may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if and to the extent that such redemption is necessary to reimburse a Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of a Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for Shares of the Funds recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option.
Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Funds to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by a Fund instead of cash in conformity
61
with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that a Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of a Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Exchange Privilege
The exchange privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the Shares being acquired may be legally sold. The Boston Partners Investment Funds reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to change or discontinue the exchange privilege, or temporarily suspend the privilege during unusual market conditions when, in the judgment of management, such change or discontinuance is in the best interests of the Funds.
Beneficial holders with financial intermediary sponsored fee-based programs of Investor Class Shares of any Boston Partners Investment Fund are eligible to exchange their shares for Institutional Class Shares of the same Boston Partners Investment Fund if the accumulated value of their Investor Class Shares exceeds the minimum initial investment amount for Institutional Class Shares ($100,000) or the shareholder is otherwise eligible to purchase the Institutional Class Shares. The Fund will determine the eligibility of an investor to exercise the exchange privilege based on the current NAV of Investor Class Shares. Such an exchange will be effected at the NAV of the Investor Class Shares next calculated after the exchange request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. Shares of each class of a Boston Partners Investment Fund represent equal pro rata interests in the Funds and accrue dividends and calculate NAV and performance quotations in the same manner. The performance of each class is quoted separately due to different actual expenses. The total return on Institutional Class Shares can be expected to differ from the total return on Investor Class Shares. Shareholders who exercise the exchange privilege will generally not recognize a taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on an exchange of Investor Class Shares for Institutional Class Shares.
In addition, a shareholder may exchange Investor Class Shares of any Boston Partners Investment Fund for Investor Class Shares of another Boston Partners Investment Fund, up to six (6) times per year (one exchange per calendar month). Such an exchange will be effected at the NAV of the exchanged Investor Class Shares and the NAV of the Investor Class Shares to be acquired next determined after BNY Mellon's receipt of a request for an exchange. An exchange of the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund Shares, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, or Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund held for less than sixty days, one year, sixty days, respectively, (with the exception of Shares purchased through dividend reinvestment or the reinvestment of capital gains) will be subject to a transaction fee of 1.00% with respect to Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, 2.00% with respect to Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, and 1.00% with respect to Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund. An exchange of Investor Class Shares of one Boston Partners Investment Fund for Investor Class Shares of another Boston Partners Investment Fund will be treated as a sale for federal income tax purposes. A shareholder may make an exchange by sending a written request to the Transfer Agent or, if authorized, by telephone (see "Redemption by Telephone" above). Defined contribution plans are not subject to the above exchange limitations, including any applicable redemption fee.
If the exchanging shareholder does not currently own Shares of the Fund, a new account will be established with the same registration, dividend and capital gain options as the account from which Shares are exchanged, unless otherwise specified in writing by the shareholder with all signatures guaranteed. See "Redemption by Mail" for information on signature guarantees. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, or from time to time, by the Funds, upon 60 days' written notice to shareholders.
62
If a shareholder wants to exchange Shares into a new account in a Fund, the dollar value of the Shares acquired must equal or exceed the Fund's minimum investment requirement for a new account. If a shareholder wants to exchange Shares into an existing account, the dollar value of the Shares must equal or exceed the Fund's minimum investment requirement for additional investments. If an amount remains in the Fund from which the exchange is being made that is below the minimum account value required, the account will be subject to involuntary redemption.
The Funds' exchange privilege is not intended to afford shareholders a way to speculate on short-term movements in the market. Accordingly, in order to prevent excessive use of the exchange privilege, which may potentially disrupt the management of the Funds and increase transaction costs, the Funds have established a policy of limiting excessive exchange activity. Shareholders are entitled to six (6) exchange redemptions (one exchange per calendar month) from each Fund during any twelve-month period. Notwithstanding these limitations, the Funds reserve the right to reject any purchase request (including exchange purchases from other Boston Partners Investment Funds) that is deemed to be disruptive to efficient portfolio management.
Under Internal Revenue Code section 1036, an exchange of shares of one class for shares of another class of the same Fund constitutes a nontaxable exchange for federal income tax purposes, and your basis and holding period for your existing shares will carry over to your new shares. The Funds intend to report the exchange as an entirely nontaxable transaction.
Dividends and Distributions
Each Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The Funds will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Funds at least annually. The estimated amount of any annual distribution will be posted to the Adviser's website at www.boston-partners.com or a free copy may be obtained by calling (888) 261-4073.
The Funds may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the Fund to avoid U.S. federal tax. The Funds' distributions and dividends, whether received in cash or reinvested in additional Fund Shares, are subject to U.S. federal income tax.
Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Federal Taxes of Distributions. Each Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of a Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is currently 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of a Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations
63
("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of a Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend).The amount of a Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations.
Distributions from a Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by a Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
It is expected that the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund and the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund will each be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign income taxes with respect to dividends or interest received from (and, in some cases, gains recognized on shares of stock of) non-U.S. companies. These Funds may, to the extent eligible, make an election to treat a proportionate amount of those taxes as constituting a distribution to each shareholder, which would allow you either (1) to credit that proportionate amount of taxes against U.S. federal income tax liability as a foreign tax credit, subject to applicable limitations, or (2) to take that amount as an itemized deduction.
A portion of distributions paid by a Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales and Exchanges. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale, exchange or redemption of your shares, including an exchange for shares of another Fund, based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition of shares of a Fund may be disallowed under "wash sale" rules to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced with other shares of the same 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 a Fund. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected in an upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, each Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold or exchanged. Each Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale or exchange. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for
64
their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales, exchanges and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Funds may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of regulated investment companies such as the Funds, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Funds' net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Funds beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Funds' interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Funds.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale, exchange or redemption of shares in the Funds, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Funds.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in a Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Funds will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Funds.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of a Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
Multi-Class Structure
Each Fund also offers Institutional Class Shares, which are offered directly to institutional investors without distribution fees in a separate prospectus. Shares of each class of a Fund represent equal pro rata interests in the Fund and accrue dividends and calculate NAV and performance quotations in the same manner. The performance of each class is quoted separately due to different actual expenses. The total return on Investor Class Shares of a Fund can be expected to differ from the total return on Institutional Class Shares of the same Fund. Information concerning other classes of the Funds can be requested by calling the Funds at (888) 261-4073.
65
Appendix A
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund
The Adviser has experience in managing a private fund with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund. The table on the following page is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Adviser in managing the private fund and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Adviser. The performance information has been adjusted to show the performance of the private fund net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011 (after contractual waivers that were in place through December 31, 2012).The fees and expenses of the Fund are higher than those of the private fund, in part, because the general partner of the private fund waived its right to receive an incentive allocation from each limited partner's capital account, generally equal to 20% of any profits achieved in a fiscal year after recoupment of prior losses. The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the private fund is not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the private fund. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the private fund.
The performance of the private fund is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. This index is unmanaged and is not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in the Index. The performance information is accompanied by additional disclosures, which are an integral part of the information.
Monthly Returns (since inception April 1, 2002) 1,2,3,4
PRO FORMA NET OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(1.05 |
)% |
2.15 |
% |
2.65 |
% |
0.14 |
% |
(3.73 |
)% |
(3.48 |
)% |
3.99 |
% |
(3.73 |
)% |
5.93 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(0.48 |
)% |
(5.52 |
)% |
3.53 |
% |
6.02 |
% |
3.65 |
% |
2.10 |
% |
2.14 |
% |
2.76 |
% |
(0.30 |
)% |
(0.78 |
)% |
2.78 |
% |
1.33 |
% |
18.11 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
1.23 |
% |
0.67 |
% |
(4.37 |
)% |
2.00 |
% |
2.76 |
% |
(3.27 |
)% |
0.96 |
% |
1.87 |
% |
(3.12 |
)% |
(4.70 |
)% |
(5.21 |
)% |
2.77 |
% |
(8.61 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 |
0.96 |
% |
0.71 |
% |
0.59 |
% |
2.67 |
% |
1.27 |
% |
(0.71 |
)% |
(2.33 |
)% |
0.85 |
% |
2.35 |
% |
(0.76 |
)% |
0.76 |
% |
(0.64 |
)% |
5.75 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2006 |
1.80 |
% |
(1.21 |
)% |
0.15 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
(0.60 |
)% |
0.21 |
% |
0.58 |
% |
0.13 |
% |
0.16 |
% |
(0.09 |
)% |
0.28 |
% |
1.20 |
% |
3.28 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005 |
(0.71 |
)% |
1.20 |
% |
0.30 |
% |
(0.65 |
)% |
(0.52 |
)% |
0.91 |
% |
2.39 |
% |
2.34 |
% |
2.27 |
% |
0.74 |
% |
0.37 |
% |
0.64 |
% |
9.60 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 |
0.43 |
% |
1.27 |
% |
2.37 |
% |
(1.16 |
)% |
(0.03 |
)% |
3.23 |
% |
0.96 |
% |
0.17 |
% |
1.39 |
% |
0.60 |
% |
5.46 |
% |
2.07 |
% |
17.92 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 |
0.27 |
% |
(3.57 |
)% |
0.03 |
% |
(1.73)% |
(1.57 |
)% |
(0.08 |
)% |
0.09 |
% |
(1.37 |
)% |
(1.00 |
)% |
(0.13 |
)% |
0.63 |
% |
0.17 |
% |
(8.03 |
)% |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002 |
0.08 |
% |
3.60 |
% |
(2.38 |
)% |
(1.45 |
)% |
1.95 |
% |
(2.37 |
)% |
0.13 |
% |
1.36 |
% |
1.81 |
% |
2.57 |
% |
GROSS OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(0.82 |
)% |
2.38 |
% |
2.87 |
% |
0.36 |
% |
(3.51 |
)% |
(3.26 |
)% |
4.22 |
% |
(3.50 |
)% |
6.16 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(0.26 |
)% |
(5.29 |
)% |
3.75 |
% |
6.25 |
% |
3.88 |
% |
2.32 |
% |
2.36 |
% |
2.99 |
% |
(0.08 |
)% |
(0.54 |
)% |
3.01 |
% |
1.56 |
% |
21.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
1.45 |
% |
0.90 |
% |
(4.15 |
)% |
2.22 |
% |
2.98 |
% |
(3.04 |
)% |
1.19 |
% |
2.09 |
% |
(2.89 |
)% |
(4.47 |
)% |
(4.99 |
)% |
2.99 |
% |
(6.08 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 |
1.18 |
% |
0.93 |
% |
0.81 |
% |
2.89 |
% |
1.49 |
% |
(0.48 |
)% |
(2.10 |
)% |
1.08 |
% |
2.57 |
% |
(0.54 |
)% |
0.99 |
% |
(0.41 |
)% |
8.64 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2006 |
2.03 |
% |
(0.99 |
)% |
0.38 |
% |
0.87 |
% |
(0.38 |
)% |
0.44 |
% |
0.80 |
% |
0.36 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
0.14 |
% |
0.51 |
% |
1.43 |
% |
6.11 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005 |
(0.48 |
)% |
1.43 |
% |
0.52 |
% |
(0.43 |
)% |
(0.29 |
)% |
1.13 |
% |
2.61 |
% |
2.57 |
% |
2.50 |
% |
0.96 |
% |
0.60 |
% |
0.87 |
% |
12.59 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 |
0.66 |
% |
1.50 |
% |
2.60 |
% |
(0.93 |
)% |
0.19 |
% |
3.45 |
% |
1.19 |
% |
0.40 |
% |
1.62 |
% |
0.82 |
% |
5.69 |
% |
2.29 |
% |
21.11 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 |
0.49 |
% |
(3.34 |
)% |
0.25 |
% |
(1.51 |
)% |
(1.34 |
)% |
0.15 |
% |
0.31 |
% |
(1.14 |
)% |
(0.77 |
)% |
0.10 |
% |
0.85 |
% |
0.40 |
% |
(5.48 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002 |
0.31 |
% |
3.83 |
% |
(2.15 |
)% |
(1.23 |
)% |
2.17 |
% |
(2.15 |
)% |
0.36 |
% |
1.58 |
% |
2.03 |
% |
4.67 |
% |
66
S&P 500 INDEX
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(3.60 |
)% |
3.10 |
% |
6.03 |
% |
1.58 |
% |
(7.98 |
)% |
(5.24 |
)% |
7.01 |
% |
(4.51 |
)% |
8.92 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.43 |
)% |
(10.65 |
)% |
8.76 |
% |
9.57 |
% |
5.59 |
% |
0.20 |
% |
7.56 |
% |
3.61 |
% |
3.73 |
% |
(1.86 |
)% |
6.00 |
% |
1.93 |
% |
26.45 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(6.00 |
)% |
(3.25 |
)% |
(0.43 |
)% |
4.87 |
% |
1.29 |
% |
(8.43 |
)% |
(0.84 |
)% |
1.45 |
% |
(8.91 |
)% |
(16.79 |
)% |
(7.17 |
)% |
1.06 |
% |
(36.99 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 |
1.51 |
% |
(1.96 |
)% |
1.12 |
% |
4.43 |
% |
3.49 |
% |
(1.66 |
)% |
(3.10 |
)% |
1.50 |
% |
3.74 |
% |
1.59 |
% |
(4.18 |
)% |
(0.69 |
)% |
5.50 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2006 |
2.65 |
% |
0.27 |
% |
1.24 |
% |
1.34 |
% |
(2.88 |
)% |
0.14 |
% |
0.62 |
% |
2.38 |
% |
2.58 |
% |
3.26 |
% |
1.90 |
% |
1.40 |
% |
15.79 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005 |
(2.44 |
)% |
2.10 |
% |
(1.77 |
)% |
(1.90 |
)% |
3.18 |
% |
0.14 |
% |
3.72 |
% |
(0.91 |
)% |
0.81 |
% |
(1.67 |
)% |
3.78 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
4.89 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 |
1.84 |
% |
1.39 |
% |
(1.51 |
)% |
(1.57 |
)% |
1.37 |
% |
1.94 |
% |
(3.31 |
)% |
0.40 |
% |
1.08 |
% |
1.53 |
% |
4.05 |
% |
3.40 |
% |
10.87 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 |
(2.62 |
)% |
(1.50 |
)% |
0.97 |
% |
8.24 |
% |
5.27 |
% |
1.27 |
% |
1.76 |
% |
1.95 |
% |
(1.06 |
)% |
5.66 |
% |
0.88 |
% |
5.24 |
% |
28.68 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002 |
(6.06 |
)% |
(0.74 |
)% |
(7.12 |
)% |
(7.79 |
)% |
0.66 |
% |
(10.87 |
)% |
8.80 |
% |
5.89 |
% |
(5.88 |
)% |
(22.31 |
)% |
CALENDAR YEAR RETURNS 1,2,3,4
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
2.57 |
% |
(8.03 |
)% |
17.92 |
% |
9.60 |
% |
3.28 |
% |
5.75 |
% |
(8.61 |
)% |
18.11 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
4.67 |
% |
(5.48 |
)% |
21.11 |
% |
12.59 |
% |
6.11 |
% |
8.64 |
% |
(6.08 |
)% |
21.31 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||
S&P 500 |
(22.31 |
)% |
28.68 |
% |
10.87 |
% |
4.89 |
% |
15.79 |
% |
5.50 |
% |
(36.99 |
)% |
26.45 |
% |
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended September 30, 2010)
1,2,3,4
RETURN
YTD |
1 Year |
2 Year |
3 Year |
5 year |
7 Year |
Since
Inception |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
2.38 |
% |
5.81 |
% |
5.95 |
% |
3.17 |
% |
4.20 |
% |
6.66 |
% |
4.65 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
4.48 |
% |
8.70 |
% |
8.85 |
% |
5.99 |
% |
7.05 |
% |
9.57 |
% |
7.51 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||
S&P 500 |
3.89 |
% |
10.16 |
% |
1.26 |
% |
(7.16 |
)% |
0.63 |
% |
4.03 |
% |
1.92 |
% |
1 Performance was calculated using Global Investment Performance Standards ("GIPS"). This method of calculating performance differs from the SEC's standardized methodology, which may produce different results.
2 Performance is calculated using a net asset value to net asset value methodology which incorporates all trades, prices, accruals and updated security records on trade date basis.
3 Performance is presented gross and net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011 (after contractual waivers).
4 The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, classified in eleven industry sectors, which represent approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in the index.
67
Appendix B
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund
The Adviser has experience in managing other accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund. The table on the following pages is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Adviser in managing all such other accounts and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Adviser. The performance information has been adjusted to show the performance of the other accounts net of the Fund's annual operating expenses (after contractual waivers that were in place until September 30, 2013).The other accounts' fees and expenses are lower than those of the Fund. The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the other accounts are not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the other accounts. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the other accounts.
The performance of the other accounts is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. This index is unmanaged and is not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in the Index. The performance information is accompanied by additional disclosures, which are an integral part of the information.
Monthly Returns (since July 31, 2008) 1,2,3,4,5
COMPOSITE PRO FORMA NET OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 |
1.88 |
% |
3.41 |
% |
0.81 |
% |
4.54 |
% |
(1.87 |
)% |
(1.18 |
)% |
(1.13 |
)% |
(7.75 |
)% |
(8.69 |
)% |
11.34 |
% |
(2.38 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(3.86 |
)% |
0.39 |
% |
5.92 |
% |
0.26 |
% |
(9.75 |
)% |
(4.59 |
)% |
7.64 |
% |
(3.71 |
)% |
10.08 |
% |
4.60 |
% |
(2.55 |
)% |
8.77 |
% |
11.65 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.72 |
)% |
(9.49 |
)% |
5.18 |
% |
11.72 |
% |
8.44 |
% |
0.03 |
% |
7.41 |
% |
5.32 |
% |
4.33 |
% |
(1.12 |
)% |
2.85 |
% |
2.08 |
% |
29.03 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(2.37 |
)% |
(0.56 |
)% |
(9.56 |
)% |
(19.22 |
)% |
(6.17 |
)% |
3.16 |
% |
COMPOSITE GROSS OF FEES
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 |
2.01 |
% |
3.54 |
% |
0.94 |
% |
4.67 |
% |
(1.74 |
)% |
(1.05 |
)% |
(1.00 |
)% |
(7.62 |
)% |
(8.56 |
)% |
11.47 |
% |
(2.25 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(3.73 |
)% |
0.52 |
% |
6.05 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
(9.62 |
)% |
(4.46 |
)% |
7.77 |
% |
(3.58 |
)% |
10.21 |
% |
4.73 |
% |
(2.42 |
)% |
8.90 |
% |
13.38 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.59 |
)% |
(9.36 |
)% |
5.31 |
% |
11.85 |
% |
8.57 |
% |
0.16 |
% |
7.54 |
% |
5.45 |
% |
4.46 |
% |
(1.00 |
)% |
2.98 |
% |
2.21 |
% |
30.01 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(2.24 |
)% |
(0.43 |
)% |
(9.43 |
)% |
(19.09 |
)% |
(6.04 |
)% |
3.29 |
% |
MSCI ® WORLD INDEX
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
FY (ended
December 31) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 |
2.28 |
% |
3.55 |
% |
(0.94 |
)% |
4.31 |
% |
(1.97 |
)% |
(1.54 |
)% |
(1.79 |
)% |
(7.00 |
)% |
(8.60 |
)% |
10.37 |
% |
(2.38 |
)% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 |
(4.11 |
)% |
1.45 |
% |
6.25 |
% |
0.07 |
% |
(9.48 |
)% |
(3.39 |
)% |
8.13 |
% |
(3.69 |
)% |
9.36 |
% |
3.75 |
% |
(2.11 |
)% |
7.39 |
% |
12.34 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009 |
(8.73 |
)% |
(10.17 |
)% |
7.60 |
% |
11.32 |
% |
9.19 |
% |
(0.41 |
)% |
8.50 |
% |
4.17 |
% |
4.02 |
% |
(1.76 |
)% |
4.14 |
% |
1.83 |
% |
30.79 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 |
(2.42 |
)% |
(1.36 |
)% |
(11.85 |
)% |
(18.93 |
)% |
(6.40 |
)% |
3.26 |
% |
68
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended November 30, 2011)
1,2,3,4,5
RETURN
YTD |
1 Year |
2 Years |
3 Years |
Since July 1,
2008 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
(2.55 |
)% |
5.99 |
% |
5.39 |
% |
13.14 |
% |
(1.07 |
)% |
|||||||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
(1.15 |
)% |
7.64 |
% |
7.03 |
% |
14.89 |
% |
0.48 |
% |
|||||||||||||
MSCI ® World Index |
(5.00 |
)% |
2.02 |
% |
4.25 |
% |
12.96 |
% |
(2.17 |
)% |
1 Performance was calculated using Global Investment Performance Standards ("GIPS"). This method of calculating performance differs from the SEC's standardized methodology, which may produce different results.
2 Performance is calculated using a net asset value to net asset value methodology which incorporates all trades, prices, accruals and updated security records on trade date basis.
3 Performance is presented gross and net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses (after contractual waivers that were in place until September, 2013).
4 The MSCI ® World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.
5 Although the other accounts commenced operations on January 1, 2007 or April 17, 1998, the other accounts only began investing in accordance with their current investment strategies on July 1, 2008.The performance shown represents performance since the other accounts began investing in accordance with their current investment strategies.
69
Appendix C
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Account of the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund
The Adviser has experience in managing a private fund with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund. The table on the following page is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Adviser in managing the private fund and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Adviser. The performance information has been adjusted to show the performance of the private fund net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses (after contractual waivers that will be in place through December 31, 2015). The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the private fund is not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the private fund. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the private fund.
The performance of the private fund is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. This index is unmanaged and is not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in the Index. The performance information is accompanied by additional disclosures, which are an integral part of the information.
Monthly Performance Table (since inception July 1, 2013) 1,2,3,4,5
PRO FORMA NET OF FEES
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 |
(1.99 |
)% |
2.28 |
% |
0.55 |
% |
(0.81 |
)% |
1.90 |
% |
(0.18 |
)% |
1.26 |
% |
0.88 |
% |
(1.18 |
)% |
(0.18 |
)% |
1.06 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 |
2.10 |
% |
(2.25 |
)% |
1.68 |
% |
2.82 |
% |
1.89 |
% |
1.61 |
% |
GROSS OF FEES
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 |
(1.84 |
)% |
2.28 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
(0.66 |
)% |
2.05 |
% |
(0.03 |
)% |
1.40 |
% |
1.03 |
% |
(1.04 |
)% |
(0.03 |
)% |
1.20 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 |
2.25 |
% |
(2.11 |
)% |
1.82 |
% |
2.96 |
% |
2.04 |
% |
1.76 |
% |
MSCI ® WORLD INDEX
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 |
(3.68 |
)% |
5.06 |
% |
0.20 |
% |
1.08 |
% |
2.06 |
% |
1.83 |
% |
(1.57 |
)% |
2.24 |
% |
(2.67 |
)% |
0.67 |
% |
2.05 |
% |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 |
5.29 |
% |
(2.09 |
)% |
5.04 |
% |
3.94 |
% |
1.82 |
% |
2.15 |
% |
70
SUMMARY STATISTICS (periods ended November 30, 2014)
1,2,3,4,5
RETURN
|
3 Months |
YTD |
Since
Inception |
||||||||||||
Pro Forma Net Of Fees |
(0.32 |
)% |
3.56 |
% |
8.24 |
% |
|||||||||
Gross Of Fees |
0.12 |
% |
5.09 |
% |
10.03 |
% |
|||||||||
MSCI ® World Index |
(0.01 |
)% |
7.19 |
% |
17.39 |
% |
1 Performance was calculated using Global Investment Performance Standards ("GIPS"). This method of calculating performance differs from the SEC's standardized methodology, which may produce different results.
2 Performance is calculated using a net asset value to net asset value methodology which incorporates all trades, prices, accruals and updated security records on a trade date basis.
3 Performance is presented gross and net of the Fund's annual fund operating expenses (after contractual waivers that will be in place until December 31, 2014) of the Fund's average daily net assets.
4 The MSCI ® World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.
5 Although the private fund commenced operations on March 1, 2013, the private fund only began investing in accordance with its current investment strategies on July 1, 2013. The performance shown represents performance since the private fund began investing in accordance with its current investment strategies.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUNDS' SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
71
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The tables in the Financial Highlights section below set forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Fund share. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. The information has been derived from the Funds' financial statements and has been audited by Ernst & Young, LLP the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Funds' financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Funds' annual report for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 and is available free of charge upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions). Because the Investor Class Shares of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund have not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, the financial highlights table provided below is for that Fund's Institutional Class Shares.
|
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II |
||||||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
18.35 |
$ |
14.74 |
$ |
12.44 |
$ |
10.62 |
$ |
10.11 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
0.09 |
0.05 |
0.02 |
( |
) (3) |
0.03 |
|||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
3.40 |
3.61 |
2.30 |
1.84 |
0.50 |
||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
3.49 |
3.66 |
2.32 |
1.84 |
0.53 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
0.05 |
(0.05 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
0.05 |
(0.05 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
||||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
(3) |
|
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
21.79 |
$ |
18.35 |
$ |
14.74 |
$ |
12.44 |
$ |
10.62 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
19.01 |
% |
24.90 |
% |
18.67 |
% |
17.28 |
% |
5.26 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
112,417 |
$ |
87,237 |
$ |
66,689 |
$ |
70,490 |
$ |
61,260 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments, if any |
1.46 |
% |
1.54 |
% |
1.55 |
% |
1.55 |
% |
1.55 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers, reimbursements and recoupments, if any |
1.48 |
% |
1.54 |
% |
1.61 |
% |
1.62 |
% |
1.63 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/(loss)
to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
0.43 |
% |
0.28 |
% |
0.12 |
% |
(0.03 |
)% |
0.25 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
16 |
% |
19 |
% |
32 |
% |
38 |
%% |
43 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding, unless otherwise noted.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005.
72
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund |
||||||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
19.12 |
$ |
15.50 |
$ |
14.28 |
$ |
12.79 |
$ |
12.52 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
0.17 |
0.20 |
0.16 |
0.11 |
0.07 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
4.38 |
3.75 |
2.03 |
1.63 |
0.31 |
||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
4.55 |
3.95 |
2.19 |
1.74 |
0.38 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.15 |
) |
(0.23 |
) |
(0.08 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.11 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.62 |
) |
(0.10 |
) |
(0.89 |
) |
(0.19 |
) |
|
||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(0.77 |
) |
(0.33 |
) |
(0.97 |
) |
(0.25 |
) |
(0.11 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
22.90 |
$ |
19.12 |
$ |
15.50 |
$ |
14.28 |
$ |
12.79 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
24.29 |
% |
25.93 |
% |
16.44 |
% |
13.55 |
% |
3.01 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
217,590 |
$ |
77,936 |
$ |
25,189 |
$ |
26,436 |
$ |
13,016 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers and reimbursements |
0.95 |
% |
0.95 |
% |
0.95 |
% |
0.95 |
% |
1.03 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers and expense reimbursements |
1.20 |
% |
1.22 |
% |
1.28 |
% |
1.28 |
% |
1.39 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income/(loss)
to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
0.80 |
% |
1.12 |
% |
1.13 |
% |
0.75 |
% |
0.55 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
26 |
% |
32 |
% |
33 |
% |
47 |
% |
48 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding, unless otherwise noted.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005.
73
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
||||||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
19.84 |
$ |
19.51 |
$ |
19.08 |
$ |
16.80 |
$ |
15.31 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
(0.65 |
) |
(0.57 |
) |
(0.56 |
) |
(0.50 |
) |
(0.40 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments |
3.37 |
2.13 |
3.01 |
4.39 |
1.84 |
||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
2.72 |
1.56 |
2.45 |
3.89 |
1.44 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(1.24 |
) |
(1.24 |
) |
(2.03 |
) |
(1.62 |
) |
|
||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(1.24 |
) |
(1.24 |
) |
(2.03 |
) |
(1.62 |
) |
|
||||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
0.01 |
0.01 |
0.01 |
0.01 |
0.05 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
21.33 |
$ |
19.84 |
$ |
19.51 |
$ |
19.08 |
$ |
16.80 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
14.41 |
% |
8.30 |
% |
13.90 |
% |
23.37 |
% |
9.73 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
211,372 |
$ |
220,307 |
$ |
170,834 |
$ |
128,184 |
$ |
82,088 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments, if any |
4.57 |
% |
4.55 |
% |
4.54 |
% |
3.95 |
% |
3.65 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments, if any (excluding dividend and interest expense) |
2.66 |
% |
2.68 |
% |
2.73 |
% |
2.72 |
% |
2.75 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers, reimbursements and recoupments, if any |
4.57 |
% |
4.55 |
% |
4.54 |
% |
3.96 |
% |
3.70 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment loss to
average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
(3.18 |
)% |
(2.83 |
)% |
(2.93 |
)% |
(2.60 |
)% |
(2.35 |
)% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
65 |
% |
67 |
% |
71 |
% |
103 |
% |
81 |
% |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding, unless otherwise noted.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005.
74
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
||||||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the Period
November 29, 2010** through August 31, 2011 |
||||||||||||||||
Investor Class |
|||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
13.21 |
$ |
11.86 |
$ |
10.58 |
$ |
10.40 |
|||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
(0.15 |
) |
(0.18 |
) |
(0.15 |
) |
(0.12 |
) |
|||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain /(loss)
on investments |
2.00 |
1.66 |
1.52 |
0.29 |
|||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
1.85 |
1.48 |
1.37 |
0.17 |
|||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to shareholders
from: |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|
||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|
||||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
|
(3) |
0.01 |
||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
15.00 |
$ |
13.21 |
$ |
11.86 |
$ |
10.58 |
|||||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
13.99 |
% |
12.52 |
% |
13.06 |
% |
1.73 |
% |
|||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
294,249 |
$ |
132,511 |
$ |
48,296 |
$ |
20,308 |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
with waivers, reimbursements, and recoupments, if any |
2.77 |
% |
3.05 |
% |
3.00 |
% |
2.99 |
% (5) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
with waivers, reimbursements and recoupments, if any (excluding dividend and interest expenses) |
1.64 |
% |
1.73 |
% |
1.79 |
% |
1.98 |
% (5) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
without waivers, reimbursements and recoupments if any |
2.77 |
% |
3.01 |
% |
3.04 |
% |
4.08 |
% (5) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average
net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
(1.06 |
)% |
(1.39 |
)% |
(1.31 |
)% |
(1.47 |
)% (5) |
|||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
57 |
% |
65 |
% |
53 |
% (4) |
61 |
% (6) |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding, unless otherwise noted.
** Inception date.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005.
(4) Annualized.
(5) Portfolio turnover rate excludes securities received from processing a subscription-in-kind.
(6) Not Annualized.
75
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Boston Partners Global
Long/Short Fund |
||||||
|
For the Period
April 11, 2014** through August 31, 2014 |
||||||
|
Investor Class |
||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
9.86 |
|||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
(0.09 |
) |
|||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments |
0.52 |
||||||
Total from investment operations |
0.43 |
Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: |
Net Investment Income |
|
||||||
Net realized gains |
|
||||||
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders |
|
||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
(3) |
|||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
10.29 |
|||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
4.36 |
% |
|||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
2,841 |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
4,12 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
|||||||
(excluding dividend and interest expenses) |
2.25 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers and reimbursements |
4.44 |
% (4) |
|||||
Ratio of net investment income/(loss) to average net assets with waivers
and reimbursements |
(2.28 |
)% (4) |
|||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
72 |
% (5) |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding, unless otherwise noted.
** Inception date.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Amount is less than $0.005.
(4) Annualized.
(5) Not Annualized.
76
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund |
|||||||||||||||
|
For the Period
Ending August 31, 2014 |
For the Period
Ending August 31, 2013 |
For the Period
December 30, 2011** through August 31, 2012 |
||||||||||||
|
Institutional Class |
||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
12.97 |
$ |
11.00 |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||||||
Net investment income/(loss)* |
0.18 |
0.12 |
0.10 |
||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments |
2.82 |
2.07 |
0.90 |
||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
3.00 |
2.19 |
1.00 |
||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||
Net Investment Income |
(0.02 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.36 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to shareholders |
(0.38 |
) |
(0.22 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Redemption fees* |
|
|
|
||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
15.59 |
$ |
12.97 |
$ |
11.00 |
|||||||||
Total investment return (1)(2) |
23.39 |
% |
20.14 |
% |
10.00 |
% (4) |
|||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ |
60,087 |
$ |
11,496 |
$ |
11,234 |
|||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with waivers
and reimbursements |
0.96 |
% |
1.30 |
% |
1.30 |
% (3) |
|||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without
waivers and reimbursements |
1.39 |
% |
3.05 |
% |
3.56 |
% (3) |
|||||||||
Ratio of net investment income to average net assets
with waivers and reimbursements |
1.20 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
1.39 |
% (3) |
|||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
136 |
% |
102 |
% |
83 |
% (4) |
* Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
** Inception date.
(1) Total return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of the period and is not annualized if period is less than one year.
(2) Redemption fees, if any, are reflected in total return calculations.
(3) Annualized.
(4) Not Annualized.
77
BOSTON PARTNERS INVESTMENT FUNDS
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
(888) 261-4073
http://www.boston-partners.com
For More Information:
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Boston Partners Investment Funds is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about each Fund's investments, describe each Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes fund strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during their last fiscal year. The annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders may be obtained by visiting http://www.boston-partners.com.
Statement of Additional Information
The Funds' SAI dated December 31, 2014 has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Boston Partners Investment Funds , may be obtained free of charge, along with the annual and semi-annual reports, by calling (888) 261-4073.The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus (and is legally part of the prospectus).The SAI is available on the Adviser's website at http://www.boston-partners.com.
Shareholder Inquiries
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) MondayFriday. Call: (888) 261-4073 or visit the website of the Adviser at http://www.boston-partners.com.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call (888) 261-4073.
Written Correspondence
Street Address:
Boston Partners Investment Funds (formerly Robeco Investment Funds), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581
P.O. Box Address:
Boston Partners Investment Funds (formerly Robeco Investment Funds), c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9816, Providence, RI 02940
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may also view and copy information about the Company and the Funds, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov.You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520.You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
THE SCHNEIDER
SMALL CAP
VALUE FUND
TICKER: SCMVX
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
PROSPECTUS
December 31, 2014
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the goals, strategies, risks and financial history of the Fund.
Details about the Fund's service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in the Fund.
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
||||||
Investment Goal |
1 |
||||||
Expenses and Fees |
1 |
||||||
Risk/Return Information |
2 |
||||||
Management of the Fund |
4 |
||||||
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares |
4 |
||||||
Tax Information |
4 |
||||||
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial
Intermediaries |
4 |
||||||
ADDTIONAL INFORMATION ON THE FUND'S
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES |
5 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PRINCIPAL RISKS OF
INVESTING IN THE FUND |
6 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND |
7 |
||||||
Investment Adviser |
7 |
||||||
Portfolio Manager |
7 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
8 |
||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
8 |
||||||
Market Timing |
8 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
9 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
11 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
14 |
||||||
Taxes |
14 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
17 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Goal
The Schneider Small Cap Value Fund (the "Fund") seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks of companies that have capitalizations that are less than the largest company in the Russell 2000 ® Index ("small cap companies") and which Schneider Capital Management Company (the "Adviser") believes are undervalued. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
None Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
||||||
None Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
||||||
None Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
one year, if applicable) |
1.75 |
% |
|||||
Exchange Fee |
None |
||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that that you pay each year as a percentage
of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management Fees |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses |
0.52 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.52 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements 1 |
(0.37 |
)% |
|||||
Net Expenses |
1.15 |
% |
1 The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.15%. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.15%: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc.
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 $200,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
117 |
$ |
444 |
$ |
794 |
$ |
1,781 |
1
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transactions costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 72.33% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund's net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in small cap companies. As of November 30, 2014, the market capitalization range of the companies held by the Fund was $22 million to $7 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change. The Fund invests primarily in common stock of companies the Adviser believes are undervalued. The fund may invest in convertible securities without regard to their credit ratings. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers, including American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs").
Principal Risks
n The Fund invests in common stocks which are subject to market, economic and business risks that will cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund may go up and down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, and you could lose money. The value of securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer, and any call provision.
n Stocks of small companies may be more volatile than, and not as readily marketable as, those of larger companies. Small companies may also have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may be dependent on relatively small or inexperienced management groups. Additionally, the trading volume of small company securities may make them more difficult to sell than those of larger companies.
n Value investing involves the risk that the Fund's investment in companies whose securities are believed to be undervalued, relative to their underlying profitability, will not appreciate in value as anticipated.
n Investing in foreign securities poses additional market risks since political and economic events unique in a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers and may not affect the U.S. economy or U.S. issuers. In addition, investments in foreign securities are generally denominated in foreign currency. As a result, changes in the value of those currencies compared to the U.S. dollar may affect the value of the Fund's investments.
Risk/Return Information
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.schneidercap.com or by calling 1-888-520-3277.
2
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 39.11% (Qtr. ended June 30, 2009) |
|||
Worst Quarter: (31.03)% (Qtr. ended September 30, 2011) |
|||
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: (11.35)% |
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the Fund's average annual total returns for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and past ten calendar years to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013
Average Annual Total Returns
(For the periods ended December 31, 2013) |
1 Year |
5 Year |
10 Year |
Since
Inception |
|||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
32.09 |
% |
22.58 |
% |
7.58 |
% |
15.70 |
% |
|||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
26.02 |
% |
21.39 |
% |
5.34 |
% |
12.92 |
% |
|||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
20.32 |
% |
18.21 |
% |
5.70 |
% |
12.56 |
% |
|||||||||||
Russell 2000 Value Index
(reflects no deductions of fees, expenses and taxes) 1 |
34.52 |
% |
17.64 |
% |
8.61 |
% |
10.41 |
% |
1 After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRA").
3
In cases in the chart above where the Fund's average annual return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares for a particular period is higher than the Fund's average annual return after taxes on distributions for the same period, this is due to realized losses that would have been sustained upon the sale of fund shares immediately after the relevant period. The calculations assume that an investor held the shares in a taxable account, was in the actual historical highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket for each year and would have been able to immediately utilize the full realized loss to reduce his or her federal tax liability. However, actual individual tax results may vary and investors should consult their tax advisers regarding their personal tax situations.
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Schneider Capital Management Company
Portfolio Manager
Arnold C. Schneider III
President and Chief Investment Officer
Since 1996
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Subsequent Investment |
||||||
$20,000 |
$2,500 |
You can only purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through the RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption by Mail:
Regular Mail:
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9837 Providence, RI 02940 |
Overnight Delivery:
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Purchase by Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-888-520-3277 to confirm the current wire instructions for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund.
Redemption by Telephone:
Call the Transfer Agent at 1-888-520-3277
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Principal Strategies
The Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks of companies which have capitalizations that are less than the largest company in the Russell 2000 ® Index and which the Adviser believes are undervalued. The Fund's investment objective and the policies described above may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without the approval of the Fund's shareholders. However, as a matter of policy, the Fund would not materially change its investment objective or primary investment strategy without informing shareholders at least 60 days in advance of any such change.
The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, industry literature, company reports, financial reports, company presentations, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria. Although the Adviser selects securities for long-term capital growth, these same securities may produce dividend income.
The Fund may invest in securities that the Adviser believes may exhibit the following characteristics:
n have low price-to-earnings and low price-to-book value ratios; and
n are typically considered out of favor by the market as a result of decelerating revenue growth, declining profit margins and increasing competition.
The Fund may sell securities when the Adviser believes:
n a security becomes widely recognized by the professional investment community as a result of accelerating revenue growth, expanding margins and decreased competition;
n a security appreciates in value to the point that it is considered to be overvalued;
n the Fund's holdings should be rebalanced to include a more attractive stock or stocks; or
n an issuer's earnings potential is in jeopardy.
The Fund may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to nonconvertible debt securities in that they ordinarily provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stocks of the same or similar issuers. The Fund will invest in convertible securities without regard to their credit ratings.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers including American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"). ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. For the purposes of the percentage limitation above, a security of a foreign company whose primary business may be in the U.S. will not be considered a foreign security if it is denominated in U.S. dollars and is principally traded on a U.S. exchange.
The Fund may seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. Portfolio securities loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by the Fund will not exceed 33 1 / 3 % of the value of the Fund's total assets. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund. Lending the Fund's portfolio securities involves the risk of delay in receiving additional collateral if the value of the securities goes up while they are on loan. The Fund may lose money from securities lending if, for example, it is delayed in or prevented from selling the collateral after the loan is made or recovering the securities loaned or if it incurs losses on the reinvestment of cash collateral.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. Eligible money market instruments include bank
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obligations, such as certificates of deposit and bankers' acceptances issued by foreign or domestic banks or financial institutions that have total assets of more than $2.5 billion, and commercial paper rated in the top rating category by Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service or Fitch, Inc. and unrated commercial paper determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser. The value of money market instruments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities. When the Fund's assets are invested in these instruments, the Fund may not be achieving its investment objective. The Adviser will determine when market, economic, political or other conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Stocks may be candidates for sale when the stock appreciates in price and reaches a pre-determined target, the stock is challenged by a new idea with superior investment potential, the company or industry exposure is trimmed due to substantial appreciation in price, or the underlying investment case is permanently diluted or delayed.
Additional Information on the Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
Investing in the Fund involves the following principal risks:
Small Company Risk. Investments in common stocks in general are subject to market, economic and business risks that will cause their price to fluctuate over time. Therefore, an investment in the Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of these fluctuations. Furthermore, while securities of small capitalization companies may offer greater opportunity for capital appreciation than larger companies, investment in such companies presents greater risks than investment in larger, more established companies. Indeed, historically, small capitalization stocks have been more volatile in price than larger capitalization stocks. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility of these securities are the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such stocks, and the potentially greater sensitivity of such small companies to changes in or failure of management, and to many other changes in competitive, business, industry and economic conditions, including risks associated with limited product lines, markets, management depth, or financial resources. Besides exhibiting greater volatility, micro and small company stocks may, to a degree, fluctuate independently of larger company stocks. Small company stocks may decline in price as large company stocks rise, or rise in price as large company stocks decline. Investors should therefore expect that the price of the Fund's shares will be more volatile than the shares of a fund that invests in larger capitalization stocks. Additionally, while the markets in securities of small companies have grown rapidly in recent years, such securities may trade less frequently and in smaller volume than more widely held securities. The values of these securities may fluctuate more sharply than those of other securities, and the Fund may experience some difficulty in establishing or closing out positions in these securities at prevailing market prices. There may be less publicly available information about the issuers of these securities or less market interest in such securities than in the case of larger companies, and it may take a longer period of time for the prices of such securities to reflect the full value of their issuers' underlying earnings potential or assets.
Foreign Security Risk. Since foreign securities are usually denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Fund's portfolio could be affected by currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Other risks include:
n seizure, expropriation or nationalization of a company's assets;
n less publicly available information and differing regulations and standards;
n the impact of political, social or economic instability, or diplomatic events; and
n securities that are less liquid and harder to value than those of a U.S. issuer.
As a result of these risks, the Fund may be more volatile than a fund investing solely in U.S. companies. These risks may be greater if the Fund invests in developing countries.
Opportunity Risk. As with all mutual funds, the Fund is subject to the risk of missing out on an opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of it are tied up in less advantageous investments.
Value Stock Risk. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities have characteristics of both equity and fixed-income securities. The value of a convertible security tends to move with the market value of the underlying stock, but may
6
also be affected by interest rates, credit quality of the issuer and any call provisions. In particular, when interest rates rise, fixed-income securities will decline in value. Convertible securities frequently have speculative characteristics and may be acquired without regard to minimum quality ratings. Lower quality convertible securities, also known as "junk bonds," involve greater risk of default or price changes due to the issuer's creditworthiness. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than those of higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates. Securities in the lowest quality category may present the risk of default, or may be in default.
Broad-Based Securities Market Index
The Russell 2000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index that contains stocks from the Russell 2000 ® Index with greater-than-average value orientation. Companies in this index generally have lower price-to-book and price-to-earnings ratios. As of November 30, 2014, the market capitalization range of the companies in the Russell 2000 ® Value Index is $28 million to $4.6 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"). The SAI is incorporated herein.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Investment Adviser
The Adviser's principal address is 460 East Swedesford Road, Suite 2000, Wayne, PA 19087. The Adviser provides investment management and investment advisory services to investment companies and other institutional accounts and had aggregate total assets under management of approximately $1.3 billion as of November 30, 2014. The Adviser is 100% employee-owned, and was founded in 1996.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of 1.00% of the Fund's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses to the extent that the Fund's Total Annual Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.15% of the Fund's average daily net assets. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.15% of the Fund's average daily net assets: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, after waivers, the Adviser has received 0.63% of the Fund's average net assets in investment advisory fees from the Fund. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 1.00% of the Fund's average net assets in investment advisory fees from the Fund.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser is available in the Fund's annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Manager
The President and Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser, Arnold C. Schneider III, is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's investment portfolio. Mr. Schneider founded the Adviser in 1996, and has managed the Fund since its inception. Prior to 1996, he was a senior vice president and partner of Wellington Management Company, where he was responsible for institutional accounts and mutual fund portfolios since 1987.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager's ownership of securities in the Fund.
7
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
Shares of the Fund are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases and redemptions of Fund Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your purchase order or redemption request in good order (as described below).
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If the Fund holds foreign equity securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equities securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, securities will be valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before a Fund prices its shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by a Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in exchange-traded and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been
8
rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
To deter excessive shareholder trading, the Fund charges a redemption fee of 1.75% on shares held for less than one year. For further information on redemptions, please see the section entitled "Shareholder Information Redemptions of Fund Shares."
There is no assurance that the Adviser will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares are offered on a continuous basis and are sold without any sales charges. You may purchase Fund shares directly from the Fund at the NAV per share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Fund's records, which will show all of your transactions and the balance of the shares you own. You can only purchase shares on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. Initial investments in the Fund must be at least $20,000, and subsequent minimum investments must be at least $2,500. For purposes of meeting the minimum initial purchase, clients which are part of endowments, foundations or other related groups may be aggregated. The Fund's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Investors may be charged a fee if they effect transactions through a broker or agent. Service Organizations may have agreements with the Fund and may be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Fund in accordance with such agreements. A Service Organization or, if applicable, its designee that has entered into such an agreement with the Fund or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Fund's pricing on the following business day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order. Orders received by the Fund in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after they are accepted by the Service Organization or its authorized designee. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the Service Organization to determine the status of the purchase order.
9
Initial Investment By Mail. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, an account may be opened by completing and signing an Account Application and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check payable to Schneider Small Cap Value Fund. Third party endorsed checks or foreign checks will not be accepted.
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9837
Providence, RI 02940
or overnight to:
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Subject to acceptance by the Fund, payment for the purchase of shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, shares may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed Account Application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) For current wire instructions, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-888-520-3277.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time ($2,500 minimum) by purchasing shares at the NAV per share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to Schneider Small Cap Value Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined above under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the purchase date.
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in shares of the Fund may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through the Automatic Investment Plan. Investors who would like to participate in the Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277, or complete the appropriate section of the account application. The minimum initial investment for the Automatic Investment Plan is $20,000 and subsequent minimum investments must be at least $2,500.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and roll over IRAs. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and
10
satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to Board approval, decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. persons who already hold shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Adviser,
b. employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children, and
c. directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement specific purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Fund's shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places. Certificates for shares will not be issued except at the written request of the shareholder. Certificates for fractional shares, however, will not be issued.
Shares may be purchased and subsequent investments may be made by principals and employees of the Adviser and their family members, either directly or through their IRAs and by any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser, without being subject to the minimum investment limitation.
The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
You may redeem Fund shares at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
11
You may redeem Fund shares by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to Schneider Small Cap Value Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9837, Providence, RI 02940, or for overnight delivery to Schneider Small Cap Value Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581, and must include:
n a letter of instruction, if required, or a stock assignment specifying the number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
n any required Medallion signature guarantees, which are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s), (ii) the redemption request is for $10,000 or more, or (iii) a share transfer request is made. A Medallion signature guarantee is a special signature guarantee that may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association which is a participant in a Medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A Medallion imprint or Medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a Medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized Medallion signature guarantee programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of shares by calling the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Transaction Fee on Certain Redemptions. The Fund requires the payment of a transaction fee on redemptions of shares held for less than one year equal to 1.75% of the NAV of such shares redeemed at the time of redemption. This additional transaction fee is paid to the Fund, not to the Adviser, Distributor or Transfer Agent. It is not a sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge. The fee does not apply to redeemed shares that were purchased through reinvested dividends or capital gains distributions. The purpose of the additional transaction fee is to indirectly allocate transaction costs associated with redemptions to those investors making redemptions after holding their shares for a short period, thus protecting existing shareholders. These costs include: (1) brokerage costs; (2) market impact costs i.e., the decrease in market prices which may result when the Fund sells certain securities in order to raise cash to meet the redemption request; (3) the realization of capital gains by the other shareholders in the Fund; and (4) the effect of the "bid-ask" spread in the over-the-counter market. The 1.75% amount represents the Fund's estimate of the brokerage and other transaction costs which may be incurred by the Fund in disposing of stocks in which the Fund may invest. Without the additional transaction fee, the Fund would generally be selling its shares at a price less than the cost to the Fund of acquiring the portfolio securities necessary to maintain its investment characteristics, resulting in reduced investment performance for all shareholders in the Fund. With the additional transaction fee, the transaction costs of selling additional stocks are not borne by all existing shareholders, but the source of funds for
12
these costs is the transaction fee paid by those investors making redemptions. For purposes of this redemption feature, shares purchased first will be considered to be shares first redeemed.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan. If your account has a value of at least $20,000, you may establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan and receive regular periodic payments. A request to establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan must be submitted in writing to the Transfer Agent at P.O. Box 9837, Providence, RI 02940. Each withdrawal redemption will be processed on or about the 25th of the month and mailed as soon as possible thereafter. There are no service charges for maintenance; the minimum amount that you may withdraw each period is $100. (This is merely the minimum amount allowed and should not be mistaken for a recommended amount.) The holder of a Systematic Withdrawal Plan will have any income dividends and any capital gains distributions reinvested in full and fractional shares at NAV. To provide funds for payment, shares will be redeemed in such amount as is necessary at the redemption price. The systematic withdrawal of shares may reduce or possibly exhaust the shares in your account, particularly in the event of a market decline. The Fund does not require the payment of a transaction fee on redemptions of shares held for less than one year that are redeemed pursuant to a systematic withdrawal plan. As with other redemptions, a systematic withdrawal payment is a sale for federal income tax purposes. Payments made pursuant to a Systematic Withdrawal Plan cannot be considered as actual yield or income since part of such payments may be a return of capital.
You will ordinarily not be allowed to make additional investments of less than the aggregate annual withdrawals under the Systematic Withdrawal Plan during the time you have the plan in effect. You will receive a confirmation of each transaction showing the sources of the payment and the share and cash balance remaining in your account. The Systematic Withdrawal Plan may be terminated on written notice by the shareholder or by the Fund and will terminate automatically if all shares are liquidated or withdrawn from the account or upon the death or incapacity of the shareholder. You may change the amount and schedule of withdrawal payments or suspend such payments by giving written notice to the Transfer Agent at least ten business days prior to the end of the month preceding a scheduled payment.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in the payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem your account at any time the value of the account falls below $500 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request.
You will be notified in writing that the value of your account is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed.
13
The Fund may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund will distribute substantially all of the net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, of the Fund to the Fund's shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional shares unless you elect otherwise.
The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually and pays them in the calendar year in which they are declared. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed at least annually.
The ex-dividend, record and payable dates of any annual distribution will be available by calling (888) 520-3277.
Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Federal Taxes of Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex- dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing
14
limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the IRS and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares in the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
15
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the Fund's SAI.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
16
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Fund share. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Fund's financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Fund's financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
Year Ended
August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of year |
$ |
21.07 |
$ |
16.09 |
$ |
13.70 |
$ |
13.19 |
$ |
12.34 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss) |
(0.09 |
) (1) |
0.08 |
(1) |
(0.11 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.11 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss)
on investments and foreign currency transactions |
2.63 |
4.90 |
2.49 |
0.56 |
1.01 |
||||||||||||||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in net assets
resulting from operations |
2.54 |
4.98 |
2.38 |
0.50 |
0.90 |
||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
|
|
|
|
(0.07 |
) |
|||||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(3.45 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions to
shareholders |
(3.45 |
) |
|
|
|
(0.07 |
) |
||||||||||||||||
Redemption fees |
|
(2) |
|
(2) |
0.01 |
0.01 |
0.02 |
||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
20.16 |
$ |
21.07 |
$ |
16.09 |
$ |
13.70 |
$ |
13.19 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (3) |
12.59 |
% |
30.95 |
% |
17.45 |
% |
3.87 |
% |
7.48 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of year
(000 's omitted) |
$ |
61.240 |
$ |
70,556 |
$ |
62,691 |
$ |
69,698 |
$ |
73,243 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets (4) |
1.15 |
% |
1.15 |
% |
1.15 |
% |
1.15 |
% |
1.15 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net
assets without waivers and expense reimbursements |
1.52 |
% |
1.50 |
% |
1.52 |
% |
1.40 |
% |
1.43 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income to
average net assets (4) |
(0.44 |
)% |
0.38 |
% |
(0.64 |
)% |
(0.33 |
)% |
(0.65 |
)% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
72.33 |
% |
63.87 |
% |
67.85 |
% |
59.18 |
% |
83.39 |
% |
(1) Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(2) Amount is less than $0.005 per share.
(3) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) Reflects waivers and reimbursements.
17
THE SCHNEIDER SMALL CAP VALUE FUND
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
This prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes Fund strategies and market conditions that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year.
Statement of Additional Information
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, along with the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports, are available on the Adviser's website at www.schneidercap.com or may be obtained free of charge by calling (888) 520-3277. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus and is legally considered a part of this prospectus.
Shareholder Account Service Representatives
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (888) 520-3277.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call your registered representative or (888) 520-3277.
Written Correspondence
Post Office Address: |
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. PO Box 9837 Providence, RI 02940 |
||||||
Street Address: |
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
THE SCHNEIDER
VALUE FUND
TICKER: SCMLX
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
This prospectus gives vital information about the Schneider Value Fund (the "Fund"), an investment portfolio of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company"), including information on investment policies, risks and fees. For your own benefit and protection, please read it before you invest and keep it on hand for future reference.
PROSPECTUS
December 31, 2014
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the goals, strategies, risks and financial history of the Fund.
Details about the Fund's service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in the Fund.
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
||||||
Investment Goal |
1 |
||||||
Expenses and Fees |
1 |
||||||
Risk/Return Information |
2 |
||||||
Management of the Fund |
4 |
||||||
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares |
4 |
||||||
Tax Information |
4 |
||||||
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other
Financial Intermediaries |
4 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE FUND'S
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES |
5 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PRINCIPAL RISKS OF
INVESTING IN THE FUND |
6 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND |
7 |
||||||
Investment Adviser |
7 |
||||||
Portfolio Manager |
7 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
8 |
||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
8 |
||||||
Market Timing |
8 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
9 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
11 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
14 |
||||||
Taxes |
14 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
17 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Goal
The Schneider Value Fund (the "Fund") seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks of companies that have a market capitalization of $1 billion or greater and which Schneider Capital Management Company (the "Adviser") believes are undervalued. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than
90 days, if applicable) |
1.00 |
% |
|||||
Exchange Fee |
None |
||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management Fees |
0.70 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) |
None |
||||||
Fees Other Expenses |
0.80 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.50 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements 1 |
(0.60 |
)% |
|||||
Net Expenses |
0.90 |
% |
1 The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 0.90%. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 0.90%: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc.
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 $200,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||
$ |
92 |
$ |
415 |
$ |
762 |
$ |
1,739 |
1
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transactions costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 44.34% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, at least 65% of the Fund's net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in companies with capitalizations, of at least $1 billion or greater. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such companies including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios. The Fund invests primarily in common stock of companies the Adviser believes are undervalued. The fund may invest in convertible securities without regard to their credit ratings. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers, including American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs").
Principal Risks
n The Fund invests in common stocks which are subject to market, economic and business risks that will cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund may go up and down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, and you could lose money. The value of securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer, and any call provision.
n Value investing involves the risk that the Fund's investment in companies whose securities are believed to be undervalued, relative to their underlying profitability, will not appreciate in value as anticipated.
n Investing in foreign securities poses additional market risks since political and economic events unique in a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers and may not affect the U.S. economy or U.S. issuers. In addition, investments in foreign securities are generally denominated in foreign currency. As a result, changes in the value of those currencies compared to the U.S. dollar may affect the value of the Fund's investments.
Risk/Return Information
The chart below illustrates the long-term performance of the Fund. The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information is available at www.schneidercap.com or by calling 1-888-520-3277.
2
Total Returns for the Calendar Years Ended December 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above): |
|||
Best Quarter: 27.80% (Qtr. ended September 30, 2009) |
|||
Worst Quarter: (29.81)% (Qtr. ended December 31, 2008) |
|||
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 1.50% |
1 During the calendar year ended December 31, 2013, the Fund received two favorable class action settlements from companies it no longer owns. These settlements had a material impact on the investment performance of the Fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2013.
Average Annual Total Returns
The table below compares the Fund's average annual total returns for the past calendar year, past five calendar years and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2013
Average Annual Total Returns
(For the periods ended December 31, 2013) |
1 Year |
5 Year |
10 Year |
Since Inception | |||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
36.74 |
% |
16.40 |
% |
4.42 |
% |
9.35 |
% |
|||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
36.53 |
% |
16.01 |
% |
3.47 |
% |
8.32 |
% |
|||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
20.79 |
% |
13.09 |
% |
3.26 |
% |
7.44 |
% |
|||||||||||
Russell 1000 Value Index (reflects no deductions of fees,
expenses and taxes) 1 |
32.53 |
% |
16.67 |
% |
7.58 |
% |
10.09 |
% |
1 After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRA").
3
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Schneider Capital Management Company
Portfolio Manager
Arnold C. Schneider III
President and Chief Investment Officer
Since 2002
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Subsequent Investment |
||||||
$20,000 |
$2,500 |
You can only purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption by Mail:
Regular Mail:
Schneider Value Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9837 Providence, RI 02940 |
Overnight Delivery:
Schneider Value Fund c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Purchase by Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-888-520-3277 to confirm the current wire instructions for the Schneider Value Fund.
Redemption by Telephone:
Call the Transfer Agent at 1-888-520-3277
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
4
Additional Information on the Fund's Investment Objective and Principal Strategies
The Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks of companies which have capitalizations of $1 billion or greater and which the Adviser believes are undervalued. The Fund's investment objective and the policies described above may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without the approval of the Fund's shareholders. However, as a matter of policy, the Fund would not materially change its investment objective or principal investment strategy without informing shareholders at least 60 days in advance of any such change.
The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a continuous study of trends in industries and companies, industry literature, company reports, financial reports, company presentations, earnings power and growth and other investment criteria. Although the Adviser selects securities for long-term capital growth, these same securities may produce dividend income.
The Fund may invest in securities that the Adviser believes may exhibit the following characteristics:
n have low price-to-earnings and low price-to-book value ratios; and
n are typically considered out of favor by the market as a result of decelerating revenue growth, declining profit margins and increasing competition.
The Fund may sell securities when the Adviser believes:
n a security becomes widely recognized by the professional investment community as a result of accelerating revenue growth, expanding margins and decreased competition;
n a security appreciates in value to the point that it is considered to be overvalued;
n the Fund's holdings should be rebalanced to include a more attractive stock or stocks; or
n an issuer's earnings potential is in jeopardy.
The Fund may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to nonconvertible debt securities in that they ordinarily provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stocks of the same or similar issuers. The Fund will invest in convertible securities without regard to their credit ratings.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers including American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"). ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. For the purposes of the percentage limitation above, a security of a foreign company whose primary business may be in the U.S. will not be considered a foreign security if it is denominated in U.S. dollars and is principally traded on a U.S. exchange.
The Fund may seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker- dealers. Portfolio securities loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by the Fund will not exceed 33 1 / 3 % of the value of the Fund's total assets. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund. Lending the Fund's portfolio securities involves the risk of delay in receiving additional collateral if the value of the securities goes up while they are on loan. The Fund may lose money from securities lending if, for example, it is delayed in or prevented from selling the collateral after the loan is made or recovering the securities loaned or if it incurs losses on the reinvestment of cash collateral.
While the Adviser intends to fully invest the Fund's assets at all times in accordance with the above-mentioned policies, the Fund reserves the right to hold up to 100% of its assets, as a temporary defensive measure, in cash and eligible U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. Eligible money market instruments include bank obligations, such as certificates of deposit and bankers' acceptances issued by foreign or domestic banks or financial
5
institutions that have total assets of more than $2.5 billion, and commercial paper rated in the top rating category by Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service or Fitch, Inc. and unrated commercial paper determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser. The value of money market instruments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities. When the Fund's assets are invested in these instruments, the Fund may not be achieving its investment objective. The Adviser will determine when market, economic, political or other conditions warrant temporary defensive measures.
Stocks may be candidates for sale when the stock appreciates in price and reaches a pre-determined target, the stock is challenged by a new idea with superior investment potential, the company or industry exposure is trimmed due to substantial appreciation in price, or the underlying investment case is permanently diluted or delayed.
Additional Information on the Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
Investing in the Fund involves the following principal risks:
Common Stock Risk. Investments in common stocks are subject to market, economic and business risks that will cause their price to fluctuate over time. Therefore, an investment in the Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of these fluctuations.
Foreign Security Risk. Since foreign securities are usually denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Fund's portfolio could be affected by currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Other risks include:
n seizure, expropriation or nationalization of a company's assets;
n less publicly available information and differing regulations and standards;
n the impact of political, social or economic instability, or diplomatic events; and
n securities that are less liquid and harder to value than those of a U.S. issuer.
As a result of these risks, the Fund may be more volatile than a fund investing solely in U.S. companies. These risks may be greater if the Fund invests in developing countries.
Opportunity Risk. As with all mutual funds, the Fund is subject to the risk of missing out on an opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of it are tied up in less advantageous investments.
Value Stock Risk. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes to be undervalued, there is no guarantee that the prices of these stocks will not move even lower.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities have characteristics of both equity and fixed income securities. The value of a convertible security tends to move with the market value of the underlying stock, but may also be affected by interest rates, credit quality of the issuer and any call provisions. In particular, when interest rates rise, fixed-income securities will decline in value. Convertible securities frequently have speculative characteristics and may be acquired without regard to minimum quality ratings. Lower quality convertible securities, also known as "junk bonds," involve greater risk of default or price changes due to the issuer's creditworthiness. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than those of higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates. Securities in the lowest quality category may present the risk of default, or may be in default.
Broad-Based Securities Market Index
The Russell 1000 ® Value Index is an unmanaged index composed of the securities in the Russell 1000 ® Index with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The Russell 1000 ® Index is comprised of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization. As of November 30, 2014, the market capitalization range of the companies in the Russell 1000 ® Value Index is $300 million to $394 billion. Please note that this range is as of a particular point in time and is subject to change.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"). The SAI is incorporated herein.
6
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Investment Adviser
The Adviser's principal address is 460 East Swedesford Road, Suite 2000, Wayne, PA 19087. The Adviser provides investment management and investment advisory services to investment companies and other institutional accounts and had aggregate total assets under management of approximately $1.3 billion as of November 30, 2014. The Adviser is 100% employee-owned, and was founded in 1996.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of 0.70% of the Fund's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fees and reimburse expenses to the extent that the Fund's Total Annual Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 0.90% of the Fund's average daily net assets. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 0.90% of the Fund's average daily net assets: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, after waivers, the Adviser received 0.10% of the Fund's average net assets in investment advisory fees from the Fund. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 0.70% of the Fund's average net assets in investment advisory fees from the Fund.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser is available in the Fund's annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Manager
The President and Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser, Arnold C. Schneider III, is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's investment portfolio. Mr. Schneider founded the Adviser in 1996, and has managed the Fund since its inception. Prior to 1996, he was a senior vice president and partner of Wellington Management Company, where he was responsible for institutional accounts and mutual fund portfolios since 1987.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager's ownership of securities in the Fund.
7
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
Shares of the Fund are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases and redemptions of Fund shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your purchase order or redemption request in good order (as described below).
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If the Fund holds foreign equity securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equities securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, securities will be valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before a Fund prices its shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by a Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in exchange-traded and closed- end funds will be valued at their market price.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such
8
purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
To deter excessive shareholder trading, the Fund charges a redemption fee of 1.00% on shares redeemed within 90 days of purchase. For further information on redemptions, please see the section entitled "Shareholder Information Redemptions of Fund Shares."
There is no assurance that the Adviser will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares are offered on a continuous basis and are sold without any sales charges. You may purchase Fund shares directly from the Fund at the NAV per share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Fund's records, which will show all of your transactions and the balance of the shares you own. You can only purchase shares on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. Initial investments in the Fund must be at least $20,000, and subsequent minimum investments must be at least $2,500. For purposes of meeting the minimum initial purchase, clients which are part of endowments, foundations or other related groups may be aggregated. The Fund's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Investors may be charged a fee if they effect transactions through a broker or agent. Certain Service Organizations may have agreements with the Fund and may be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Fund in accordance with such agreements. A Service Organization or, if applicable, its designee that has entered into such an agreement with the Fund or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Fund's pricing on the following business day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order. Orders received by the Fund in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after they are accepted by the Service Organization or its authorized designee. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the Service Organization to determine the status of the purchase order.
Initial Investment By Mail. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, an account may be opened by completing and signing an Account Application and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check payable to Schneider Value Fund. Third party endorsed checks or foreign checks will not be accepted.
Schneider Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9837
Providence, RI 02940
9
or overnight to:
Schneider Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Subject to acceptance by the Fund, payment for the purchase of shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, shares may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed Account Application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) For current wire instructions, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-888-520-3277.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments . Additional investments may be made at any time ($2,500 minimum) by purchasing shares at the NAV per share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to Schneider Value Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined above under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the purchase date.
Automatic Investment Plan. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and roll over IRAs. Additional investments in shares of the Fund may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through the Automatic Investment Plan. Investors who would like to participate in the Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277, or complete the appropriate section of the account application. The minimum initial investment for the Automatic Investment Plan is $20,000 and subsequent minimum investments must be at least $2,500.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interest of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to Board approval, decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again
10
should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. persons who already hold shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Adviser,
b. employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children, and
c. directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement specific purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Fund's shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places. Certificates for shares will not be issued except at the written request of the shareholder. Certificates for fractional shares, however, will not be issued.
Shares may be purchased and subsequent investments may be made by principals and employees of the Adviser and their family members, either directly or through their IRAs and by any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser, without being subject to the minimum investment limitation.
The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
You may redeem shares of the Fund at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
You may redeem shares of the Fund by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to Schneider Value Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9837, Providence, RI 02940, or for overnight delivery to Schneider Value
11
Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 and must include:
n a letter of instruction, if required, or a stock assignment specifying the number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
n any required Medallion signature guarantees, which are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s), (ii) the redemption request is for $10,000 or more, or (iii) a share transfer request is made. A Medallion signature guarantee is a special signature guarantee that may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association which is a participant in a Medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A Medallion imprint or Medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a Medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized Medallion signature guarantee programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
n other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of shares by calling the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Transaction Fee on Certain Redemptions. The Fund requires the payment of a transaction fee on redemptions of shares held for less than 90 days equal to 1.00% of the NAV of such shares redeemed at the time of redemption. This additional transaction fee is paid to the Fund, not to the Adviser, Distributor or Transfer Agent. It is not a sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge. The fee does not apply to redeemed shares that were purchased through reinvested dividends or capital gains distributions. The purpose of the additional transaction fee is to indirectly allocate transaction costs associated with redemptions to those investors making redemptions after holding their shares for a short period, thus protecting existing shareholders. These costs include: (1) brokerage costs; (2) market impact costs i.e., the decrease in market prices which may result when the Fund sells certain securities in order to raise cash to meet the redemption request; (3) the realization of capital gains by the other shareholders in the Fund; and (4) the effect of the "bid-ask" spread in the over-the-counter market. The 1.00% amount represents the Fund's estimate of the brokerage and other transaction costs which may be incurred by the Fund in disposing of stocks in which the Fund may invest. Without the additional transaction fee, the Fund would generally be selling its shares at a price less than the cost to the Fund of acquiring the portfolio securities necessary to maintain its investment characteristics, resulting in reduced investment performance for all shareholders in the Fund. With the additional transaction fee, the transaction costs of selling additional stocks are not borne by all existing shareholders, but the source of funds for these costs is the transaction fee paid by those investors making redemptions. For purposes of this redemption feature, shares purchased first will be considered to be shares first redeemed.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan. If your account has a value of at least $20,000, you may establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan and receive regular periodic payments. A request to establish a Systematic Withdrawal Plan must be
12
submitted in writing to the Transfer Agent at P.O. Box 9837, Providence, RI 02940. Each withdrawal redemption will be processed on or about the 25th of the month and mailed as soon as possible thereafter. There are no service charges for maintenance; the minimum amount that you may withdraw each period is $100. (This is merely the minimum amount allowed and should not be mistaken for a recommended amount.) The holder of a Systematic Withdrawal Plan will have any income dividends and any capital gains distributions reinvested in full and fractional shares at NAV. To provide funds for payment, shares will be redeemed in such amount as is necessary at the redemption price. The systematic withdrawal of shares may reduce or possibly exhaust the shares in your account, particularly in the event of a market decline. The Fund does not require the payment of a transaction fee on redemptions of shares held for less than 90 days that are redeemed pursuant to a systematic withdrawal plan. As with other redemptions, a systematic withdrawal payment is a sale for federal income tax purposes. Payments made pursuant to a Systematic Withdrawal Plan cannot be considered as actual yield or income since part of such payments may be a return of capital.
You will ordinarily not be allowed to make additional investments of less than the aggregate annual withdrawals under the Systematic Withdrawal Plan during the time you have the plan in effect. You will receive a confirmation of each transaction showing the sources of the payment and the share and cash balance remaining in your account. The Systematic Withdrawal Plan may be terminated on written notice by the shareholder or by the Fund and will terminate automatically if all shares are liquidated or withdrawn from the account or upon the death or incapacity of the shareholder. You may change the amount and schedule of withdrawal payments or suspend such payments by giving written notice to the Transfer Agent at least ten business days prior to the end of the month preceding a scheduled payment.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in the payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem your account at any time the value of the account falls below $500 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request.
You will be notified in writing that the value of your account is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed.
The Fund may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
13
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund will distribute substantially all of the net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, of the Fund to the Fund's shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional shares unless you elect otherwise.
The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually and pays them in the calendar year in which they are declared. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed at least annually.
The ex-dividend, record and payable dates of any annual distribution will be available by calling (888) 520-3277.
Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Federal Taxes of Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8%(which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex- dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
14
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the IRS and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares in the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
15
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the Fund's SAI.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
16
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Fund share. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Fund's financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Fund's financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2011 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2010 |
|||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value,
beginning of period |
$ |
16.31 |
$ |
12.77 |
$ |
12.50 |
$ |
11.72 |
$ |
12.14 |
|||||||||||||
Net investment income |
0.05 |
(1) |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.07 |
0.08 |
|||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized
gain/(loss) from investments and foreign currency transactions |
3.67 |
3.58 |
0.23 |
0.80 |
(0.23 |
) |
|||||||||||||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in
net assets resulting from operations |
3.72 |
3.68 |
0.33 |
0.87 |
(0.15 |
) |
|||||||||||||||||
Dividend and distributions to
shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.07 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
(0.27 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Total dividends and distributions
to shareholders |
(0.07 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.06 |
) |
(0.09 |
) |
(0.27 |
) |
|||||||||||||
Redemption fees |
|
|
(2) |
|
(2) |
|
(2) |
|
(2) |
||||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ |
19.96 |
$ |
16.31 |
$ |
12.77 |
$ |
12.50 |
$ |
11.72 |
|||||||||||||
Total investment return (3) |
22.83 |
% |
29.08 |
% |
2.67 |
% |
7.35 |
% |
(1.30 |
)% |
|||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's
omitted) |
$ |
35,756 |
$ |
33,872 |
$ |
43,719 |
$ |
67,940 |
$ |
98,953 |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets (4) |
0.90 |
% |
0.90 |
% |
0.90 |
% |
0.90 |
% |
0.90 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets without waivers and expense reimbursements |
1.50 |
% |
1.55 |
% |
1.28 |
% |
1.07 |
% |
1.03 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment income
to average net assets (4) |
0.27 |
% |
0.39 |
% |
0.63 |
% |
0.31 |
% |
0.52 |
% |
|||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
44.34 |
% |
53.08 |
% |
55.87 |
% |
67.80 |
% |
79.30 |
% |
(1) Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(2) Amount is less than $0.005 per share.
(3) Total investment return is calculated by assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(4) Reflects waivers and reimbursements.
17
THE SCHNEIDER VALUE FUND
THE SCHNEIDER VALUE FUND
This prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes Fund strategies and market conditions that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year.
Statement of Additional Information
An SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, along with the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports, are available on the Adviser's website at www.schneidercap.com or may be obtained free of charge by calling (888) 520-3277. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus and is legally considered a part of this prospectus.
Shareholder Account Service Representatives
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: (888) 520-3277.
Purchases and Redemptions
Call your registered representative or (888) 520-3277.
Written Correspondence
Post Office Address:
|
Schneider Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. PO Box 9837 Providence, RI 02940 |
||||||
Street Address:
|
Schneider Value Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
PROSPECTUS
December 31, 2014
SCOTIA DYNAMIC U.S. GROWTH FUND*
|
TICKER:
|
CLASS I DWUGX
CLASS II DWUHX INSTITUTIONAL DWUIX |
A Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.
SCOTIA INSTITUTIONAL ASSET MANAGEMENT US, LTD.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has not approved or disapproved
these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus.
Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
*Scotia, Dynamic and Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund are registered and proprietary trademarks of Scotiabank, an affiliate of Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd., used under license by the Adviser.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
PAGE |
|||||||
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
||||||
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund |
1 |
||||||
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND |
6 |
||||||
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RISK |
6 |
||||||
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FUND INVESTMENTS |
7 |
||||||
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
7 |
||||||
INVESTMENT ADVISER |
7 |
||||||
PORTFOLIO MANAGER |
8 |
||||||
PRICING OF FUND SHARES |
8 |
||||||
PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES |
9 |
||||||
REDEMPTION OF FUND SHARES |
12 |
||||||
MARKET TIMING |
14 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER SERVICING PLANS |
15 |
|
|||||
DISTRIBUTIONS |
15 |
||||||
TAXES |
15 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
18 |
||||||
HOW TO OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND |
Back Cover |
i
SCOTIA DYNAMIC U.S. GROWTH FUND |
Investment Objective: The investment objective of the Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund (the "Fund") is to seek long-term capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Fund shares.
Institutional
Shares |
Class I
Shares |
Class II
Shares |
|||||||||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||||||||||
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amounts redeemed
or exchanged within 60 days of purchase) |
2.00 |
% |
2.00 |
% |
2.00 |
% |
|||||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay
each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||||||||||
Management Fees |
0.65 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
|||||||||
Shareholder Servicing Fee |
None |
0.10 |
% |
0.25 |
% |
||||||||||
Other Expenses (1) |
0.38 |
% |
0.38 |
% |
0.38 |
% |
|||||||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (2) |
1.03 |
% |
1.13 |
% |
1.28 |
% |
|||||||||
Fee Waivers and Reimbursements |
(0.29 |
)% |
(0.29 |
)% |
(0.29 |
)% |
|||||||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver (2) |
0.74 |
% |
0.84 |
% |
0.99 |
% |
(1) The Fund operated as a series of Scotia Institutional Funds prior to the close of business on March 21, 2014 (the "Predecessor Fund"), at which time the Predecessor Fund was reorganized into the Fund. Accordingly, total Annual Fund Operating Expenses reflect the expenses of the Fund and the Predecessor Fund for the most recent fiscal year.
(2) Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. ("SIAM" or the "Adviser") has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions and interest) exceed 0.74% for Institutional Shares, 0.84% for Class I Shares and 0.99% for Class II Shares until December 31, 2015. Prior to such date, this contractual agreement may only be terminated by the Fund's Board of Directors. If it becomes unnecessary for the Adviser to waive fees or make reimbursements, the Adviser may recapture any of its prior waivers or reimbursements for a period not to exceed three years from the date on which the waiver or reimbursement was made to the extent that such a recapture does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions and interest) to exceed the applicable expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement.
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 $1,000,000 in Institutional Shares of the Fund, $25,000 in Class I Shares of the Fund and $10,000 in Class II Shares of the Fund (the minimum initial investment for Class II Shares is $2,000) for the time periods indicated and that you sell your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that each year your investment has a 5% return and Fund operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs and returns might be different, your approximate costs of investing $1,000,000 in Institutional Shares of the Fund, $25,000 in Class I Shares of the Fund and $10,000 in Class II Shares of the Fund would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Institutional Shares |
$ |
7,558 |
$ |
29,896 |
$ |
54,044 |
$ |
123,317 |
|||||||||||
Class I Shares |
$ |
214 |
$ |
826 |
$ |
1,486 |
$ |
3,372 |
|||||||||||
Class II Shares |
$ |
101 |
$ |
377 |
$ |
674 |
$ |
1,520 |
1
Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During the eleven-month fiscal period ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rate of the Fund and the Predecessor Fund was 276.74% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategy: The Fund invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of U.S. companies chosen according to a growth oriented investment approach. The Fund may invest in companies of any size, including small and mid capitalization companies, in order to achieve its objective.
When selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser seeks to identify companies demonstrating strong current or prospective earnings growth relative to the overall market and relative to their peer group. While it will not concentrate its investments in any one industry, the Fund may from time to time have significant exposure in one or more sectors of the economy, especially the more growth-oriented sectors, such as the information technology, consumer discretionary and health care sectors.
Techniques such as fundamental analysis may be used to assess potential investments for the Fund. In conducting fundamental analysis of companies that are being considered for purchase in the Fund, the management team evaluates the financial condition and management of a company, its industry and the overall economy. As part of this evaluation, the Adviser may:
• analyze financial data and other information sources;
• assess the quality of management; and
• conduct company interviews, where possible.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund: Since it purchases equity securities, the Fund is subject to the risk that equity security prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. Price volatility is the principal risk of investing in the Fund. You could lose all or some of your investment in the Fund. In addition, common stocks represent a share of ownership in a company, and rank after bonds and preferred stock in their claim on the company's assets in the event of bankruptcy.
A principal risk of growth stocks is that investors expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate that is generally higher than the rate expected for non-growth companies. If a growth company does not meet these expectations, the price of its stock may decline significantly, even if it has increased earnings. Growth companies also typically do not pay dividends. Companies that pay dividends may experience less significant stock price declines during market downturns.
The small and mid capitalization companies the Fund invests in may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, these small and mid cap companies may have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, small and mid cap stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. These securities may be traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.
The Fund may focus its investments from time to time on one or more economic sectors, in particular the information technology sector. To the extent that it does so, developments affecting companies in that sector or sectors will likely have a magnified effect on the Fund's net asset value and total return. Information technology companies may produce or use products or services that prove commercially unsuccessful, become obsolete or become adversely impacted by government regulation. Competitive pressures in the information technology sector, and the Fund's investments in information technology company securities, may subject it to more volatile price movements than a more diversified securities portfolio.
2
While the Fund's portfolio turnover rate may exceed 400%, the Predecessor Fund's portfolio turnover has typically ranged between 200% and 350%.
The Fund is non-diversified and invests in a limited number of securities. Therefore, the Fund's investment performance may be more volatile, as it may be more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political, or regulatory event than a fund that invests in a greater number of issuers.
The Fund should only be purchased by investors seeking long-term growth of capital who can withstand the share price volatility of equity investing.
Performance Information: Before the Fund commenced operations, all of the assets and liabilities of the Predecessor Fund were transferred to the Fund in a tax-free reorganization (the "Reorganization"). The Reorganization occurred on March 21, 2014. As a result of the Reorganization, the Fund assumed the performance and accounting history of the Predecessor Fund prior to the date of the Reorganization. The bar chart and performance table below provide an indication of the risk of an investment in the Fund.
The performance information set forth in the bar chart and table below is that of the Class I shares of the Predecessor Fund. Performance reflects contractual fee waivers that were in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, performance would be reduced. Performance for Institutional Shares and Class II Shares is not shown because Institutional Shares and Class II Shares of the Fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. Actual after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRA"). Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at us.scotiafunds.com or by calling 1-888-572-0968.
Annual Return Class I
For the years ended December 31
Best Quarter: 23.87%
9/30/13
Worst Quarter: (16.50)%
9/30/11
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 2.55%
3
Average Annual Total Returns Class I
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||||
1 Year |
Since
Inception (April 1, 2009)* |
||||||||||
Before Taxes |
42.08 |
% |
29.29 |
% |
|||||||
After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
37.40 |
% |
26.94 |
% |
|||||||
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
24.64 |
% |
23.11 |
% |
|||||||
Russell 1000
®
Growth Index
(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
33.48 |
% |
22.63 |
% |
* While the Predecessor Fund commenced operations on March 31, 2009, the Predecessor Fund began investing consistent with its investment objective on April 1, 2009.
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Adviser: Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. (formerly known as GCIC US Ltd.), 1 Adelaide St. E., Ste. 2800, Toronto, ON M5C 2V9.
Portfolio Manager:
Noah Blackstein, CFA
Vice President & Portfolio Manager
Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd.
Length of Service: Since Inception of Predecessor Fund
Purchase and Sale Information: To purchase Institutional Shares of the Fund for the first time, you must invest at least $1,000,000. To purchase Class I Shares of the Fund for the first time, you must invest at least $25,000. To purchase Class II Shares of the Fund for the first time, you must invest at least $2,000. There is no minimum for subsequent investments. Approved brokers and other institutions that purchase shares on behalf of their clients may have their own minimum and subsequent investment requirements. The Fund may waive minimum investment requirements for initial and subsequent purchases of shares by eligible retirement account investors, participants in third-party distribution platforms and in certain other instances at the Fund's discretion.
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption by Mail:
Regular Mail:
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9841
Providence, RI 02940-8041
Overnight Delivery:
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Purchase by Wire: Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-888-572-0968 to confirm the current wire instructions for the Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund.
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Redemption By Telephone: Call the Transfer Agent at 1-888-572-0968.
Tax Information: The Fund intends to make distributions at least annually that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Additionally, you will recognize gain or loss when you redeem shares. However, the distributions and any gains will not be taxable if you invested through a tax-exempt or tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan account or an individual retirement account, though such amounts may be taxable to you when withdrawn from such account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
The Fund is a mutual fund. A mutual fund pools shareholders' money and, using professional investment managers, invests it in securities. Investing in the Fund involves risk and there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal. The Adviser's judgments about the markets, the economy, or companies may not anticipate actual market movements, economic conditions or company performance, and these judgments may affect the return on your investment. In fact, no matter how good a job the Adviser does, you could lose all or some of your investment in the Fund, just as you could with similar investments. A Fund share is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency.
The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the market prices of the securities the Fund holds. These prices change daily due to economic and other events that affect particular companies and other issuers. These price movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or lesser depending on the types of securities the Fund owns and the markets in which they trade. The effect on the Fund of a change in the value of a single security will depend on how widely the Fund diversifies its holdings.
Portfolio Composition
The Fund has a policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of U.S. companies chosen according to a growth oriented investment approach (the "80% Policy"). This policy is non-fundamental and can be changed by the Fund's Board of Directors upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders. For purposes of these 80% Policies, the term "assets" means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. The Fund must comply with its 80% Policy at the time the Fund invests its assets. Accordingly, when the Fund no longer meets the 80% requirement as a result of circumstances beyond its control, such as changes in the value of portfolio holdings, it would not have to sell its holdings, but any new investments it makes would be consistent with its 80% Policy.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RISK
Equity Risk Equity securities include public and privately issued equity securities, common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights to subscribe to common stock and convertible securities, as well as derivative instruments that attempt to track the price movement of equity indices. In general, investments in equity securities and equity derivatives are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause a fund's net asset value to fluctuate. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles, and the value of the Fund's equity securities may fluctuate drastically from day-to-day. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response. An investment in a portfolio of equity securities may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of these share price fluctuations.
Small/Mid Cap Company Risk The Fund may invest in small capitalization and mid capitalization companies as part of its principal investment strategy. Small capitalization and mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. In particular, these companies may have limited product lines, markets and financial resources, and may depend upon a relatively small management group. Therefore, small cap and mid cap stocks may be more volatile than those of larger companies. Small cap securities may be traded over the counter or listed on an exchange and it may be harder to sell the smallest capitalization company stocks, which can reduce their selling prices.
Non-Diversification Risk The Fund is non-diversified and invests in a limited number of securities. Non-diversification risk is the risk that the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse financial, economic or other developments affecting any single issuer, and more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments, than if it were diversified.
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Portfolio Turnover The Fund may sell its portfolio securities, regardless of the length of time that they have been held, if the Adviser determines that it would be in the Fund's best interest to do so. It may be appropriate to buy or sell portfolio securities due to economic, market, or other factors that are not within the Adviser's control. These transactions will increase the Fund's "portfolio turnover." A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur if all of the securities in the Fund were replaced during the annual measurement period. High turnover rates generally result in higher brokerage costs to the Fund, may result in higher amounts of taxable distributions to shareholders each year and higher effective tax rates on those distribution amounts, and may reduce the Fund's returns.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FUND INVESTMENTS
This prospectus describes the Fund's primary strategies. The Fund will normally invest in the types of securities described in this prospectus. In addition to the investments and strategies described in this prospectus, the Fund also may invest to a lesser extent in other securities, use other strategies and engage in other investment practices that are not part of its principal investment strategy. These investments and strategies, as well as those described in this prospectus, are described in detail in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") (for information on how to obtain a copy of the SAI see the back cover of this prospectus). Of course, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment goals.
The investments and strategies described in this prospectus are those that the Fund uses under normal conditions. During unusual economic or market conditions, or in the event of sizeable cash flows into or out of the Fund, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in money market instruments and other cash equivalents that would not ordinarily be consistent with its investment objective. If the Fund invests in this manner, it may not achieve its investment objective.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
A complete schedule of the Fund's portfolio holdings, current as of month-end, will be available on the Fund's website at us.scotiafunds.com no earlier than 15 days, and generally within 60 days, after the end of each calendar month. This information will remain available on the website until the Fund files with the SEC its semi-annual/annual shareholder report or quarterly portfolio holdings report that includes such period. The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") may terminate or modify this policy at any time without further notice to shareholders.
A description of the policies and procedures of the Company with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI.
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. serves as the Adviser to the Fund. The Adviser's principal place of business is 1 Adelaide St. E., Ste. 2800, Toronto, ON M5C 2V9. Subject to the supervision of the Board of Directors of the Company, SIAM makes investment decisions for the Fund and also ensures compliance with the Fund's investment policies and guidelines. SIAM was established in 1995 and offers investment management services to investors located in the United States. SIAM is a wholly-owned indirect investment subsidiary of The Bank of Nova Scotia, a Canadian-based bank providing retail, commercial, corporate, investment and international banking services. As of September 30, 2014, SIAM had approximately $212 million in assets under management and advisement.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee at the annual rate of 0.65% of the Fund's average daily net assets, computed daily and payable monthly. A discussion regarding the Board of Directors' basis for approving the investment advisory agreement with respect to the Fund is available in the Fund's semi-annual report to shareholders dated March 31, 2014.
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The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its advisory fee and reimburse expenses in order to keep Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) from exceeding 0.74% of the average daily net assets attributable to Institutional Shares, 0.84% of the average daily net assets attributable to Class I Shares and 0.99% of the average daily net assets attributable to Class II Shares until December 31, 2015.
For the eleven-month fiscal period ended August 31, 2014, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund paid the Adviser 0.36% for its services. Had fee waivers not been in place the Fund and the Predecessor Fund would have paid 0.65%.
If it becomes unnecessary for the Adviser to waive fees or make reimbursements with respect to the Fund, the Adviser may retain the difference between the "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" and the respective percentage to recapture any of its prior waivers or reimbursements for a period not to exceed three years from the date on which the waiver or reimbursement was made to the extent that such a recapture does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of such Fund (excluding taxes, extraordinary expenses, broker commissions and interest) to exceed the applicable expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver of reimbursement.
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
Noah Blackstein joined SIAM in 1997 and is a member of the firm's Power Growth investment team. Noah serves as the lead portfolio manager of the Fund. Previously, Noah served as Associate Portfolio Manager at BPI Mutual Funds. Noah is frequently quoted in industry publications and has been a featured guest on CNBC and other respected financial news programs. Noah is a graduate of the University of Toronto and holds his Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
PRICING OF FUND SHARES
Institutional shares, Class I shares and Class II shares of the Fund ("Shares") are priced separately at their NAV. The NAV per Share of each Class of Shares of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The NAV of each Class of Shares of the Fund is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases of Shares at the NAV next determined after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your purchase order in good order. The Fund will effect redemptions of Shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your redemption request in good order (as described below).
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such service or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, securities will be fair valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's
8
Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in exchange-traded funds and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES
Shares representing interests in the Fund are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors, LLC (the "Distributor").
Institutional Shares of the Fund are primarily for institutional investors investing for their own or their customers' accounts.
Class I Shares of the Fund are primarily for certain individual investors, investments made through financial institutions or intermediaries and institutional investors investing for their own or their customers' accounts.
Class II Shares of the Fund are primarily for certain individual investors and investments made through financial institutions or intermediaries.
General. You may purchase Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company records. The minimum initial investment for Institutional Shares is $1,000,000, the minimum initial investment for Class I Shares is $25,000 and the minimum initial investment for Class II Shares is $2,000. There is no minimum for subsequent investments. The Fund may accept initial investments of smaller amounts in its sole discretion. You can only purchase Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Fund may also be available through certain Service Organizations. Certain features of the Shares, such as the initial investment minimum and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if Shares are purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of Shares and should read this prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following Business Day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the Service Organization to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after such orders are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
9
For administration, subaccounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee") based on the average annual NAV of accounts with the Company maintained by such Service Organizations or recordkeepers. The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
Initial Investment By Mail. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, an account may be opened by completing and signing an Account Application and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check payable to Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund. Third party endorsed checks or foreign checks will not be accepted.
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9841
Providence, RI 02940-8041
or overnight to:
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Subject to acceptance by the Fund, payment for the purchase of Shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per Share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, Shares may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed Account Application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-888-572-0968 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.)
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the Fund and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time by purchasing Shares at the NAV per share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined above under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-888-572-0968 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen calendar days from the purchase date.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-888-572-0968. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax advisor.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of NAV after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other
10
rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of Shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to the Board of Directors' approval, decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Adviser;
b. existing and future clients of financial advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the closed Fund;
c. employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents, and children, and
d. directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, reserves the right to implement specific purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Shares will be made in full and fractional Shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places. Certificates for Shares will not be issued except at the written request of the shareholder. Certificates for fractional Shares, however, will not be issued.
Shares may be purchased and subsequent investments may be made by principals and employees of the Adviser and their family members, either directly or through their IRAs, and by any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser, without being subject to the minimum investment limitation. The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial investment requirement.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
11
REDEMPTION OF FUND SHARES
You may redeem Fund Shares at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. You may redeem Fund Shares by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of Shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041, or for overnight delivery to Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581, and must include:
• a letter of instruction, if required, or a stock assignment specifying the number of Shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the Shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
• any required Medallion signature guarantees, which are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s), (ii) the redemption request is for $10,000 or more; or (iii) a Share transfer request is made. A Medallion signature guarantee is a special signature guarantee that may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association which is a participant in a Medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A Medallion imprint or Medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a member of a Medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized Medallion signature guarantee programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
• other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of Shares by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-888-572-0968 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Involuntary Redemption: The Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholder's account in the Fund at any time the value of the account falls below $500 as a result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in the Fund is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed. The Fund may assert the right to redeem your Shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary
12
to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for Shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Redemption Fee. The Board of Trustees has approved a short-term redemption fee of 2% for any redemption or exchange within 60 days of purchase of shares of the Fund. The redemption fee will be calculated as a percentage of the net asset value of total redemption or exchange proceeds. Those shares held the longest will be treated as being redeemed first. The fee will be paid directly to the Fund and is intended to offset the trading costs, market impact and other costs associated with short term money movements in and out of the Fund.
The Fund is authorized to waive the redemption fee for the following transactions:
• Redemptions from omnibus accounts, fee-based programs and employer-sponsored defined contribution plans maintained by financial intermediaries that inform the Fund that they are unable to impose a redemption fee on their underlying customer accounts;
• Redemptions where the Shares were purchased through financial intermediaries that the Investment Adviser determines to have appropriate anti-short-term trading policies in place or as to which the Investment Adviser has received assurances that look-through redemption fee procedures or effective anti-short-term trading policies and procedures are in place;
• Redemptions effected pursuant to asset allocation programs, wrap fee programs and other investment programs offered by financial institutions where investment decisions are made on a discretionary basis by investment professionals;
• Redemptions pursuant to systematic withdrawal plans and automatic exchange plans;
• Redemptions of shares acquired by reinvestment of dividends, distributions or other payments;
• Redemptions due to the death or the post-purchase disability of the beneficial owner of the account;
• Redemptions to satisfy minimum required distributions from retirement accounts;
• Redemptions representing the return of excess contributions in retirement accounts;
• Redemptions initiated by the Fund; and
• Redemptions following investments of contributions in the Fund by participants in defined contribution plans.
In addition to the circumstances noted above, the Fund reserves the right to waive the redemption fee in its discretion where it believes such waiver is consistent with the best interests of the Fund, to the extent permitted by law. In addition, the Fund reserves the right to add, modify or eliminate the redemption fee or waivers at any time and will give 60 days' prior written notice of any material changes, unless otherwise provided by law.
Other Redemption Information: Redemption proceeds for Shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option. Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in the payment of redemptions. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholders will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to
13
incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund's NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order: A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
MARKET TIMING
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise their right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company or the Adviser, has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Company's Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. The Adviser reviews on a regular, periodic basis available information related 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, the Adviser, on a periodic basis, examines transactions that exceed certain monetary thresholds or numerical limits within a period of time. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, the Adviser may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund. The Adviser 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. The Adviser will apply the criteria in a manner that, in the Adviser's judgment, will be uniform.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund Shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Company. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
14
SHAREHOLDER SERVICING PLANS
The Fund has adopted Shareholder Servicing Plans (the "Service Plans") that allow Class I and Class II Shares of the Fund to use their assets to pay service fees to firms that provide shareholder services ("Service Providers"). Under the Service Plans, if a Service Provider provides shareholder services, including responding to shareholder inquires and assisting shareholders with their accounts, the Fund may pay shareholder service fees to the Service Provider at an annual rate not to exceed 0.10% of its Class I Shares' and 0.25% of its Class II Shares' average daily net assets. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of charges.
DISTRIBUTIONS
The Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Fund at least annually.
TAXES
The following is a summary of certain U.S. tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual U.S. citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Distributions
The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations. The high anticipated portfolio turnover rate of the Fund makes it likely that a significant portion of its distributions will not qualify for this favorable treatment.
15
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares
You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans
The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding
The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
16
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders
Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares of the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes
You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income or gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the Fund's SAI.
17
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the past five fiscal years. Some of the information is presented on a per share basis. Total returns represent the rate an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund.
The information for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 has been derived from the financial statements audited by BBD LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, are included in the Fund's Annual Report, which is available, without charge, upon request. The information for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013, September 30, 2012, and September 30, 2011 has been audited by KPMG LLP, the Predecessor Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. Information for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010 was audited by the Predecessor Fund's former independent registered public accounting firms.
Institutional Shares and Class II shares of the Fund had not commenced operations as of the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, and therefore no financial highlights information is presented for these Classes of the Fund.
18
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
SCOTIA DYNAMIC U.S. GROWTH FUND CLASS I SHARES
For a Fund Share Outstanding Throughout each Period
For the Eleven
Months Ended August 31, 2014 (1)(2) |
For the Year
Ended September 30, 2013 |
For the Year
Ended September 30, 2012 |
For the Year
Ended September 30, 2011 |
For the Year
Ended September 30, 2010 |
For the Period
Ended September 30, 2009 * |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating
Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net Asset Value,
Beginning of Period |
$ |
27.45 |
$ |
22.45 |
$ |
18.83 |
$ |
16.36 |
$ |
12.32 |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||||||||||||
Net investment loss (3) |
(0.20 |
) |
(0.14 |
) |
(0.16 |
) |
(0.16 |
) |
(0.13 |
) |
(0.05 |
) |
|||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized
gain from investments |
2.96 |
5.14 |
4.21 |
2.82 |
5.80 |
2.37 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Total from operations |
2.76 |
5.00 |
4.05 |
2.66 |
5.67 |
2.32 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions
to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
|
|
|
|
(0.23 |
) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(2.57 |
) |
|
(0.50 |
) |
(0.24 |
) |
(1.40 |
) |
|
|||||||||||||||||
Total dividends and
distributions to shareholders |
(2.57 |
) |
|
(0.50 |
) |
(0.24 |
) |
(1.63 |
) |
|
|||||||||||||||||
Redemption fees added to
paid-in capital (3) |
|
|
0.07 |
0.05 |
|
(4) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Net Asset Value,
End of Period |
$ |
27.64 |
$ |
27.45 |
$ |
22.45 |
$ |
18.83 |
$ |
16.36 |
$ |
12.32 |
|||||||||||||||
Total Investment Return (5) |
10.62 |
% (6)(7) |
22.27 |
% |
22.31 |
% |
16.54 |
% |
49.82 |
% |
23.20 |
% (6) |
|||||||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period
(000 's omitted) |
$ |
59,924 |
$ |
55,737 |
$ |
59,007 |
$ |
53,332 |
$ |
10,319 |
$ |
616 |
|||||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets with waivers and reimbursements |
0.84 |
% (8) |
0.86 |
% |
0.95 |
% |
0.95 |
% |
0.95 |
% |
0.95 |
% (8) |
|||||||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average
net assets without waivers and reimbursements |
1.13 |
% (8) |
1.13 |
% |
1.25 |
% |
1.32 |
% |
6.14 |
% |
30.21 |
% (8) |
|||||||||||||||
Ratio of net investment loss
to average net assets |
(0.80 |
)% (8) |
(0.63 |
)% |
(0.75 |
)% |
(0.80 |
)% |
(0.90 |
)% |
(0.83 |
)% (8) |
|||||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
276.74 |
% (6) |
345.12 |
% |
323.54 |
% |
358.15 |
% |
244.38 |
% |
205.10 |
% (6) |
(1) The Fund changed its Fiscal year end to August 31.
(2) Effective as of the close of business on March 21, 2014, the Fund acquired all the assets and liabilities of the Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ("Predecessor Fund"), a series of Scotia Institutional Funds. The financial highlights for the period to that date reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund.
(3) The selected per share data was calculated based on average shares outstanding method for the period.
(4) Amount represents less than $0.005 per share.
(5) Total investment return is calculated assuming purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestment of dividend and distribtuions, if any.
(6) Not annualized.
(7) Includes adjustments in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and, consequently, the net asset value for financial reporting purposes and the returns based upon those net asset values may differ from the net asset values and returns for the shareholder transactions.
(8) Annualized
* The Fund commenced investment operations on March 31, 2009.
19
HOW TO OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
1-888-572-0968
us.scotiafunds.com
For More Information:
This prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports
These reports contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes Fund strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. The Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders are available on the Fund's website at us.scotiafunds.com.
Statement of Additional Information ("SAI")
The Fund's SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, and the Fund's Annual and Semi-Annual reports, may be obtained free of charge by calling 1-888-572-0968. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus and is legally considered a part of this prospectus. The SAI is available on the Fund's website at us.scotiafunds.com.
Shareholder Inquiries
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: 1-888-572-0968.
Purchases And Redemptions
Call your registered representative or 1-888-572-0968.
Written Correspondence
P.O. Box Address:
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
PO Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940-8041
Street Address:
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581
Securities and Exchange Commission
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
Investment Company Act File No. 811-0551
S1 Fund
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
Ticker Symbol: SONEX
I Shares
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
Simple Alternatives, LLC
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (THE "SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY SECTION |
|||||||
S1 Fund |
1 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
8 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS |
|||||||
Investment Adviser |
14 |
||||||
Sub-Advisers |
14 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
|||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
17 |
||||||
Market Timing |
17 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
18 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
20 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
21 |
||||||
More Information About Taxes |
22 |
||||||
Multi-Class Structure |
24 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
25 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Objective
The S1 Fund (the "Fund") seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute (positive) returns and low correlation to traditional financial market indices such as the S&P 500 ® Index.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold I Shares of the Fund.
I Shares |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Exchange Fee |
None |
||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that that you pay each year
as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management Fees |
2.75 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
None |
||||||
Other Expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend Expense on Short Sales (1) |
0.76 |
% |
|||||
Interest Expense on Borrowings |
0.48 |
% |
|||||
Other Operating Expenses |
0.69 |
% |
|||||
Total Other Expenses |
1.93 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (2) |
0.01 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
4.69 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursements (3) . |
(0.49 |
)% |
|||||
Net Expenses |
4.20 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) "Acquired Fund" means any investment company in which the Fund invests or has invested during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014. Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses and Net Expenses will not correlate to the Fund's ratio of expenses to average net assets (1) without waivers and reimbursements and (2) with waivers and reimbursements, respectively, included in the Fund's Financial Highlights, which do not reflect indirect expenses, such as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. The Fund calculates the Acquired Fund's expenses using the net expense ratios reported in the Acquired Fund's most recent shareholder reports.
(3) The Fund's investment adviser, Simple Alternatives, LLC (the "Adviser"), has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest, and taxes) exceeds 2.95% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's I Shares. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits, or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest, and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (after fees forgone and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed the applicable expense limitation. Effective September 23, 2010, if at any time the Fund's I Shares Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 2.95%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made if such reimbursement by the Fund does not cause the Fund to exceed existing expense limitations.
1
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 $1,000,000 in Class I Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
I Shares |
$ |
42,168 |
$ |
137,012 |
$ |
232,444 |
$ |
473,627 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 328.09% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund utilizes a "multi-manager" approach whereby the Fund's assets are allocated to one or more sub-advisers ("Sub-Advisers") in percentages determined at the discretion of the Fund's investment adviser, Simple Alternatives, LLC (the "Adviser"). The Adviser also manages a portion of the Fund's assets and monitors Sub- Adviser trading with the dual objectives of maximizing each Sub-Adviser's investment flexibility and assuring that the Fund as a whole complies with investment restrictions. Otherwise, each Sub-Adviser acts independently from the others and utilizes its own distinct investment style in selecting securities. However, each Sub-Adviser must operate within the constraints of the Fund's investment objective and strategies and the particular investment restrictions applicable to that Sub-Adviser.
The strategies utilized by the Fund are hedge fund-type strategies and include absolute return strategies as well as strategies aimed at enhanced risk-adjusted returns. The strategies and investment techniques employed by the Sub-Advisers aim to produce absolute returns over a full market cycle while managing risk exposure. These strategies and techniques may attempt to exploit disparities or inefficiencies in particular markets or geographical regions; take advantage of security mispricings or anticipated price movements; and/or benefit from cyclical themes and relationships or special situations and events (such as spin-offs or reorganizations). Such strategies may have low correlation to traditional markets because they seek asymmetric investment opportunities that may present risks unrelated to traditional markets.
The Sub-Advisers may invest and trade in a wide range of instruments, markets and asset classes in U.S. and non-U.S., developed and emerging markets. Investments include equities and equity-related instruments, fixed- income and other debt-related instruments, currencies, financial futures, options and swaps, commodity-linked instruments and private placements. Equities and equity-related instruments include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, sponsored and unsponsored depositary receipts, exchange traded funds ("ETFs"), Rule 144A equity securities, warrants, rights, and equity derivatives such as call and put options, forward currency exchange contracts, swaps and futures. Debt-related instruments include corporate bonds, Rule 144A bonds, defaulted debt securities, distressed debt securities, mezzanine investments, bank loans, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, unrated securities and securities of companies in bankruptcy. Commodity-linked instruments include commodity-linked structured notes, commodity index-linked securities and other derivative instruments that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets. The Sub-Advisers may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities acquired by the Fund may also include collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs"). CDOs include collateralized bond obligations ("CBOs") and collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs") and other similarly structured securities. The Sub-Advisers may invest in equity and debt securities of companies of all sizes and without limit on the credit quality or maturity of debt securities. These securities can be rated investment grade, rated below investment grade, or high yield securities (also known as "junk bonds"), which are below Baa3 by Moody's, BBB- by S&P or BBB- by Fitch or unrated. The Fund may invest in securities of the lowest rating category, including securities in default. There is no limit to the amount the Fund
2
may invest in junk bonds. The Sub-Advisers may borrow money from banks in order to purchase securities or for other investment purposes. The Sub-Advisers may also sell securities short, which is a form of leverage.
The Adviser has primary responsibility for allocating Fund assets in a manner that attempts to diversify the Fund's portfolio across multiple strategies and investment styles that the Adviser believes are complementary and, when combined, will produce enhanced risk-adjusted returns. The Adviser reviews a range of qualitative and quantitative factors when determining the allocations and reallocations to Sub-Advisers, including, but not limited to, the Sub-Adviser's style, historical performance and the characteristics of each Sub-Adviser's allocated assets (including investment process and statistical analysis). The Adviser will allocate Fund assets among strategies of the Sub-Advisers that it believes offer the potential for attractive long-term investment returns individually and are expected to blend within the Fund's portfolio so that it will have low correlation and low volatility relative to the broader stock and bond markets. The Adviser may direct a Sub-Adviser to reduce or limit its investment in certain assets or asset classes in order to achieve the desired composition of the Fund's overall portfolio. The Adviser retains the discretion to invest the Fund's assets in securities and other instruments directly and may do so in certain circumstances including pending allocation to a Sub-Adviser, to hedge against overall Fund exposure created by the Sub-Advisers, or to increase or reduce the Fund's exposure to a particular issuer, sector, industry or general market risk, including interest rate risk.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. The Fund is only a suitable investment for investors who can bear leverage and derivatives securities risks. The principal risk factors affecting shareholders' investments in the Fund are set forth below.
• Multi-Manager Dependence. The success of the Fund's investment strategy depends both on the Adviser's ability to select Sub-Advisers and to allocate assets to those Sub-Advisers and on each Sub-Adviser's ability to execute the relevant strategy and select investments for the Fund. The Sub-Advisers' investment styles may not always be complementary, which could affect the performance of the Fund.
• Absolute Return Focus. The Fund's returns may deviate from overall market returns to a greater degree than other funds that do not employ an absolute return focus. In addition, if the Fund or a Sub-Adviser takes a defensive posture by hedging its portfolio and stock prices subsequently advance, the Fund's returns may be lower than expected and lower than if the Fund's portfolio had not been hedged.
• Equity Securities. The Fund is designed for investors who can accept the risks of investing in a portfolio with significant holdings of equity securities. Equity securities tend to be more volatile than other investment choices, such as debt and money market instruments. The value of your investment may decrease in response to overall stock market movements or the value of individual securities held by the Fund.
• Mid Capitalization Company Investments. Securities of companies with mid capitalizations ("mid cap") tend to be riskier than securities of companies with large capitalizations. This is because mid cap companies typically have smaller product lines and less access to liquidity than large cap companies, and are therefore more sensitive to economic downturns. In addition, growth prospects of mid cap companies tend to be less certain than large cap companies, and the dividends paid by mid cap stocks are frequently negligible. Moreover, mid cap stocks have, on occasion, fluctuated in the opposite direction of large cap stocks or the general stock market. Consequently, securities of mid cap companies tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies.
• Small Capitalization Company Investments. Securities of companies with small capitalizations ("small cap") tend to be riskier than securities of companies with mid cap and large capitalizations. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets and financial resources. The prices of small cap stocks tend to be more volatile than those of other stocks. Small cap stocks are not priced as efficiently as stocks of larger companies. In addition, it may be harder to sell these stocks, especially during a down market or upon the occurrence of adverse company-specific events, which can reduce their selling prices.
• Fixed Income Securities. Fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest are subject to certain risks, including: interest rate risk, prepayment risk and credit/default risk. Interest rate risk involves the risk that prices of fixed income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes. Prepayment risk involves the risk that in declining interest rate environments prepayments of principal could increase and require the Fund to reinvest proceeds of the prepayments at lower interest rates. Credit risk involves the risk that the credit rating of a security may be lowered.
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• Asset-Backed Securities. The risks of investing in asset-backed securities include interest rate risk, prepayment risk and the risk that the Fund could lose money if there are defaults on the loans underlying these securities.
• Mortgaged-Backed Securities. The risks of investing in mortgaged-backed securities include interest rate risk, prepayment risk and the risk that the Fund could lose money if there are defaults on the mortgage loans underlying these securities.
• High Yield Debt Obligations. The Fund may invest in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Investments. International investing is subject to special risks, including currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or through depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
• Emerging Markets. Investment in emerging market securities involves greater risk than that associated with investment in foreign securities of developed foreign countries. These risks include volatile currency exchange rates, periods of high inflation, increased risk of default, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, less governmental supervision and regulation of securities markets, weaker auditing and financial reporting standards, lack of liquidity in the markets, and the significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.
• Leverage. The Fund may borrow money from banks in order to purchase securities or for other investment purposes. The Fund may also engage in selling securities short, which is a form of leverage. Although the use of leverage by the Fund may create an opportunity for increased return, it also results in additional risks and can magnify the effect of any losses. There is no assurance that the use of leverage as an investment strategy will be successful.
• Derivatives. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments such as options, forward currency exchange contracts, swaps and futures, which may be leveraged, may result in losses. Investments in derivative instruments may result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
• Commodity Sector Risk. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The prices of energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture and livestock sector commodities may fluctuate widely due to factors such as changes in value, supply and demand and governmental regulatory policies. The commodity- linked securities in which the Fund invests may be issued by companies in the financial services sector, and events affecting the financial services sector may cause the Fund's share value to fluctuate.
• Convertible Securities. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
• Valuation. Portfolio securities that have been valued using techniques other than market quotations may have valuations that are different from those produced using market quotations, and the security may be sold at a discount to the value established by the Fund.
• Redemptions. The Fund could experience a loss when selling securities to meet redemption requests by shareholders if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent, occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices for the securities sold, or when the securities the Fund wishes to or is required to sell are illiquid.
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• Portfolio Turnover. The Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains.
• Exchange Traded Funds. ETFs are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that the ETF is designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
• New Adviser Risk. The Fund's Sub-Advisers may be newly-formed, newly registered with the SEC and have not previously managed a mutual fund. Accordingly, investors in the Fund bear the risk that a Sub-Adviser's inexperience may limit its effectiveness.
Fund Performance
The chart below illustrates the performance of the Fund's I Shares. The bar chart shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information may be obtained at www.S1Fund.com or by calling 1-866-882-1226.
TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE CALENDAR YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above): |
|||||||
Best Quarter: |
4.68% (quarter ended December 31, 2013) |
||||||
Worst Quarter: |
(3.93)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011) |
||||||
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: (1.64)% |
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
The table below compares the Fund's total returns for the past calendar year, past three calendar years and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same period. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
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AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Period Ended December 31, 2013
1 Year |
3 Years |
Since Inception
(September 30, 2010) |
|||||||||||||
I Shares Before Taxes |
9.03 |
% |
4.58 |
% |
3.83 |
% |
|||||||||
I Shares After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
8.28 |
% |
4.33 |
% |
3.60 |
% |
|||||||||
I Shares After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
5.72 |
% |
3.53 |
% |
2.95 |
% |
|||||||||
S&P 500 ® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
26.90 |
% |
13.72 |
% |
16.02 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax- deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (IRA).
Management of the Fund
Investment Advisers and Sub-Advisers
Simple Alternatives, LLC, 90 Grove Street, Suite 205, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC, Courage Capital Management, LLC, Garelick Capital Partners, L.P., Maerisland Capital, LLC, Sonica Capital LLC, and Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC, each serves as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $1,000,000
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professions (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
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Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
S1 Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9869
Providence, RI 02940-8042
Purchase By Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-866-882-1226 to confirm the current wire instructions for the S1 Fund.
Redemption By Telephone:
Call the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
This section provides some additional information about the Fund's investments and certain portfolio management techniques that the Fund may use. More information about the Fund's investments and portfolio management techniques, and related risks, is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
The Fund's investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without the approval of the Fund's shareholders. However, as a matter of policy, the Fund would not materially change its investment objective without informing shareholders at least 60 days in advance of any such change.
Additional Information About the Fund's Principal Investments and Risks
Sub-Adviser Investment Strategies. The Sub-Advisers will use a combination of the following investment strategies:
Relative Value
This strategy is designed to take advantage of perceived discrepancies in the market prices of certain convertible bond, common stock, fixed income and derivative securities. Such discrepancies are often created by imbalances in supply and demand of different types of issues (for example, agency securities relative to U.S. Treasury securities).
Event Driven
This strategy is designed to invest in securities whose prices are or will be impacted by a corporate event. Such events include restructurings, spin-offs and significant litigation (e.g., tobacco litigation). Opportunities in this area are created by the reluctance of traditional investors to assume the risk associated with certain corporate events.
Long/Short Equity
This strategy employs long and short trading in common stock and preferred stock of U.S. and foreign issuers. This strategy attempts to neutralize exposure to general market risk by primarily investing in stocks that are undervalued and short selling those stocks that are considered to be overvalued.
Market Neutral Equity
This strategy is designed to exploit equity market inefficiencies, which involves being simultaneously invested in long and short matched equity portfolios generally of the same size, usually in the same market. These strategies are typically constructed to attempt to be beta neutral and attempt to control the industry, sector, market capitalization and other potential market bias exposures.
Global Macro
This strategy seeks to generate income and/or capital appreciation through a portfolio of investments focused on macro-economic opportunities across numerous markets and instruments. These strategies may include positions in the cash, currency, futures and forward markets. Trading positions are generally held both long and/or short in both U.S. and non-U.S. markets. With a broader global scope, returns to the Global Macro strategy generally exhibit little to no correlation with the broader domestic equity and bond markets.
Convertible Arbitrage
This strategy seeks to take advantage of pricing inefficiencies of the embedded option in a convertible bond. The strategy typically involves the purchase of a convertible debt or preferred equity instrument (an instrument that is effectively a bond or has a fixed obligation of repayment with an embedded equity option, non-detachable warrants or an equity-linked or equity-indexed note) concurrent with the short sale of, or a short over-the-counter derivative position in, the common stock of the issuer of such debt instrument.
Credit Biased
These strategies invest primarily in the following sectors: secured leveraged loans, high yield bonds, distressed debt, structured credit, and global debt (typically less efficient areas of the global fixed income markets than traditional fixed income strategies). Generally these sectors may include wide credit rating ranges (including leveraged buyouts), may include distressed debt strategies and may include restricted securities and securities that may not be registered for which a market may not be readily available.
Mortgage Backed Securities
This strategy is designed to exploit perceived mispricings in mortgage back securities. Such mispricings can result from periods of market illiquidity and distress or from analytical anomalies. The strategy will invest in both conventional and complex mortgage backed securities.
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Opportunistic Equities
This strategy is designed to capitalize on underpriced equity securities or on positive market trends and may focus in certain securities markets, industries, company sizes, or geographical areas. Strategies are primarily managed for absolute return and Sub-Advisers assess risk and opportunity on an absolute, not an index-relative basis, by focusing on relatively few investments that a sub-adviser believes are undervalued and either offer a margin-of-safety, or offer high growth opportunities. Selective hedging through the use of short sales or options may be utilized to manage risk exposure. Strategies may also focus on special situations or events, including distressed equities.
Additional Investment Strategies
The Fund also has the ability to employ additional strategies including borrowing money from banks to purchase securities and investing in warrants, options and futures, reverse repurchase agreements, initial public offerings, restricted securities, and other investment companies. Each Sub-Adviser will have its own methods of determining when to sell an investment, which will vary depending on the Sub-Adviser's investment strategy. Sell decisions may be triggered by an adverse change in a company's operating performance or a deterioration of a company's business model. A sell trigger may also occur if a Sub-Adviser discovers a new investment opportunity that it believes is more compelling.
Derivative Contracts. The Fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts for any of the following purposes:
• To seek to hedge against the possible adverse impact of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates in the market value of its securities or securities to be purchased;
• As a substitute for buying or selling currencies or securities; or
• To seek to enhance the Fund's return in non-hedging situations (which is considered a speculative activity).
Examples of derivative contracts include: futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward foreign currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps. The Fund may use derivative contracts involving foreign currencies. A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the Fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment that is based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the Fund's stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the Fund's holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities in that the counterparty may default on its payment obligations or become insolvent. Derivatives can also make the Fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.
Short Sales. The Fund engages in short sales including those that are not "against the box," which means that the Fund may make short sales where the Fund does not currently own or have the right to acquire, at no added cost, securities identical to those sold short in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). In a typical short sale, the Fund borrows from a broker a security in order to sell the security to a third party. The Fund is then obligated to return a security of the same issuer and quantity at some future date. The Fund realizes a loss to the extent the security increases in value or a profit to the extent the security declines in value (after taking into account any associated costs). Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited. The Fund will not make a short sale if, immediately before the transaction, the market value of all securities sold short exceeds 95% of the value of the Fund's assets.
Equity and Equity-Related Securities. The Fund invests in all types of equity securities. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), and equity participations. Investments in equity securities and equity derivatives in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to
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additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of such securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause the Fund's net asset value to fluctuate. The number of issuers in the Fund's portfolio will vary over time.
Fixed Income Investments. The Fund invests a portion of its assets in fixed income securities. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate and governmental issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features. The principal debt investments of the Fund will be fixed and floating rate securities with no reset terms.
The credit quality of securities held in the Fund's portfolio is determined at the time of investment. If a security is rated differently by multiple ratings organizations, the Fund treats the security as being rated in the higher rating category.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. Mortgage-backed securities may be issued by private companies or by agencies of the U.S. government. Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property.
Certain debt instruments may only pay principal at maturity or may only represent the right to receive payments of principal or payments of interest on underlying pools of mortgage or government securities, but not both. The value of these types of instruments may change more drastically than debt securities that pay both principal and interest during periods of changing interest rates. Principal only mortgage-backed securities are particularly subject to prepayment risk. The Fund may obtain a below market yield or incur a loss on such instruments during periods of declining interest rates. Interest only instruments are particularly subject to extension risk, i.e. the risk that an issuer will exercise its right to pay later than expected. This may occur when there is a rise in interest rates. Mortgage derivatives and structured securities often employ features that have the effect of leverage. As a result, small changes in interest or prepayment rates may cause large and sudden price movements, especially compared to an investment in a security that is not leveraged. Mortgage derivatives can also become illiquid and hard to value in declining markets.
Mortgage-backed securities that are collateralized by a portfolio of mortgages or mortgage-related securities depend on the payments of principal and interest made by or through the underlying assets, which may not be sufficient to meet the payment obligations of the mortgage-backed securities. Prepayments of principal, which occur more frequently in falling interest rate conditions, may shorten the term and reduce the value of these securities. The quality and value of the underlying collateral may decline, or default, which has become a significant risk for collateral related to sub-prime mortgage loans, especially in a declining residential real estate market. Further, these securities generally are privately sold and may not be readily marketable, particularly after a rapid decrease in value. Investments in mortgage-backed securities may also be subject to valuation risk.
The Fund may also use mortgage dollar rolls to finance the purchase of additional investments. Dollar rolls expose the Fund to the risk that it will lose money if the additional investments do not produce enough income to cover the Fund's dollar roll obligations. In addition, if the Adviser's or Sub-Advisers' prepayment assumptions are incorrect, the Fund may have performed better had the Fund not entered into the mortgage dollar roll. Unless covered, investing in dollar rolls creates leverage and dollar rolls are subject to the general risks involved in leveraging.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) through American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") or International Depositary Receipts ("IDRs"). Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder
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communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
In addition, the Fund may invest in securities traded or denominated in foreign currencies and in multinational currencies such as the Euro. The Fund will value its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. Investments in securities of foreign entities and securities denominated or traded in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of the Fund's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
Valuation. Portfolio securities may be valued using techniques other than market quotations. The value established for a portfolio security may be different than what would be produced through the use of another methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio securities that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including "fair valued" securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their value from one day to the next than would be the case if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell a portfolio security for the value established for it at any time and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio security is sold at a discount to its established value.
Interest Rate Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities will tend to be lower than prevailing market interest rates. In periods of falling interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities generally will tend to be higher than prevailing market interest rates. Prices of longer-term fixed income securities are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than prices of shorter-term fixed-income securities.
Credit/Default Risk. The credit rating of an issuer or guarantor of a security in which the Fund invests may be lowered or an issuer or guarantor of a security or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a repurchase agreement may default on its payment obligations.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund's investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Liquid securities may also become illiquid because of market events or uncertainties. Illiquidity can be caused by a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities' resale. Certain securities that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, particularly in times of overall economic distress.
Leveraging Risks. The use of leverage by the Adviser and Sub-Advisers may increase the volatility of the Fund. These leveraged instruments may result in losses to the Fund or may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value or total return, because instruments that contain leverage are more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The Fund may also use borrowed funds to create leverage. Although the use of leverage by the Fund may create an opportunity for increased return, it also results in additional risks and can magnify the effect of any losses. If the income and gains earned on the securities and instruments purchased with leverage proceeds are greater than the cost of the leverage, the Fund's return will be greater than if leverage had not been used. Conversely, if the income and gains from the securities and instruments purchased with such proceeds does not cover the cost of leverage, the Fund's return will be less than if leverage had not been used. In the event of a sudden, precipitous drop in value of the Fund's assets, the Fund may not be able to liquidate assets quickly enough to pay off its borrowing. Short sales of securities also involve the use of leverage. Using this investment technique may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value or total return.
To limit leverage risk, the Fund will segregate assets determined by the Adviser to be liquid in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Directors, or, when permissible, enter into offsetting transactions, to cover its obligations resulting from its use of derivative instruments. Securities held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the futures contract, option or other derivative is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other suitable assets. As a result, it is possible that segregating a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede portfolio management or its ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
Interest Rate Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Credit Default Swaps, Options on Swaps and Interest Rate Caps, Floors and Collars.
• Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments.
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• Total return swaps are contracts that obligate one party to pay the other party an amount equal to the total return on a defined underlying asset or a non-asset reference during a specified period of time. The underlying asset might be a security or basket of securities or a non-asset reference such as a securities index. In return, the other party would make periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or on the total return from a different underlying asset or non-asset reference.
• Credit default swaps are contracts whereby one party makes periodic payments to a counterparty in exchange for the right to receive from the counterparty a payment equal to the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation in the event of a default by the issuer of the debt obligation.
• Options on swaps ("swaptions") are options to enter into a swap agreement. The Fund may also purchase and write (sell) swaptions. Like other types of options, the buyer of a swaption pays a non-refundable premium for the option and obtains the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms. The seller of a swaption, in exchange for the premium, becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms.
• Interest rate caps entitle the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payment of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap.
• Interest rate floors entitle the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor.
• Interest rate collars combine a cap and a floor that are designed to preserve a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates.
The Fund may enter into the transactions described above for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return (which is considered a speculative activity). The use of swaps, swaptions, and interest rate caps, floors and collars is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If the Adviser or a Sub-Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values and interest rates, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment techniques were not used.
Counterparties. To the extent the Fund invests in loans or securities traded over-the-counter, swaps, "synthetic" or derivative instruments, repurchase agreements, certain types of options or other customized financial instruments, the Fund takes the risk of non-performance by the other party to the contract. This risk may include credit risk of the counterparty and the risk of settlement default. This risk may differ materially from those entailed in exchange-traded transactions that generally are supported by guarantees of clearing organizations, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from such protections and expose the parties to the risk of counterparty default.
Commodity-Linked Derivatives. The Fund may gain exposure to the commodities markets through commodity-linked structured notes, swap agreements and commodity futures and options. These instruments have one or more commodity-dependent components. They are derivative instruments because at least part of their value is derived from the value of an underlying commodity index, commodity futures contract, index or other readily measurable economic variable. The prices of commodity-linked derivative instruments may move in different directions than investments in traditional equity and debt securities when the value of those traditional securities is declining due to adverse economic conditions. As an example, during periods of rising inflation, historically debt securities have tended to decline in value due to the general increase in prevailing interest rates. Conversely, during those same periods of rising inflation, historically the prices of certain commodities, such as oil and metals, have tended to increase. There cannot be any guarantee that derivative instruments will perform in that manner in the future, and at certain times the price movements of commodity-linked investments have been parallel to debt and equity securities.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities have characteristics of both equity and fixed-income securities. The value of a convertible security tends to move with the market value of the underlying stock, but may also be affected by interest rates, credit quality of the issuer and any call provisions. In particular, when interest rates rise, fixed-income securities will decline in value. Convertible securities frequently have speculative characteristics and may be acquired without regard to minimum quality ratings. Lower quality convertible securities, also known as "junk bonds," involve greater risk of default or price changes due to the issuer's creditworthiness. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than those of higher quality securities and may decline
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significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates. Securities in the lowest quality category may present the risk of default, or may be in default.
Tax Risk. The Fund may seek to gain exposure to the commodity markets through investments in commodity- linked notes. The Fund has not requested or received a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") regarding their treatment for purposes of the Fund's qualification as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code ("Code"). Additionally, the tax treatment of commodity-linked notes and other commodity-linked derivatives may be adversely affected by future legislation, U.S. Treasury Regulations and/or guidance issued by the IRS that could affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Fund's taxable income or any gains and distributions made by the Fund.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). The Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in ETFs. ETFs are registered investment companies whose shares are listed and traded on U.S. stock exchanges or otherwise traded in the over-the-counter market. In general, ETFs seek to track a specified securities index or a basket of securities that an "index provider," such as Standard & Poor's, selects as representative of a market, market segment or industry sector. An ETF portfolio generally holds the same stocks or bonds as the index it tracks or it may hold a representative sample of such securities. Thus, an ETF is designed so that its performance will correspond closely with that of the index it tracks. As a shareholder in an ETF, the Fund will bear its pro rata portion of an ETF's expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
Other Investment Companies. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in the securities of other investment companies (including issues that would be investment companies but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act), but may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of any one investment company or acquire more than 3% of the voting securities of any other investment company. Among other things, the Fund may invest in money market mutual funds for cash management purposes by "sweeping" excess cash balances into such funds until the cash is invested or otherwise utilized. 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 advisory and administration fees paid by the Fund. Investments in issues that would be investment companies but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act will generally be considered illiquid investments and would be subject to the Fund's 15% limitation on investments in illiquid securities.
Redemptions. The Fund may need to sell its holdings in order to meet shareholder redemption requests. The Fund could experience a loss when selling securities to meet redemption requests if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent, occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices for the securities sold, or when the securities the Fund wishes to or is required to sell are illiquid. The Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at its desired time or price. Illiquidity can be caused by a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities' resale. Certain securities that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, particularly in times of overall economic distress.
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading, resulting in high portfolio turnover. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, increasing their tax liability. Frequent trading may also increase transaction costs, which could detract from the Fund's performance.
Temporary Investments. The Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking temporary defensive positions (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. If the Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
Broad-Based Securities Market Index. The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, classified in eleven industry sectors, which represent approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in the index.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the SAI. The SAI is incorporated herein.
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
Investment Adviser
Simple Alternatives, LLC, a registered investment adviser located at 90 Grove Street, Suite 205, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, provides investment advisory services to the Fund subject to the general supervision of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser was founded in October 2009 by James Dilworth.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee at the annual rate of 2.75% of the Fund's average daily net assets, computed daily and payable monthly. The Adviser has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest and taxes and any other items as agreed upon by the Company and the Adviser from time to time) exceeds 2.95% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's I Shares. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest and taxes and any other items as agreed upon by the Company and the Adviser from time to time are excluded from the expense limitation, Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (after fees forgone and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed the applicable expense limitation. Effective September 23, 2010, if at any time the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 2.95%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made if such reimbursement by the Fund does not cause the Fund to exceed existing expense limitations. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, after waivers, the Adviser has received 2.26% of the Fund's average daily net assets. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 2.75% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
The Fund is managed by the Adviser and one or more Sub-Advisers unaffiliated with the Adviser. The Adviser also has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the Sub-Advisers, and to recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. James Dilworth is the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Prior to founding Simple Alternatives, LLC, Mr. Dilworth worked with Common Sense Investment Management, LLC. Common Sense Investment Management is an institutional hedge fund of funds. Mr. Dilworth founded Dilworth Securities, Inc. and Dilworth Capital Management, LLC in 2003. Prior to establishing Dilworth Capital, Mr. Dilworth served as the CEO and Managing Director of London-based Middlebury Capital Partners International, a holding company partially owned by and managing investments for the Charles R. Schwab family. In 1998, Mr. Dilworth joined Clark Winter in developing Winter Capital International, a fund of funds based in New York City, which was sold to Citigroup Private Bank in late 2000. Mr. Dilworth received his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Business.
Sub-Advisers
The Fund has received an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Adviser to engage or terminate a Sub-Adviser, and to enter into and materially amend an existing sub-advisory agreement, upon the approval of the Board of Directors, without obtaining shareholder approval. The Sub-Advisers provide investment advisory services to the portion of the Fund's portfolio allocated to them by the Adviser. The Adviser compensates each Sub-Adviser at a rate negotiated by the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. The Adviser selects Sub-Advisers based upon the Sub-Adviser's skills in managing assets pursuant to particular investment styles and strategies. The Adviser monitors existing Sub-Advisers based on their investment styles, strategies, and results in managing assets for specific asset classes. Each Sub-Adviser will have discretion to select portfolio securities for its portion of the Fund, but must select those securities according to the Fund's investment objectives and restrictions. The Fund is not required to invest with any minimum number of Sub-Advisers, and does not have minimum or maximum limitations with respect to allocations of assets to any Sub-Adviser. The Adviser may change the allocation of the Fund's assets among the available Sub-Advisers, and may add or remove Sub-Advisers, at any time.
Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC ("Blue Lion") , a registered investment adviser located at 8115 Preston Road, Suite 550, Dallas, TX 75225, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Charles W. Griege, Jr. is the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Blue Lion. Mr. Griege has been Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Blue Lion since 2005. Prior to starting Blue Lion, Mr. Griege joined Atlas Capital Management, a long/short equity
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fund, as a partner in May 2001. Prior to Atlas, Mr. Griege spent six years in investment banking, most recently as a Managing Director at SoundView Technology Group. Prior to joining SoundView, Mr. Griege was a Vice President in the research sales division of Sanford Bernstein. Mr. Griege received an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School in 1990 and a BA degree from Vanderbilt University in 1985. Blue Lion employs a long/short equity strategy with a value-oriented bias in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub-Adviser provides advisory services.
Courage Capital Management, LLC ("Courage Capital") , a registered investment adviser located at 4400 Harding Road, Ste. 503, Nashville, Tennessee 37205, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Courage Capital was founded in 1998 by Richard C. Patton, who is also the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Courage Capital. Mr. Patton is also Chief Investment Adviser of Courage Capital. Prior to founding Courage Capital, Mr. Patton co-founded and operated Woodmont Capital, LLC. Mr. Patton serves on the American Red Cross Board of Governors. Mr. Patton earned a B.S. in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Courage Capital employs an event driven investment strategy, including investments in special situations companies and distressed securities, in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub-Adviser provides advisory services.
Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. ("Garelick") , a registered investment adviser located at 60 State Street, Suite 3730, Boston, MA 02109, has served as Sub-Adviser to the Fund since July 2, 2013. Garelick was founded in May 2012 and is majority owned by Bruce Garelick, its Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, who is primarily responsible for directing the business and affairs of Garelick. Prior to forming Garelick, from 2005 until 2011, Mr. Garelick acted as Lead Technology Portfolio Manager for Adage Capital Management, LP, a Boston based equity hedge fund manager. Mr. Garelick earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1992 and a Masters in Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Garelick will employ an equity long/short strategy with a focus on technology securities. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub-Adviser provides advisory services.
Maerisland Capital, LLC ("Maerisland") , a registered investment adviser located at 500 Newport Center Drive, Suite 600, Newport Beach, CA 92660, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since February 27, 2012. Maerisland was formed in September of 2011 by Mark Beder, who is also the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Maerisland. Mr. Beder has over 19 years of investment experience as a fundamental, bottoms-up investor and has managed global equity portfolios with long-only, market-neutral and long/short hedged strategies. Prior to forming Maerisland, Mr. Beder was a partner with the Tremblant Capital Group ("Tremblant") from September 1, 2005 through 2010. Mr. Beder was the founding member and sole portfolio manager of the Tremblant-Trident Funds. Following Tremblant's restructuring in late 2008, Mr. Beder was named a partner at Tremblant, managed a generalist book within Tremblant's main fund, and served on the Investment and the Risk Management Committees. Prior to his work at Tremblant, Mr. Beder was a co-founder and co-portfolio manager of KiCap Management Funds ("KiCap"), series market neutral hedge funds. Mr. Beder and his co-portfolio manager at KiCap began their work together while co-heading the global telecom and media team at Tiger Management, LLC. Mr. Beder and his partner managed a book of over $300 million of assets within Tiger Management's main fund. Prior to joining Tiger Management in 1999, Mr. Beder spent 6 years with The Capital Group Companies where he managed a $1.4 billion global telecom portfolio and was the lead manager to an additional $6 billion in global telecom assets. Prior to entering the investment industry, Mr. Beder was a Lieutenant Commander and Assault Team Leader with the United States Navy SEAL Team. Mr. Beder holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Beder serves as a Trustee for Harbor Day School and is a Board Member for Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Maerisland uses a long/short global investment strategy that focuses on proprietary research in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub-Adviser provides advisory services.
Sonica Capital LLC ("Sonica") , a registered investment adviser located at 400 Madison Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10017, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since June 4, 2013. Alexander Fodor is the founder, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Member of Sonica. Mr. Fodor is responsible for both the day-to-day investment decisions and the long-term strategy of that portion of the assets of the Fund allocated to it by the Adviser. Mr. Fodor has over 15 years of investment and equity research experience. From 2006 until founding Sonica in 2008, Mr. Fodor was at Izara Capital Management, LLC, where he headed the firm's research, investment and coverage of equities in the consumer sector. Mr. Fodor holds a Masters of Business Administration
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degree from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University. Sonica employs a research-based long/short equity investment strategy, with a focus on equities of U.S companies with understandable business models.
Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC ("SRES") , a registered investment adviser located at 591 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. SRES was launched in 2004. SRES is jointly owned by Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and Advisor, and Matthew C. Gilman, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Sternlicht has structured more than 400 investment transactions with an asset value of more than $40 billion. From 1995 through 2005, Mr. Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a company he founded in 1995. Mr. Gilman is the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by SRES. Mr. Gilman joined Starwood Real Estate Securities LLC at its founding in 2004. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Gilman was Senior Portfolio Manager at ABP Investments US, Inc., the US subsidiary of the Dutch Civil Service Pension Fund, regarded as one of the largest in the world. Mr. Gilman covered real estate securities at JP Morgan Investment Management from 1995 to 1999 and for one year at Genesis Realty Advisors from 1994 to 1995. Mr. Gilman began his career at Wellsford Residential Properties in 1992, a multi-family real estate investment trust. Mr. Gilman is a graduate of Dartmouth College and is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. SRES employs a long/short equity investment strategy, with a focus on public real estate securities, in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub- Adviser provides advisory services.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Fund.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approval of the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser and sub-advisory agreements with the Sub-Advisers is available in the Fund's annual report for the period ended August 31, 2014.
Marketing Arrangement
The Adviser or its affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of profits derived from the Adviser's management fee and not as an additional charge to the Fund, to certain financial institutions (which may include banks, securities dealers and other industry professionals) for the sale and/or distribution of Fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of Fund investors and Fund shares ("revenue sharing"). These payments are in addition to any record keeping or sub-transfer agency fees payable by the Fund, or other fees described in the fee table or elsewhere in the Prospectus or SAI. Examples of "revenue sharing" payments include, but are not limited to, payment to financial institutions for "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, but not limited to, inclusion of the Fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Adviser access to the financial institution's sales force; granting the Adviser access to the financial institution's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial institution's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial institutions may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the Fund attributable to the financial institution, or other factors as agreed to by the Adviser and the financial institution or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Adviser from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial institutions depending upon the services provided by the financial institution. Such payments may provide an incentive for the financial institution to make shares of the Fund available to its customers and may allow the Fund greater access to the financial institution's customers.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
I Shares of the Fund ("Shares") are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV per share of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases of Fund shares at the NAV next determined after receipt by the Fund's Transfer Agent of your purchase order in good order. The Fund will effect redemptions of Fund shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Fund's Transfer Agent of your redemption request in good order.
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If the Fund holds foreign equity securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equities securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser and Sub-Advisers, securities will be valued by the Adviser and Sub-Advisers in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before the Fund prices its shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in ETFs, REITs and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected
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purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. The Adviser reviews on a regular, periodic basis available information related 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, the Adviser, on a periodic basis, examines transactions that exceed certain monetary thresholds or numerical limits within a period of time. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, it may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund. The Adviser 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. The Adviser will apply the criteria in a manner that, in its judgment, will be uniform.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares representing interests in the Fund are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor").
General. You may purchase Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company records. The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $1,000,000. There is no minimum for subsequent investments. The Fund may accept initial investments of smaller amounts in its sole discretion. You can only purchase Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Fund may also be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Certain features of the Shares, such as the initial and subsequent investment minimums and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if Shares are purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of Shares and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following Business Day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the financial intermediary to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after they are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
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For administration, subaccounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Adviser may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee") of the average annual net asset value of accounts with the Company maintained by such Service Organization or recordkeepers. The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
Initial Investment By Mail. An account may be opened by completing and signing the application included with this Prospectus and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check ($1,000,000 minimum) payable to the Fund. Third party checks will not be accepted.
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
S1 Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9869 Providence, RI 02940 |
S1 Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
The name of the Fund should be designated on the application and should appear on the check. Payment for the purchase of Shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Shares of the Fund may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. For the Fund, notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) Request account information and routing instructions by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time by purchasing Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to S1 Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the date of purchase.
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in Shares of the Fund may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through an Automatic Investment Plan ($250 minimum). Investors desiring to participate in an Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interest of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to Board approval,
19
decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. Persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Company,
b. Existing and future clients of financial advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the closed Fund,
c. Employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children, and
d. Directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Fund's Shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places.
The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's Shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
You may redeem Fund Shares at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. You may redeem Fund Shares by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of Shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to S1 Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9869, Providence, RI 02940; for overnight delivery, requests should be addressed to S1 Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 and must include:
a. Name of the Fund;
b. Account number;
c. Your Share certificates, if any, properly endorsed or with proper powers of attorney;
d. A letter of instruction specifying the number of Shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the Shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
e. Medallion signature guarantees are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s) or (ii) the redemption request is for $50,000 or more. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a Medallion Program recognized by the Securities Transfer
20
Association. The three recognized Medallion Programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
f. Other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of Shares by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholder's account in the Fund at any time the value of the account in the Fund falls below $5,000 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in the Fund is less than $5,000 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed. The transaction fee applicable to the Fund will not be charged when Shares are involuntarily redeemed.
The Fund may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for Shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option.
Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Fund at least annually. The estimated amount of any annual distribution will be posted to the Adviser's website at www.S1Fund.com or a free copy may be obtained by calling 1-866-882-1226.
21
The Fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the Fund to avoid U.S. federal tax. The Fund's distributions and dividends, whether received in cash or reinvested in additional Fund Shares, are subject to U.S. federal income tax.
More Information About Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long- term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations. The high anticipated portfolio turnover rate of the Fund makes it likely that a significant portion of its distributions will not qualify for this favorable treatment.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
The Fund may be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign taxes on income or gain from certain foreign securities. If more than 50% of the value of the total assets of the Fund consists of stocks and securities (including debt securities) of foreign corporations at the close of a taxable year, the Fund may elect, for federal income tax purposes, to treat certain foreign taxes paid by it, including generally any withholding and other foreign income taxes, as paid by its shareholders. If the Fund makes this election, the amount of those foreign taxes paid by the Fund will be included in its shareholders' income pro rata (in addition to taxable distributions actually received by them), and each such shareholder will be entitled either (1) to credit that proportionate amount of taxes against U.S. federal income tax liability as a foreign tax credit or (2) to take that amount as an itemized deduction. If the Fund is not eligible or chooses not to make this election the Fund will be entitled to deduct any such foreign taxes in computing the amounts it is required to distribute.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you
22
receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the IRS and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares in the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
23
Multi-Class Structure
The Fund also offers R Shares, which are offered directly to individual investors in a separate prospectus. Shares of each class of the Fund represent equal pro rata interests in the Fund and accrue dividends and calculate NAV and performance quotations in the same manner. The performance of each class is quoted separately due to different actual expenses. The total return on I Shares of the Fund can be expected to differ from the total return on R Shares of the Fund. Information concerning other classes of the Fund can be requested by calling the Fund at 1-866-882-1226.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
24
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single I Share of the Fund. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Fund's financial statements and has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Fund's financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
I Shares
for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2014 |
I Shares
for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2013 |
I Shares
for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2012 |
I Shares
for the Period ended August 31, 2011 (1) |
||||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
10.39 |
$ |
10.06 |
$ |
9.96 |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||||||||
Net investment loss (2) |
(0.36 |
) |
(0.29 |
) |
(0.32 |
) |
(0.29 |
) |
|||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain
from investments |
1.28 |
0.64 |
0.42 |
0.25 |
(3) |
||||||||||||||
Total from operations |
0.92 |
0.35 |
0.10 |
(0.04 |
) |
||||||||||||||
Distributions to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||
From net realized gains |
(0.32 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
|
|
|||||||||||||
Total distributions |
(0.32 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
|
|
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
10.99 |
$ |
10.39 |
$ |
10.06 |
$ |
9.96 |
|||||||||||
Total investment return (4) |
8.90 |
% |
3.52 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
(0.40 |
)% (5) | |||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) |
$ |
97,140 |
$ |
84,799 |
$ |
64,289 |
$ |
51,234 |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with
waivers and reimbursements (including dividend and interest expense) |
4.19 |
% |
4.43 |
% |
4.42 |
% |
4.06 |
% (6) | |||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with
waivers and reimbursements (excluding dividend and interest expense) |
2.95 |
% |
2.95 |
% |
2.95 |
% |
2.95 |
% (6) | |||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
without waivers and reimbursements (including dividend and interest expense) |
4.68 |
% |
4.81 |
% |
5.24 |
% |
6.39 |
% (6) | |||||||||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average
net assets |
(3.31 |
)% |
(2.76 |
)% |
(3.24 |
)% |
(3.16 |
)% (6) | |||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
328.09 |
% |
310.41 |
% |
249.27 |
% |
440.88 |
% (5) |
(1) The Fund commenced investment operations on September 30, 2010.
(2) Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(3) The amount shown may not correlate with the change in the aggregate gains and losses presented on the Statement of Operations due to the timing of sales and purchases of the Fund's shares in relation to fluctuating market values for the Fund's portfolio.
(4) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(5) Not Annualized.
(6) Annualized.
25
S1 Fund
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
(1-866-882-1226)
www.S1Fund.com
For More Information:
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the S1 Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports:
These reports contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes fund strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year.
When available, the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders may be obtained by visiting www.S1Fund.com
Statement of Additional Information:
The Fund's SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, may be obtained free of charge, along with the annual and semi-annual reports, by calling 1-866-882-1226. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus (and is legally part of the Prospectus). The SAI is available on the Adviser's website at www.S1Fund.com.
Shareholder Inquiries:
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: 1-866-882-1226 or visit the website of the Adviser at www.S1Fund.com.
Purchases and Redemptions:
Call 1-866-882-1226.
Written Correspondence:
Street Address:
S1 Fund,
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581
P.O. Box Address:
S1 Fund,
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9869, Providence, RI 02940
Securities and Exchange Commission:
You may also view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO.811-05518
S1 Fund
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
Ticker Symbol: SONRX
R Shares
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
Simple Alternatives, LLC
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (THE "SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY SECTION |
|||||||
S1 Fund |
1 |
||||||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
8 |
||||||
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS |
|||||||
Investment Adviser |
14 |
||||||
Sub-Advisers |
14 |
||||||
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
|||||||
Pricing of Fund Shares |
17 |
||||||
Market Timing |
17 |
||||||
Purchase of Fund Shares |
18 |
||||||
Redemption of Fund Shares |
20 |
||||||
Dividends and Distributions |
22 |
||||||
More Information About Taxes |
22 |
||||||
Multi-Class Structure |
24 |
||||||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
25 |
||||||
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Objective
The S1 Fund (the "Fund") seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute (positive) returns and low correlation to traditional financial market indices such as the S&P 500 ® Index.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold R Shares of the Fund.
R Shares |
|||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | |||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
||||||
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable) |
None |
||||||
Exchange Fee |
None |
||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that that you pay each year
as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
Management Fees |
2.75 |
% |
|||||
Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
0.25 |
% |
|||||
Other Expenses: |
|||||||
Dividend Expense on Short Sales (1) |
0.76 |
% |
|||||
Interest Expense on Borrowings |
0.48 |
% |
|||||
Other Operating Expenses |
0.69 |
% |
|||||
Total Other Expenses |
1.93 |
% |
|||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (2) |
0.01 |
% |
|||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
4.94 |
% |
|||||
Less Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursements (3) |
(0.49 |
)% |
|||||
Net Expenses |
4.45 |
% |
(1) There are additional costs associated with the use of short sales. Short-sale dividends generally reduce the market value of the securities by the amount of the dividend declared; thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on the securities sold short.
(2) "Acquired Fund" means any investment company in which the Fund invests or has invested during the current fiscal year ended August 31, 2014. Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses and Net Expenses will not correlate to the Fund's ratio of expenses to average net assets (1) without waivers and reimbursements and (2) with waivers and reimbursements, respectively, included in the Fund's Financial Highlights, which do not reflect indirect expenses, such as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. The Fund calculates the Acquired Fund's expenses using the net expense ratios reported in the Acquired Fund's most recent shareholder reports.
(3) The Fund's investment adviser, Simple Alternatives, LLC (the "Adviser"), has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest, and taxes) exceeds 3.20% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's R Shares. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest, and taxes are excluded from the expense limitation, Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (after fees forgone and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed the applicable expense limitation. Effective September 23, 2010, if at any time the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 3.20%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made if such reimbursement by the Fund does not cause the Fund to exceed existing expense limitations.
1
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 $250,000 in Class R Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
R Shares |
$ |
11,156 |
$ |
36,006 |
$ |
60,887 |
$ |
123,219 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 328.09% of the average value of its portfolio.
Summary of Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund utilizes a "multi-manager" approach whereby the Fund's assets are allocated to one or more sub- advisers ("Sub-Advisers") in percentages determined at the discretion of the Fund's investment adviser, Simple Alternatives, LLC (the "Adviser"). The Adviser also manages a portion of the Fund's assets and monitors Sub- Adviser trading with the dual objectives of maximizing each Sub-Adviser's investment flexibility and assuring that the Fund as a whole complies with investment restrictions. Otherwise, each Sub-Adviser acts independently from the others and utilizes its own distinct investment style in selecting securities. However, each Sub-Adviser must operate within the constraints of the Fund's investment objective and strategies and the particular investment restrictions applicable to that Sub-Adviser.
The strategies utilized by the Fund are hedge fund-type strategies and include absolute return strategies as well as strategies aimed at enhanced risk-adjusted returns. The strategies and investment techniques employed by the Sub-Advisers aim to produce absolute returns over a full market cycle while managing risk exposure. These strategies and techniques may attempt to exploit disparities or inefficiencies in particular markets or geographical regions; take advantage of security mispricings or anticipated price movements; and/or benefit from cyclical themes and relationships or special situations and events (such as spin-offs or reorganizations). Such strategies may have low correlation to traditional markets because they seek asymmetric investment opportunities that may present risks unrelated to traditional markets.
The Sub-Advisers may invest and trade in a wide range of instruments, markets and asset classes in U.S. and non-U.S., developed and emerging markets. Investments include equities and equity-related instruments, fixed- income and other debt-related instruments, currencies, financial futures, options and swaps, commodity-linked instruments and private placements. Equities and equity-related instruments include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, exchange traded funds ("ETFs"), Rule 144A equity securities, warrants, rights, and equity derivatives such as call and put options, forward currency exchange contracts, swaps and futures. Debt-related instruments include corporate bonds, Rule 144A bonds, defaulted debt securities, distressed debt securities, mezzanine investments, bank loans, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, unrated securities and securities of companies in bankruptcy. Commodity-linked instruments include commodity-linked structured notes, commodity index-linked securities and other derivative instruments that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets. The Sub-Advisers may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities acquired by the Fund may also include collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs"). CDOs include collateralized bond obligations ("CBOs") and collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs") and other similarly structured securities. The Sub-Advisers may invest in equity and debt securities of companies of all sizes and without limit on the credit quality or maturity of debt securities. These securities can be rated investment grade, rated below investment grade, or high yield securities (also known as "junk bonds"), which are below Baa3 by Moody's, BBB- by S&P or BBB- by Fitch or unrated. The Fund may invest in securities of the lowest rating category, including securities in default. There is no limit to the amount the Fund
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may invest in junk bonds. The Sub-Advisers may borrow money from banks in order to purchase securities or for other investment purposes. The Sub-Advisers may also sell securities short, which is a form of leverage.
The Adviser has primary responsibility for allocating Fund assets in a manner that attempts to diversify the Fund's portfolio across multiple strategies and investment styles that the Adviser believes are complementary and, when combined, will produce enhanced risk-adjusted returns. The Adviser reviews a range of qualitative and quantitative factors when determining the allocations and reallocations to Sub-Advisers, including, but not limited to, the Sub-Adviser's style, historical performance and the characteristics of each Sub-Adviser's allocated assets (including investment process and statistical analysis). The Adviser will allocate Fund assets among strategies of the Sub-Advisers that it believes offer the potential for attractive long-term investment returns individually and are expected to blend within the Fund's portfolio so that it will have low correlation and low volatility relative to the broader stock and bond markets. The Adviser may direct a Sub-Adviser to reduce or limit its investment in certain assets or asset classes in order to achieve the desired composition of the Fund's overall portfolio. The Adviser retains the discretion to invest the Fund's assets in securities and other instruments directly and may do so in certain circumstances including pending allocation to a Sub-Adviser, to hedge against overall Fund exposure created by the Sub-Advisers, or to increase or reduce the Fund's exposure to a particular issuer, sector, industry or general market risk, including interest rate risk.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. The Fund is only a suitable investment for investors who can bear leverage and derivatives securities risks. The principal risk factors affecting shareholders' investments in the Fund are set forth below.
• Multi-Manager Dependence. The success of the Fund's investment strategy depends both on the Adviser's ability to select Sub-Advisers and to allocate assets to those Sub-Advisers and on each Sub-Adviser's ability to execute the relevant strategy and select investments for the Fund. The Sub-Advisers' investment styles may not always be complementary, which could affect the performance of the Fund.
• Absolute Return Focus. The Fund's returns may deviate from overall market returns to a greater degree than other funds that do not employ an absolute return focus. In addition, if the Fund or a Sub-Adviser takes a defensive posture by hedging its portfolio and stock prices subsequently advance, the Fund's returns may be lower than expected and lower than if the Fund's portfolio had not been hedged.
• Equity Securities. The Fund is designed for investors who can accept the risks of investing in a portfolio with significant holdings of equity securities. Equity securities tend to be more volatile than other investment choices, such as debt and money market instruments. The value of your investment may decrease in response to overall stock market movements or the value of individual securities held by the Fund.
• Mid Capitalization Company Investments. Securities of companies with mid capitalizations ("mid cap") tend to be riskier than securities of companies with large capitalizations. This is because mid cap companies typically have smaller product lines and less access to liquidity than large cap companies, and are therefore more sensitive to economic downturns. In addition, growth prospects of mid cap companies tend to be less certain than large cap companies, and the dividends paid by mid cap stocks are frequently negligible. Moreover, mid cap stocks have, on occasion, fluctuated in the opposite direction of large cap stocks or the general stock market. Consequently, securities of mid cap companies tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies.
• Small Capitalization Company Investments. Securities of companies with small capitalizations ("small cap") tend to be riskier than securities of companies with mid cap and large capitalizations. Small cap companies may have limited product lines, markets and financial resources. The prices of small cap stocks tend to be more volatile than those of other stocks. Small cap stocks are not priced as efficiently as stocks of larger companies. In addition, it may be harder to sell these stocks, especially during a down market or upon the occurrence of adverse company-specific events, which can reduce their selling prices.
• Fixed Income Securities. Fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest are subject to certain risks, including: interest rate risk, prepayment risk and credit/default risk. Interest rate risk involves the risk that prices of fixed income securities will rise and fall in response to interest rate changes. Prepayment risk involves the risk that in declining interest rate environments prepayments of principal could increase and require the Fund to reinvest proceeds of the prepayments at lower interest rates. Credit risk involves the risk that the credit rating of a security may be lowered.
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• Asset-Backed Securities. The risks of investing in asset-backed securities include interest rate risk, prepayment risk and the risk that the Fund could lose money if there are defaults on the loans underlying these securities.
• Mortgaged-Backed Securities. The risks of investing in mortgaged-backed securities include interest rate risk, prepayment risk and the risk that the Fund could lose money if there are defaults on the mortgage loans underlying these securities.
• High Yield Debt Obligations. The Fund may invest in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. Such high yield debt obligations are referred to as "junk bonds" and are not considered to be investment grade.
• Foreign Investments. International investing is subject to special risks, including currency exchange rate volatility, political, social or economic instability, and differences in taxation, auditing and other financial practices. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or through depositary receipts. Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
• Emerging Markets. Investment in emerging market securities involves greater risk than that associated with investment in foreign securities of developed foreign countries. These risks include volatile currency exchange rates, periods of high inflation, increased risk of default, greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability, less governmental supervision and regulation of securities markets, weaker auditing and financial reporting standards, lack of liquidity in the markets, and the significantly smaller market capitalizations of emerging market issuers.
• Leverage. The Fund may borrow money from banks in order to purchase securities for other investment purposes. The Fund may also engage in selling securities short, which is a form of leverage. Although the use of leverage by the Fund may create an opportunity for increased return, it also results in additional risks and can magnify the effect of any losses. There is no assurance that the use of leverage as an investment strategy will be successful.
• Derivatives. The Fund's investments in derivative instruments such as options, forward currency exchange contracts, swaps and futures, which may be leveraged, may result in losses. Investments in derivative instruments may result in losses exceeding the amounts invested.
• Commodity Sector Risk. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The prices of energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture and livestock sector commodities may fluctuate widely due to factors such as changes in value, supply and demand and governmental regulatory policies. The commodity- linked securities in which the Fund invests may be issued by companies in the financial services sector, and events affecting the financial services sector may cause the Fund's share value to fluctuate.
• Convertible Securities. Securities that can be converted into common stock, such as certain securities and preferred stock, are subject to the usual risks associated with fixed income investments, such as interest rate risk and credit risk. In addition, because they react to changes in the value of the equity securities into which they will convert, convertible securities are also subject to the risks associated with equity securities.
• Valuation. Portfolio securities that have been valued using techniques other than market quotations may have valuations that are different from those produced using market quotations, and the security may be sold at a discount to the value established by the Fund.
• Redemptions. The Fund could experience a loss when selling securities to meet redemption requests by shareholders if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent, occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices for the securities sold, or when the securities the Fund wishes to or is required to sell are illiquid.
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• Portfolio Turnover. The Fund frequently trades its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur higher brokerage commissions and transaction costs, which could lower the Fund's performance. In addition to lower performance, high portfolio turnover could result in taxable capital gains.
• Exchange Traded Funds. ETFs are a type of investment company bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF represents a fixed portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities that the ETF is designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its being more volatile. The Fund may incur brokerage fees in connection with its purchase of ETF shares.
• New Adviser Risk. The Fund's Sub-Advisers may be newly-formed, newly registered with the SEC and have not previously managed a mutual fund. Accordingly, investors in the Fund bear the risk that a Sub- Adviser's inexperience may limit its effectiveness.
Fund Performance
As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund's R Shares have not yet commenced operations. The chart below illustrates the performance of the Fund's I Shares, which are offered in a separate Prospectus. Had R Shares been operational during the periods in the chart and table below, they would have had substantially similar annual returns as the I Shares because R Shares are invested in the same portfolio of securities. Annual returns would differ only to the extent that R Shares and I Shares do not have the same expenses. The bar chart shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information may be obtained at www.S1Fund.com or by calling 1-866-882-1226.
TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the periods reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: |
4.68% (quarter ended December 31, 2013) |
||||||
Worst Quarter: |
(3.93)% (quarter ended September 30, 2011) |
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: (1.64)%
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
The table below compares the total returns for the Fund's I Shares for the past calendar year, past three calendar years and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same period. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
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AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013
Average Annual Total Returns
for the Period Ended December 31, 2013
1 Year |
3 Years |
Since Inception
(September 30, 2010) |
|||||||||||||
I Shares Before Taxes |
9.03 |
% |
4.58 |
% |
3.83 |
% |
|||||||||
I Shares After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
8.28 |
% |
4.33 |
% |
3.60 |
% |
|||||||||
I Shares After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
5.72 |
% |
3.53 |
% |
2.95 |
% |
|||||||||
S&P 500
®
Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses
or taxes) |
26.90 |
% |
13.72 |
% |
16.02 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax- deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (IRA). After-tax returns are shown for only the I Shares and may vary for R Shares.
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers
Simple Alternatives, LLC, 90 Grove Street, Suite 205, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC, Courage Capital Management, LLC, Garelick Capital Partners, L.P., Maerisland Capital, LLC, Sonica Capital LLS, and Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC each serves as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
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Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment: $250,000
You can only purchase and redeem Shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange is open. Shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professions (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
S1 Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9869
Providence, RI 02940-8042
Purchase By Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 1-866-882-1226 to confirm the current wire instructions for the S1 Fund.
Redemption By Telephone:
Call the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226.
Taxes
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and other related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
This section provides some additional information about the Fund's investments and certain portfolio management techniques that the Fund may use. More information about the Fund's investments and portfolio management techniques, and related risks, is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
The Fund's investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without the approval of the Fund's shareholders. However, as a matter of policy, the Fund would not materially change its investment objective without informing shareholders at least 60 days in advance of any such change.
Additional Information About the Fund's Principal Investments and Risks
Sub-Adviser Investment Strategies. The Sub-Advisers will use a combination of the following investment strategies:
Relative Value
This strategy is designed to take advantage of perceived discrepancies in the market prices of certain convertible bond, common stock, fixed income and derivative securities. Such discrepancies are often created by imbalances in supply and demand of different types of issues (for example, agency securities relative to U.S. Treasury securities).
Event Driven
This strategy is designed to invest in securities whose prices are or will be impacted by a corporate event. Such events include restructurings, spin-offs and significant litigation (e.g., tobacco litigation). Opportunities in this area are created by the reluctance of traditional investors to assume the risk associated with certain corporate events.
Long/Short Equity
This strategy employs long and short trading in common stock, and preferred stock of U.S. and foreign issuers. This strategy attempts to neutralize exposure to general market risk by primarily investing in stocks that are undervalued and short selling those stocks that are considered to be overvalued.
Market Neutral Equity
This strategy is designed to exploit equity market inefficiencies, which involves being simultaneously invested in long and short matched equity portfolios generally of the same size, usually in the same market. These strategies are typically constructed to attempt to be beta neutral and attempt to control the industry, sector, market capitalization and other potential market bias exposures.
Global Macro
This strategy seeks to generate income and/or capital appreciation through a portfolio of investments focused on macro-economic opportunities across numerous markets and instruments. These strategies may include positions in the cash, currency, futures and forward markets. Trading positions are generally held both long and/or short in both U.S. and non-U.S. markets. With a broader global scope, returns to the Global Macro strategy generally exhibit little to no correlation with the broader domestic equity and bond markets.
Convertible Arbitrage
This strategy seeks to take advantage of pricing inefficiencies of the embedded option in a convertible bond. The strategy typically involves the purchase of a convertible debt or preferred equity instrument (an instrument that is effectively a bond or has a fixed obligation of repayment with an embedded equity option, non-detachable warrants or an equity-linked or equity-indexed note) concurrent with the short sale of, or a short over-the-counter derivative position in, the common stock of the issuer of such debt instrument.
Credit Biased
These strategies invest primarily in the following sectors: secured leveraged loans, high yield bonds, distressed debt, structured credit, and global debt (typically less efficient areas of the global fixed income markets than traditional fixed income strategies). Generally these sectors may include wide credit rating ranges (including leveraged buyouts), may include distressed debt strategies and may include restricted securities and securities that may not be registered for which a market may not be readily available.
Mortgage Backed Securities
This strategy is designed to exploit perceived mispricings in mortgage back securities. Such mispricings can result from periods of market illiquidity and distress or from analytical anomalies. The strategy will invest in both conventional and complex mortgage backed securities.
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Opportunistic Equities
This strategy is designed to capitalize on underpriced equity securities or on positive market trends and may focus in certain securities markets, industries, company sizes, or geographical areas. Strategies are primarily managed for absolute return and Sub-Advisers assess risk and opportunity on an absolute, not an index-relative basis, by focusing on relatively few investments that a sub-advisor believes are undervalued and either offer a margin-of-safety, or offer high growth opportunities. Selective hedging through the use of short sales or options may be utilized to manage risk exposure. Strategies may also focus on special situations or events, including distressed equities.
Additional Investment Strategies
The Fund also has the ability to employ additional strategies including borrowing money from banks to purchase securities and investing in warrants, options and futures, reverse repurchase agreements, initial public offerings, restricted securities, and other investment companies. Each Sub-Adviser will have its own methods of determining when to sell an investment, which will vary depending on the Sub-Adviser's investment strategy. Sell decisions may be triggered by an adverse change in a company's operating performance or a deterioration of a company's business model. A sell trigger may also occur if a Sub-Adviser discovers a new investment opportunity that it believes is more compelling.
Derivative Contracts. The Fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts for any of the following purposes:
• To seek to hedge against the possible adverse impact of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates in the market value of its securities or securities to be purchased;
• As a substitute for buying or selling currencies or securities; or
• To seek to enhance the Fund's return in non-hedging situations (which is considered a speculative activity).
Examples of derivative contracts include: futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward foreign currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps. The Fund may use derivative contracts involving foreign currencies. A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the Fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment that is based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the Fund's stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the Fund's holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities in that the counterparty may default on its payment obligations or become insolvent. Derivatives can also make the Fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.
Short Sales. The Fund engages in short sales including those that are not "against the box," which means that the Fund may make short sales where the Fund does not currently own or have the right to acquire, at no added cost, securities identical to those sold short in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). In a typical short sale, the Fund borrows from a broker a security in order to sell the security to a third party. The Fund is then obligated to return a security of the same issuer and quantity at some future date. The Fund realizes a loss to the extent the security increases in value or a profit to the extent the security declines in value (after taking into account any associated costs). Short sales "against the box" may protect the Fund against the risk of losses in the value of a portfolio security because any decline in value of the security should be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding gain in the short position. Any potential gains in the security, however, would be wholly or partially offset by a corresponding loss in the short position. Short sales that are not "against the box" involve a form of investment leverage, and the amount of the Fund's loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited. The Fund will not make a short sale if, immediately before the transaction, the market value of all securities sold short exceeds 95% of the value of the Fund's assets.
Equity and Equity-Related Securities. The Fund invests in all types of equity securities. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, warrants, rights, convertible securities, depositary receipts and shares, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, shares of other investment companies and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), and equity participations. Investments in equity securities and equity derivatives in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. The value of a convertible security may not increase or decrease as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Common stocks may decline over short or even extended periods of time. The purchase of rights or warrants
9
involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the right's or warrant's expiration. The value of such securities convertible into equity securities, such as warrants or convertible debt, is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provision. Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. State law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded to investors in a limited partnership than investors in a corporation. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which a mutual fund invests will cause the Fund's net asset value to fluctuate. The number of issuers in the Fund's portfolio will vary over time.
Fixed Income Investments. The Fund invests a portion of its assets in fixed income securities. Fixed income investments include bonds, notes (including structured notes), mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, convertible securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, preferred stocks and money market instruments. Fixed income securities may be issued by corporate and governmental issuers and may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including (without limitation) fixed rate, adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment-in-kind and auction rate features. The principal debt investments of the Fund will be fixed and floating rate securities with no reset terms.
The credit quality of securities held in the Fund's portfolio is determined at the time of investment. If a security is rated differently by multiple ratings organizations, the Fund treats the security as being rated in the higher rating category.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. Mortgage-backed securities may be issued by private companies or by agencies of the U.S. government. Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property.
Certain debt instruments may only pay principal at maturity or may only represent the right to receive payments of principal or payments of interest on underlying pools of mortgage or government securities, but not both. The value of these types of instruments may change more drastically than debt securities that pay both principal and interest during periods of changing interest rates. Principal only mortgage-backed securities are particularly subject to prepayment risk. The Fund may obtain a below market yield or incur a loss on such instruments during periods of declining interest rates. Interest only instruments are particularly subject to extension risk, i.e. the risk that an issuer will exercise its right to pay later than expected. This may occur when there is a rise in interest rates. Mortgage derivatives and structured securities often employ features that have the effect of leverage. As a result, small changes in interest or prepayment rates may cause large and sudden price movements, especially compared to an investment in a security that is not leveraged. Mortgage derivatives can also become illiquid and hard to value in declining markets.
Mortgage-backed securities that are collateralized by a portfolio of mortgages or mortgage-related securities depend on the payments of principal and interest made by or through the underlying assets, which may not be sufficient to meet the payment obligations of the mortgage-backed securities. Prepayments of principal, which occur more frequently in falling interest rate conditions, may shorten the term and reduce the value of these securities. The quality and value of the underlying collateral may decline, or default, which has become a significant risk for collateral related to sub-prime mortgage loans, especially in a declining residential real estate market. Further, these securities generally are privately sold and may not be readily marketable, particularly after a rapid decrease in value. Investments in mortgage-backed securities may also be subject to valuation risk.
The Fund may also use mortgage dollar rolls to finance the purchase of additional investments. Dollar rolls expose the Fund to the risk that it will lose money if the additional investments do not produce enough income to cover the Fund's dollar roll obligations. In addition, if the Adviser's or Sub-Advisers' prepayment assumptions are incorrect, the Fund may have performed better had the Fund not entered into the mortgage dollar roll. Unless covered, investing in dollar rolls creates leverage and dollar rolls are subject to the general risks involved in leveraging.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) through American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") or International Depositary Receipts ("IDRs"). Depositary receipts may be available through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored
10
facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders.
In addition, the Fund may invest in securities traded or denominated in foreign currencies and in multinational currencies such as the Euro. The Fund will value its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. Investments in securities of foreign entities and securities denominated or traded in foreign currencies involve special risks. These include possible political and economic instability and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of the Fund's assets denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Emerging market investments offer the potential for significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private business or property may be more likely in emerging markets.
Valuation. Portfolio securities may be valued using techniques other than market quotations. The value established for a portfolio security may be different than what would be produced through the use of another methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio securities that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including "fair valued" securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their value from one day to the next than would be the case if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell a portfolio security for the value established for it at any time and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio security is sold at a discount to its established value.
Interest Rate Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities will tend to be lower than prevailing market interest rates. In periods of falling interest rates, the market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities generally will tend to be higher than prevailing market interest rates. Prices of longer-term fixed income securities are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than prices of shorter-term fixed-income securities.
Credit/Default Risk. The credit rating of an issuer or guarantor of a security in which the Fund invests may be lowered or an issuer or guarantor of a security or the counterparty to a derivatives contract or a repurchase agreement may default on its payment obligations.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund's investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Liquid securities may also become illiquid because of market events or uncertainties. Illiquidity can be caused by a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities' resale. Certain securities that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, particularly in times of overall economic distress.
Leveraging Risks. The use of leverage by the Adviser and Sub-Advisers may increase the volatility of the Fund. These leveraged instruments may result in losses to the Fund or may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value or total return, because instruments that contain leverage are more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The Fund may also use borrowed funds to create leverage. Although the use of leverage by the Fund may create an opportunity for increased return, it also results in additional risks and can magnify the effect of any losses. If the income and gains earned on the securities and instruments purchased with leverage proceeds are greater than the cost of the leverage, the Fund's return will be greater than if leverage had not been used. Conversely, if the income and gains from the securities and instruments purchased with such proceeds does not cover the cost of leverage, the Fund's return will be less than if leverage had not been used. In the event of a sudden, precipitous drop in value of the Fund's assets, the Fund may not be able to liquidate assets quickly enough to pay off its borrowing. Short sales of securities also involve the use of leverage. Using this investment technique may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value or total return.
To limit leverage risk, the Fund will segregate assets determined by the Adviser to be liquid in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Directors, or, when permissible, enter into offsetting transactions, to cover its obligations resulting from its use of derivative instruments. Securities held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the futures contract, option or other derivative is outstanding, unless they are replaced with other suitable assets. As a result, it is possible that segregating a large percentage of the Fund's assets could impede portfolio management or its ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
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Interest Rate Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Credit Default Swaps, Options on Swaps and Interest Rate Caps, Floors and Collars.
• Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments.
• Total return swaps are contracts that obligate one party to pay the other party an amount equal to the total return on a defined underlying asset or a non-asset reference during a specified period of time. The underlying asset might be a security or basket of securities or a non-asset reference such as a securities index. In return, the other party would make periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or on the total return from a different underlying asset or non-asset reference.
• Credit default swaps are contracts whereby one party makes periodic payments to a counterparty in exchange for the right to receive from the counterparty a payment equal to the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation in the event of a default by the issuer of the debt obligation.
• Options on swaps ("swaptions") are options to enter into a swap agreement. The Fund may also purchase and write (sell) swaptions. Like other types of options, the buyer of a swaption pays a non-refundable premium for the option and obtains the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms. The seller of a swaption, in exchange for the premium, becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) to enter into an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms.
• Interest rate caps entitle the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payment of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap.
• Interest rate floors entitle the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor.
• Interest rate collars combine a cap and a floor that are designed to preserve a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates.
The Fund may enter into the transactions described above for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return (which is considered a speculative activity). The use of swaps, swaptions, and interest rate caps, floors and collars is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If the Adviser or a Sub-Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values and interest rates, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment techniques were not used.
Counterparties . To the extent the Fund invests in loans or securities traded over-the-counter, swaps, "synthetic" or derivative instruments, repurchase agreements, certain types of options or other customized financial instruments, the Fund takes the risk of non-performance by the other party to the contract. This risk may include credit risk of the counterparty and the risk of settlement default. This risk may differ materially from those entailed in exchange-traded transactions that generally are supported by guarantees of clearing organizations, daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Transactions entered directly between two counterparties generally do not benefit from such protections and expose the parties to the risk of counterparty default.
Commodity-Linked Derivatives. The Fund may gain exposure to the commodities markets through commodity-linked structured notes, swap agreements and commodity futures and options. These instruments have one or more commodity-dependent components. They are derivative instruments because at least part of their value is derived from the value of an underlying commodity index, commodity futures contract, index or other readily measurable economic variable. The prices of commodity-linked derivative instruments may move in different directions than investments in traditional equity and debt securities when the value of those traditional securities is declining due to adverse economic conditions. As an example, during periods of rising inflation, historically debt securities have tended to decline in value due to the general increase in prevailing interest rates. Conversely, during those same periods of rising inflation, historically the prices of certain commodities, such as oil and metals, have tended to increase. There cannot be any guarantee that derivative instruments will perform in that manner in the future, and at certain times the price movements of commodity-linked investments have been parallel to debt and equity securities.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities have characteristics of both equity and fixed-income securities. The value of a convertible security tends to move with the market value of the underlying stock, but may also be affected by interest rates, credit quality of the issuer and any call provisions. In particular, when
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interest rates rise, fixed-income securities will decline in value. Convertible securities frequently have speculative characteristics and may be acquired without regard to minimum quality ratings. Lower quality convertible securities, also known as "junk bonds," involve greater risk of default or price changes due to the issuer's creditworthiness. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than those of higher quality securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty, which may follow periods of rising interest rates. Securities in the lowest quality category may present the risk of default, or may be in default.
Tax Risk. The Fund may seek to gain exposure to the commodity markets through investments in commodity- linked notes. The Fund has not requested or received a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") regarding their treatment for purposes of the Fund's qualification as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code ("Code"). Additionally, the tax treatment of commodity-linked notes and other commodity-linked derivatives may be adversely affected by future legislation, U.S. Treasury Regulations and/or guidance issued by the IRS that could affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Fund's taxable income or any gains and distributions made by the Fund.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). The Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in ETFs. ETFs are registered investment companies whose shares are listed and traded on U.S. stock exchanges or otherwise traded in the over-the-counter market. In general, ETFs seek to track a specified securities index or a basket of securities that an "index provider," such as Standard & Poor's, selects as representative of a market, market segment or industry sector. An ETF portfolio generally holds the same stocks or bonds as the index it tracks or it may hold a representative sample of such securities. Thus, an ETF is designed so that its performance will correspond closely with that of the index it tracks. As a shareholder in an ETF, the Fund will bear its pro rata portion of an ETF's expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
Other Investment Companies. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in the securities of other investment companies (including issues that would be investment companies but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act), but may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of any one investment company or acquire more than 3% of the voting securities of any other investment company. Among other things, the Fund may invest in money market mutual funds for cash management purposes by "sweeping" excess cash balances into such funds until the cash is invested or otherwise utilized. 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 advisory and administration fees paid by the Fund. Investments in issues that would be investment companies but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act will generally be considered illiquid investments and would be subject to the Fund's 15% limitation on investments in illiquid securities.
Redemptions. The Fund may need to sell its holdings in order to meet shareholder redemption requests. The Fund could experience a loss when selling securities to meet redemption requests if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent, occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices for the securities sold, or when the securities the Fund wishes to or is required to sell are illiquid. The Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at its desired time or price. Illiquidity can be caused by a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities' resale. Certain securities that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, particularly in times of overall economic distress.
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading, resulting in high portfolio turnover. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, increasing their tax liability. Frequent trading may also increase transaction costs, which could detract from the Fund's performance.
Temporary Investments. The Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking temporary defensive positions (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. If the Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
Broad-Based Securities Market Index. The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, classified in eleven industry sectors, which represent approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in the index.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the SAI. The SAI is incorporated herein.
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
Investment Adviser
Simple Alternatives, LLC, a registered investment adviser located at 90 Grove Street, Suite 205, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, provides investment advisory services to the Fund subject to the general supervision of the Company's Board of Directors. The Adviser was founded in October 2009 by James Dilworth.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee at the annual rate of 2.75% of the Fund's average daily net assets, computed daily and payable monthly. The Adviser has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest and taxes and any other items as agreed upon by the Company and the Adviser from time to time) exceeds 3.20% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's R Shares. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest and taxes and any other items as agreed upon by the Company and the Adviser from time to time are excluded from the expense limitation, Total R Shares Annual Fund Operating Expenses (after fees forgone and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed the applicable expense limitation. Effective September 23, 2010, if at any time the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 3.20%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made if such reimbursement by the Fund does not cause the Fund to exceed existing expense limitations. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, after waivers, the Adviser has received 2.26% of the Fund's average daily net assets. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 2.75% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
The Fund is managed by the Adviser and one or more Sub-Advisers unaffiliated with the Adviser. The Adviser also has the ultimate responsibility to oversee the Sub-Advisers, and to recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. James Dilworth is the portfolio managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Prior to founding Simple Alternatives, LLC, Mr. Dilworth worked with Common Sense Investment Management, LLC. Common Sense Investment Management is an institutional hedge fund of funds. Mr. Dilworth founded Dilworth Securities, Inc. and Dilworth Capital Management, LLC in 2003. Prior to establishing Dilworth Capital, Mr. Dilworth served as the CEO and Managing Director of London-based Middlebury Capital Partners International, a holding company partially owned by and managing investments for the Charles R. Schwab family. In 1998, Mr. Dilworth joined Clark Winter in developing Winter Capital International, a fund of funds based in New York City, which was sold to Citigroup Private Bank in late 2000. Mr. Dilworth received his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Business.
Sub-Advisers
The Fund has received an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Adviser to engage or terminate a Sub-Adviser, and to enter into and materially amend an existing sub-advisory agreement, upon the approval of the Board of Directors, without obtaining shareholder approval. The Sub-Advisers provide investment advisory services to the portion of the Fund's portfolio allocated to them by the Adviser. The Adviser compensates each Sub-Adviser at a rate negotiated by the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. The Adviser selects Sub-Advisers based upon the Sub-Adviser's skills in managing assets pursuant to particular investment styles and strategies. The Adviser monitors existing Sub-Advisers based on their investment styles, strategies, and results in managing assets for specific asset classes. Each Sub-Adviser will have discretion to select portfolio securities for its portion of the Fund, but must select those securities according to the Fund's investment objectives and restrictions. The Fund is not required to invest with any minimum number of Sub-Advisers, and does not have minimum or maximum limitations with respect to allocations of assets to any Sub-Adviser. The Adviser may change the allocation of the Fund's assets among the available Sub-Advisers, and may add or remove Sub-Advisers, at any time.
Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC ("Blue Lion") , a registered investment adviser located at 8115 Preston Road, Suite 550, Dallas, TX 75225, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Charles W. Griege, Jr. is the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Blue Lion. Mr. Griege has been Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Blue Lion since 2005. Prior to starting Blue Lion, Mr. Griege joined Atlas Capital Management, a long/short equity
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fund, as a partner in May 2001. Prior to Atlas, Mr. Griege spent six years in investment banking, most recently as a Managing Director at SoundView Technology Group. Prior to joining SoundView, Mr. Griege was a Vice President in the research sales division of Sanford Bernstein. Mr. Griege received an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School in 1990 and a BA degree from Vanderbilt University in 1985. Blue Lion employs a long/short equity strategy with a value-oriented bias in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub-Adviser provides advisory services.
Courage Capital Management, LLC ("Courage Capital") , a registered investment adviser located at 4400 Harding Road, Ste. 503, Nashville, Tennessee 37205, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. Courage Capital was founded in 1998 by Richard C. Patton, who is also the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Courage Capital. Mr. Patton is also Chief Investment Adviser of Courage Capital. Prior to founding Courage Capital, Mr. Patton co-founded and operated Woodmont Capital, LLC. Mr. Patton serves on the American Red Cross Board of Governors. Mr. Patton earned a B.S. in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Courage Capital employs an event driven investment strategy, including investments in special situations companies and distressed securities, in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub- Adviser provides advisory services.
Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. ("Garelick") , a registered investment adviser located at 60 State Street, Suite 3730, Boston, MA 02109, has served as Sub-Adviser to the Fund since July 2, 2013.Garelick was founded in May 2012 and is majority owned by Bruce Garelick, its Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, who is primarily responsible for directing the business and affairs of Garelick. Prior to forming Garelick, from 2005 until 2011, Mr. Garelick acted as Lead Technology Portfolio Manager for Adage Capital Management, LP, a Boston based equity hedge fund manager. Mr. Garelick earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1992 and a Masters in Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Garelick will employ an equity long/short strategy with a focus on technology securities. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub-Adviser provides advisory services.
Maerisland Capital, LLC ("Maerisland") , a registered investment adviser located at 500 Newport Center Drive, Suite 600, Newport Beach, CA 92660, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since February 27, 2012. Maerisland was formed in September of 2011 by Mark Beder, who is also the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by Maerisland. Mr. Beder has over 19 years of investment experience as a fundamental, bottoms-up investor and has managed global equity portfolios with long-only, market-neutral and long/short hedged strategies. Prior to forming Maerisland, Mr. Beder was a partner with the Tremblant Capital Group ("Tremblant") from September 1, 2005 through 2010. Mr. Beder was the founding member and sole portfolio manager of the Tremblant-Trident Funds. Following Tremblant's restructuring in late 2008, Mr. Beder was named a partner at Tremblant, managed a generalist book within Tremblant's main fund, and served on the Investment and the Risk Management Committees. Prior to his work at Tremblant, Mr. Beder was a co-founder and co-portfolio manager of KiCap Management Funds ("KiCap"), series market neutral hedge funds. Mr. Beder and his co-portfolio manager at KiCap began their work together while co- heading the global telecom and media team at Tiger Management, LLC. Mr. Beder and his partner managed a book of over $300 million of assets within Tiger Management's main fund. Prior to joining Tiger Management in 1999, Mr. Beder spent 6 years with The Capital Group Companies where he managed a $1.4 billion global telecom portfolio and was the lead manager to an additional $6 billion in global telecom assets. Prior to entering the investment industry, Mr. Beder was a Lieutenant Commander and Assault Team Leader with the United States Navy SEAL Team. Mr. Beder holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Beder serves as a Trustee for Harbor Day School and is a Board Member for Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Maerisland uses a long/short global investment strategy that focuses on proprietary research in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub-Adviser provides advisory services.
Sonica Capital LLC ("Sonica") , a registered investment adviser located at 400 Madison Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10017, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since June 4, 2013. Alexander Fodor is the founder, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Member of Sonica. Mr. Fodor is responsible for both the day-to-day investment decisions and the long-term strategy of that portion of the assets of the Fund allocated to it by the Adviser. Mr. Fodor has over 15 years of investment and equity research experience. From 2006 until founding Sonica in 2008, Mr. Fodor was at Izara Capital Management, LLC, where he headed the firm's research, investment and coverage of equities in the consumer sector. Mr. Fodor holds a Masters of Business Administration
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degree from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University. Sonica employs a research-based long/short equity investment strategy, with a focus on equities of U.S companies with understandable business models.
Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC ("SRES") , a registered investment adviser located at 591 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830, has served as a Sub-Adviser to the Fund since its inception. SRES was launched in 2004. SRES is jointly owned by Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and Advisor, and Matthew C. Gilman, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Sternlicht has structured more than 400 investment transactions with an asset value of more than $40 billion. From 1995 through 2005, Mr. Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a company he founded in 1995. Mr. Gilman is the portfolio manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the portion of the Fund sub-advised by SRES. Mr. Gilman joined Starwood Real Estate Securities LLC at its founding in 2004. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Gilman was Senior Portfolio Manager at ABP Investments US, Inc., the US subsidiary of the Dutch Civil Service Pension Fund, regarded as one of the largest in the world. Mr. Gilman covered real estate securities at JP Morgan Investment Management from 1995 to 1999 and for one year at Genesis Realty Advisors from 1994 to 1995. Mr. Gilman began his career at Wellsford Residential Properties in 1992, a multi-family real estate investment trust. Mr. Gilman is a graduate of Dartmouth College and is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. SRES employs a long/short equity investment strategy, with a focus on public real estate securities, in managing its portion of the Fund. The Fund is the only mutual fund for which the Sub- Adviser provides advisory services.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Fund.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approval of the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser and sub-advisory agreements with the Sub-Advisers is available in the Fund's annual report for the year ended August 31, 2014.
Marketing Arrangement
The Adviser or its affiliates may pay additional compensation, out of profits derived from the Adviser's management fee and not as an additional charge to the Fund, to certain financial institutions (which may include banks, securities dealers and other industry professionals) for the sale and/or distribution of Fund shares or the retention and/or servicing of Fund investors and Fund shares ("revenue sharing"). These payments are in addition to any distribution or servicing fees payable under a 12b-1 distribution and/or service plan of the Fund, any record keeping or sub-transfer agency fees payable by the Fund, or other fees described in the fee table or elsewhere in the Prospectus or SAI. Examples of "revenue sharing" payments include, but are not limited to, payment to financial institutions for "shelf space" or access to a third party platform or fund offering list or other marketing programs, including, but not limited to, inclusion of the Fund on preferred or recommended sales lists, mutual fund "supermarket" platforms and other formal sales programs; granting the Adviser access to the financial institution's sales force; granting the Adviser access to the financial institution's conferences and meetings; assistance in training and educating the financial institution's personnel; and obtaining other forms of marketing support. The level of revenue sharing payments made to financial institutions may be a fixed fee or based upon one or more of the following factors: gross sales, current assets and/or number of accounts of the Fund attributable to the financial institution, or other factors as agreed to by the Adviser and the financial institution or any combination thereof. The amount of these revenue sharing payments is determined at the discretion of the Adviser from time to time, may be substantial, and may be different for different financial institutions depending upon the services provided by the financial institution. Such payments may provide an incentive for the financial institution to make shares of the Fund available to its customers and may allow the Fund greater access to the financial institution's customers.
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
R Shares of the Fund ("Shares") are priced at their net asset value ("NAV"). The NAV per share of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases of Fund shares at the NAV next determined after receipt by the Fund's Transfer Agent of your purchase order in good order. The Fund will effect redemptions of Fund shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Fund's Transfer Agent of your redemption request in good order.
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities. Foreign securities, currencies and other securities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of such currencies against the U.S. dollar provided by a pricing service. All assets denominated in foreign currencies will be converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the time of valuation. If the Fund holds foreign equity securities, the calculation of the Fund's NAV will not occur at the same time as the determination of the value of the foreign equities securities in the Fund's portfolio, since these securities are traded on foreign exchanges.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser and Sub-Advisers, securities will be valued by the Adviser and Sub-Advisers in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. In addition, the prices of foreign securities may be affected by events that occur after the close of a foreign market but before the Fund prices its shares. In such instances, a foreign security may be fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in ETFs, REITs and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected
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purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Directors, the Adviser has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. The Adviser reviews on a regular, periodic basis available information related 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, the Adviser, on a periodic basis, examines transactions that exceed certain monetary thresholds or numerical limits within a period of time. If, in its judgment, the Adviser detects excessive, short-term trading, it may reject or restrict a purchase request and may further seek to close an investor's account with the Fund. The Adviser 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. The Adviser will apply the criteria in a manner that, in its judgment, will be uniform.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares representing interests in the Fund are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC, (the "Distributor"). R Shares of the Fund have not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus.
General. You may purchase Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company records. The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $250,000. There is no minimum for subsequent investments. The Fund may accept initial investments of smaller amounts in its sole discretion. You can only purchase Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Fund may also be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals (collectively, "Service Organizations"). Certain features of the Shares, such as the initial and subsequent investment minimums and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if Shares are purchased directly from the Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of Shares and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following Business Day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the financial intermediary to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the Fund's NAV next computed after they are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
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For administration, subaccounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Adviser may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee") of the average annual net asset value of accounts with the Company maintained by such Service Organization or recordkeepers. The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
Initial Investment By Mail. An account may be opened by completing and signing the application included with this Prospectus and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check ($250,000 minimum) payable to the Fund. Third party checks will not be accepted.
Regular Mail: |
Overnight Mail: |
||||||
S1 Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. P.O. Box 9869 Providence, RI 02940 |
S1 Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
The name of the Fund should be designated on the application and should appear on the check. Payment for the purchase of Shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
Initial Investment By Wire. Shares of the Fund may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. For the Fund, notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) Request account information and routing instructions by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time by purchasing Shares of the Fund at the NAV per Share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to S1 Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the date of purchase.
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in Shares of the Fund may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through an Automatic Investment Plan ($250 minimum). Investors desiring to participate in an Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interest of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to Board approval,
19
decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. Persons who already hold Shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Company,
b. Existing and future clients of financial advisers and planners whose clients already hold Shares of the closed Fund,
c. Employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children, and
d. Directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement other purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Fund's Shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places.
The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's Shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's Shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
You may redeem Fund Shares at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem Shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. You may redeem Fund Shares by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of Shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to S1 Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9869, Providence, RI 02940; for overnight delivery, requests should be addressed to S1 Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 and must include:
a. Name of the Fund;
b. Account number;
c. Your Share certificates, if any, properly endorsed or with proper powers of attorney;
d. A letter of instruction specifying the number of Shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the Shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
e. Medallion signature guarantees are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s) or (ii) the redemption request is for $50,000 or more. A signature guarantee may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association who are participants in a Medallion Program recognized by the Securities Transfer
20
Association. The three recognized Medallion Programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
f. Other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of Shares by calling the Transfer Agent at 1-866-882-1226 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholder's account in the Fund at any time the value of the account in the Fund falls below $5,000 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account in the Fund is less than $5,000 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed. The transaction fee applicable to the Fund will not be charged when Shares are involuntarily redeemed.
The Fund may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for Shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option.
Other than as described above, payment of the redemption proceeds will be made within seven days after receipt of an order for a redemption. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. If a shareholder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its Shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Distribution Fees
The Board of Directors of the Company has adopted a plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the "Plan") that allows the Fund to pay fees from its R Shares assets for selling and distributing R Shares. Pursuant to the Plan, R Shares of the Fund can pay distribution fees at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the Fund's R Shares assets. Because distribution fees are paid on an ongoing basis, over time they increase the cost of your investment and may cost more than paying other sales charges.
21
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional Shares of the Fund unless a shareholder elects otherwise.
The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income annually. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed by the Fund at least annually. The estimated amount of any annual distribution will be posted to the Adviser's website at www.S1Fund.com or a free copy may be obtained by calling 1-866-882-1226.
The Fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the Fund to avoid U.S. federal tax. The Fund's distributions and dividends, whether received in cash or reinvested in additional Fund Shares, are subject to U.S. federal income tax.
More Information About Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long- term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or "non-qualified" foreign corporations. The high anticipated portfolio turnover rate of the Fund makes it likely that a significant portion of its distributions will not qualify for this favorable treatment.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
The Fund may be subject to foreign withholding or other foreign taxes on income or gain from certain foreign securities. If more than 50% of the value of the total assets of the Fund consists of stocks and securities (including debt securities) of foreign corporations at the close of a taxable year, the Fund may elect, for federal income tax purposes, to treat certain foreign taxes paid by it, including generally any withholding and other foreign income taxes, as paid by its shareholders. If the Fund makes this election, the amount of those foreign taxes paid by the Fund will be included in its shareholders' income pro rata (in addition to taxable distributions actually received by
22
them), and each such shareholder will be entitled either (1) to credit that proportionate amount of taxes against U.S. federal income tax liability as a foreign tax credit or (2) to take that amount as an itemized deduction. If the Fund is not eligible or chooses not to make this election the Fund will be entitled to deduct any such foreign taxes in computing the amounts it is required to distribute.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the IRS and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United States. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares in the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
23
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the SAI.
Multi-Class Structure
The Fund also offers I Shares, which are offered directly to institutional investors without distribution fees in a separate prospectus. Shares of each class of the Fund represent equal pro rata interests in the Fund and accrue dividends and calculate NAV and performance quotations in the same manner. The performance of each class is quoted separately due to different actual expenses. The total return on R Shares of the Fund can be expected to differ from the total return on I Shares of the Fund. Information concerning other classes of the Fund can be requested by calling the Fund at 1-866-882-1226.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
24
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Share of the Fund. Because R Shares of the Fund have not commenced operations, the financial highlights tables provided below are for the Fund's I Shares. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Fund's financial statements and has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Fund's financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions).
|
I Shares
for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2014 |
I Shares
for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2013 |
I Shares
for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2012 |
I Shares
for the Period ended August 31, 2011 (1) |
|||||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
10.39 |
$ |
10.06 |
$ |
9.96 |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||||||||
Net investment loss (2) |
(0.36 |
) |
(0.29 |
) |
(0.32 |
) |
(0.29 |
) |
|||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain
from investments |
1.28 |
0.64 |
0.42 |
0.25 |
(3) |
||||||||||||||
Total from operations |
0.92 |
0.35 |
0.10 |
(0.04 |
) |
||||||||||||||
Distributions to shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||||||
From net realized gains |
(0.32 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
|
|
|||||||||||||
Total distributions |
(0.32 |
) |
(0.02 |
) |
|
|
|||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
10.99 |
$ |
10.39 |
$ |
10.06 |
$ |
9.96 |
|||||||||||
Total investment return (4) |
8.90 |
% |
3.52 |
% |
1.00 |
% |
(0.40 |
)% (5) |
|||||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) |
$ |
97,140 |
$ |
84,799 |
$ |
64,289 |
$ |
51,234 |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
with waivers and reimbursements (including dividend and interest expense) |
4.19 |
% |
4.43 |
% |
4.42 |
% |
4.06 |
% (6) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
with waivers and reimbursements (excluding dividend and interest expense) |
2.95 |
% |
2.95 |
% |
2.95 |
% |
2.95 |
% (6) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
without waivers and reimbursements (including dividend and interest expense) |
4.68 |
% |
4.81 |
% |
5.24 |
% |
6.39 |
% (6) |
|||||||||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average
net assets |
(3.31 |
)% |
(2.76 |
)% |
(3.24 |
)% |
(3.16 |
)% (6) |
|||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
328.09 |
% |
310.41 |
% |
249.27 |
% |
440.88 |
% (5) |
(1) The Fund commenced investment operations on September 30, 2010.
(2) Calculated based on average shares outstanding for the period.
(3) The amount shown may not correlate with the change in the aggregate gains and losses presented on the Statement of Operations due to the timing of sales and purchases of the Fund's shares in relation to fluctuating market values for the Fund's portfolio.
(4) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(5) Not Annualized.
(6) Annualized.
25
S1 Fund
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
(1-866-882-1226)
www.S1Fund.com
For More Information:
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the S1 Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports:
These reports contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes fund strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year.
When available, the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders may be obtained by visiting www.S1Fund.com.
Statement of Additional Information:
The Fund's SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, may be obtained free of charge, along with the annual and semi-annual reports, by calling 1-866-882-1226. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus (and is legally part of the Prospectus). The SAI is available on the Adviser's website at www.S1Fund.com
Shareholder Inquiries:
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: 1-866-882-1226 or visit the website of the Adviser at www.S1Fund.com.
Purchases and Redemptions:
Call 1-866-882-1226.
Written Correspondence:
Street Address:
S1 Fund,
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581
P.O. Box Address:
S1 Fund,
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9869, Providence, RI 02940
Securities and Exchange Commission:
You may also view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO.811-05518
Summit Global Investments
U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
Prospectus
December 31, 2014
Class A Shares (Ticker: LVOLX)
Retail Shares (Ticker: SGLVX)
Class I Shares (Ticker: SILVX)
of The RBB Fund, Inc.
This prospectus gives vital information about the Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund (the "Fund"), an investment portfolio of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company"), including information on investment policies, risks and fees. For your own benefit and protection, please read it before you invest and keep it on hand for future reference.
THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC"). THE SEC, HOWEVER, HAS NOT JUDGED THESE SECURITIES FOR THEIR INVESTMENT MERIT AND HAS NOT DETERMINED THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A look at the goals, strategies, risks and financial history of the Fund.
Details about the Fund's service providers.
Policies and instructions for opening, maintaining and closing an account in the Fund.
SUMMARY SECTION |
1 |
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Investment Objective |
1 |
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Expenses and Fees |
1 |
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Performance Information |
3 |
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Management of the Fund |
4 |
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Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares |
4 |
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Tax Information |
5 |
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Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial
Intermediaries |
5 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE FUND'S
INVESTMENTS AND RISKS |
6 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND |
7 |
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Investment Adviser |
7 |
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Portfolio Managers |
7 |
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SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION |
8 |
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Pricing of Fund Shares |
8 |
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Sales Charges |
9 |
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Market Timing |
10 |
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Purchase of Fund Shares |
11 |
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Redemption of Fund Shares |
14 |
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Dividends and Distributions |
16 |
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Taxes |
16 |
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
19 |
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Appendix A Prior Performance of Similarly
Advised Accounts |
20 |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION |
Back Cover |
SUMMARY SECTION
Investment Objective
The Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund (the "Fund") seeks to outperform the S&P 500 ® Index over a market cycle while reducing overall volatility. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Expenses and Fees
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on Class A Shares if you invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional, in the section of the Prospectus entitled "Shareholder Information Sales Charges" and in the section of the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") entitled "Purchase and Redemption Information Reducing or Eliminating the Front-End Sales Charge."
Class A |
Retail
Class |
Class I |
|||||||||||||
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) |
|||||||||||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a percentage of offering price) |
5.25 |
% |
None |
None |
|||||||||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) |
None |
None |
None |
||||||||||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
None |
None |
||||||||||||
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares
held for less than 60 days, if applicable) |
1.50 |
% |
1.50 |
% |
1.50 |
% |
|||||||||
Exchange Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held
for less than 60 days, if applicable) |
1.50 |
% |
1.50 |
% |
1.50 |
% |
|||||||||
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||||||||||
Management Fees |
0.70 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
0.70 |
% |
|||||||||
Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
0.25 |
% |
0.25 |
% |
0.00 |
% |
|||||||||
Other Expenses |
0.65 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
0.65 |
% |
|||||||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.60 |
% |
1.60 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
|||||||||
Less Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements (1) |
(0.37 |
)% |
(0.37 |
)% |
(0.37 |
)% |
|||||||||
Net Expenses |
1.23 |
% |
1.23 |
% |
0.98 |
% |
(1) Summit Global Investments, LLC (the "Adviser"), the Fund's investment adviser, has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses through December 31, 2015 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class A Shares or Retail Shares and 0.98% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class I Shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.23% or 0.98%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before December 31, 2015 without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. Effective January 1, 2012, if at any time the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class A Shares or Retail Shares or less than 0.98% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class I Shares, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
1
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Class A and Retail Shares or $1,000,000 in the Class I Shares of the Fund and for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
||||||||||||||||
Class A |
$ |
644 |
$ |
969 |
$ |
1,317 |
$ |
2,296 |
|||||||||||
Retail Class |
$ |
125 |
$ |
469 |
$ |
836 |
$ |
1,869 |
|||||||||||
Class I |
$ |
9,997 |
$ |
39,117 |
$ |
70,401 |
$ |
159,168 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 110% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities, primarily common stocks, of companies within the Russell 1000 ® Index and S&P 500 ® Index. The Fund's investments will generally consist of securities, which may include common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market.
The Adviser attempts to lower the Fund's market risk by investing in U.S. equity securities that lower the overall volatility of the Fund's portfolio as compared to the S&P 500 ® Index. The Fund invests in stocks that exhibit less volatile stock price patterns, strengthening business metrics (i.e., earnings, debt, return on assets, competition, customers, industry, etc.) and quantitative factors such as earnings variability, leverage, volatility, price/book, price/cash flow, etc. The Adviser selects securities for the Fund that it anticipates will produce less volatility with more capital protection and more consistent returns.
Principal Risks
Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. In addition, your investment in the Fund may be subject to the following principal risks:
n Common Stock Risk. Investments in common stocks are subject to market, economic and business risks that will cause their price to fluctuate over time. Therefore, an investment in the Fund may be more suitable for long-term investors who can bear the risk of these fluctuations.
n High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The risk that when investing on a shorter-term basis, the Fund may as a result trade more frequently and incur higher levels of brokerage fees and commissions and cause higher levels of current tax liability to shareholders of the Fund .
n Management Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of poor stock selection. In other words, the individual stocks in the Fund may not perform as well as expected, and/or the Fund's portfolio management practices do not work to achieve their desired result.
2
n Market Risk. The net asset value ("NAV") of the Fund will change with changes in the market value of its portfolio positions. Investors may lose money. Although the Fund will invest in stocks the Adviser believes will produce less volatility, there is no guarantee that the stocks will perform as expected.
n Opportunity Risk. As with all mutual funds, the Fund is subject to the risk of missing out on an opportunity because the assets necessary to take advantage of it are tied up in less advantageous investments.
Performance Information
The chart below illustrates the performance of the Fund's Class I Shares for its first full calendar year ended December 31, 2013. The information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Performance reflects fee waivers in effect. If fee waivers were not in place, the Fund's performance would be reduced. Updated performance information may be obtained at www.summitglobalinvestments.com or by calling 1-855-744-8500.
TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31
Best and Worst Quarterly Performance (for the period reflected in the chart above):
Best Quarter: 13.53% (quarter ended March 31, 2013)
Worst Quarter: (1.56)% (quarter ended June 30, 2013)
Year-to-date total return for the nine months ended September 30, 2014: 6.92%
3
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
The table below compares the Fund's Class I average annual total returns for the past calendar year and since inception to the average annual total returns of a broad-based securities market index for the same periods. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the Fund will perform in the future.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013
1 Year |
Since Inception
(February 29, 2012) |
||||||||||
Class I Before Taxes |
27.71 |
% |
16.21 |
% |
|||||||
Class I After Taxes on Distributions (1) |
26.46 |
% |
15.33 |
% |
|||||||
Class I After Taxes on Distributions
and Sale of Fund Shares |
15.71 |
% |
12.13 |
% |
|||||||
S&P 500 ® Index |
29.60 |
% |
17.53 |
% |
(1) After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRA").
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
Summit Global Investments, LLC
Portfolio Managers
David Harden
President of the Adviser
Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception
Rick Jaster, CFA
Portfolio Manager of the Fund since July 2013
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Minimum Initial Investment |
|||||||
Class A |
$ |
2,500 |
|||||
Retail Class |
$ |
2,500 |
|||||
Class I |
$ |
1,000,000 |
You can only purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on days the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open. Shares of the Fund may be available through certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals. Shares of the Fund may also be purchased and redeemed directly through The RBB Fund, Inc. by the means described below.
Purchase and Redemption By Mail:
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9841
Providence, RI 02940-8041
4
Overnight Mail:
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Purchase and Redemption By Wire:
Before sending any wire, call BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") at 855-744-8500 to confirm the current wire instructions for the Fund.
Redemption By Telephone:
If you select the option on your account application, you may call the Transfer Agent at 855-744-8500.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS AND RISKS
This section provides some additional information about the Fund's investments and certain portfolio management techniques that the Fund may use. More information about the Fund's investments and portfolio management techniques, and related risks, is included in the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI").
Investment Objective
The Fund's investment objective may be changed by the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Company") without shareholder approval. Shareholders will, however, receive 60 days' prior notice of any changes. Any such changes may result in the Fund having an investment objective different from the objective that the shareholder considered appropriate at the time of investment in the Fund.
Additional Information About the Fund's Non-Principal Investment Strategies
Other Investment Companies. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in the securities of other investment companies not affiliated with the Adviser, but may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of any one investment company or acquire more than 3% of the voting securities of any other investment company. Among other things, the Fund may invest in money market mutual funds for cash management purposes by "sweeping" excess cash balances into such funds until the cash is invested or otherwise utilized. Rule 12d1-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, permits the Fund to invest an unlimited amount of its uninvested cash in a money market fund so long as, among other things, said investment is consistent with the Fund's investment objectives and policies. 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 advisory and administration fees paid by the Fund.
Securities Lending. The Fund may seek to increase its income by lending portfolio securities to institutions, such as certain broker-dealers. Portfolio securities loans are secured continuously by collateral maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The value of the securities loaned by the Fund will not exceed 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund's total assets. The Fund may experience a loss or delay in the recovery of its securities if the borrowing institution breaches its agreement with the Fund. Lending the Fund's portfolio securities involves the risk of delay in receiving additional collateral if the value of the securities goes up while they are on loan. The Fund may lose money from securities lending if, for example, it is delayed in or prevented from selling the collateral after the loan is made or recovering the securities loaned or if it incurs losses on the reinvestment of cash collateral.
Borrowing. The Fund may borrow money for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes. The Fund will not make any additional investments while borrowings exceed 5% of its total assets.
Temporary Investments. The Fund may depart from its principal investment strategy in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking a temporary defensive position (up to 100% of its assets) in all types of money market and short-term debt securities. If the Fund were to take a temporary defensive position, it may be unable for a time to achieve its investment objective.
Additional Information About the Fund's Risks
The following provides additional information about the principal and non-principal risks of investing in the Fund:
n At least 80% of the Fund's net assets will be invested under normal circumstances in equity securities, and the NAV of the Fund will vary with changes in the market value of the portfolio positions. The Fund will provide shareholders with at least 60 days' prior written notice of any change in this 80% policy.
n The market value of a portfolio holding may fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The prices of equity securities change in response to many factors including the historical and prospective earnings of the
6
issuer, the value of its assets, general economic conditions, interest rates, investor perceptions and market liquidity. Decreases in market value of the Fund's portfolio securities could adversely affect the Fund's NAV.
n The Fund may, for temporary defensive purposes, invest a percentage of its total assets, without limitation, in cash or various money market instruments. The value of money market instruments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities. When the Fund's assets are invested in cash or money market instruments, the Fund may not achieve its investment goal.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Company's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI. The SAI is incorporated herein.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
Investment Adviser
Summit Global Investments, LLC (the "Adviser") serves as the Fund's investment adviser. The Adviser's principal address is 620 South Main St. Bountiful, Utah 84010. The Adviser provides investment management and investment advisory services to investment companies and other institutional accounts. The Adviser is 100% privately-owned, and was founded in 2010.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Company, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of 0.70% of the Fund's average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees and reimburse expenses through December 31, 2015 to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceed 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class A Shares or Retail Shares and 0.98% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class I Shares. In determining the Adviser's obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.23% or 0.98%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before December 31, 2015 without the approval of the Company's Board of Directors. Effective January 1, 2012, if at any time the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class A Shares or Retail Shares or less than 0.98% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund's Class I Shares, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such wavier or reimbursement was made. For the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014, after waivers, the Adviser received 0.33% of the Fund's average net assets in investment advisory fees from the Fund. Had fee waivers not been in place, the Adviser would have received 0.70% of the Fund's average net assets in advisory fees from the Fund.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Company's Board of Directors approving the Fund's investment advisory agreement with the Adviser is available in the Fund's annual report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Managers
The President of the Adviser, David Harden, is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's investment portfolio. Mr. Harden founded the Adviser in 2010, and has managed the Fund since its inception. He started his career in 1993 and has worked for such firms as Fidelity Investments, Wellington Management and Evergreen Investments. From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Harden worked with Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc., most recently as
7
Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, where he managed and oversaw day-to-day research, portfolio management and trading for all index, quantitative and low volatility strategies.
Rick Jaster, CFA, is a Senior Portfolio Manager of the Adviser. Mr. Jaster joined the Adviser in July, 2013. Mr. Jaster has a BS and MBA from Brigham Young University ("BYU"). He was with Ensign Peak Advisors, an endowment providing investment management for BYU and affiliated universities and religious entities from May, 1995 to July, 2013. At Ensign Peak Advisors, Mr. Jaster worked as a financial services industry analyst and later became a portfolio manager of U.S. macro-cap stocks. Later he joined the asset allocation team and helped implement a risk parity portfolio, effectively reducing the equity risk found in traditional balanced portfolios. He also successfully designed and managed a portfolio of active global low volatility stocks, providing an alternative to passive global low volatility strategies which often contain over-priced stocks.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the Fund.
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Pricing of Fund Shares
Retail Shares and Class I Shares of the Fund are sold at their net asset value ("NAV"). Class A Shares of the Fund are sold at their NAV, plus a front-end sales charge, if applicable. The NAV of a class of the Fund is calculated as follows:
The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. The NYSE is generally open Monday through Friday, except national holidays. The Fund will effect purchases of Fund shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your purchase order in good order. The Fund will effect redemptions of Fund shares at the NAV next calculated after receipt by the Transfer Agent of your redemption request in good order.
The Fund's equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange market system will be valued at the last sale price, except for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System ("NASDAQ"). Equity securities listed on NASDAQ will be valued at the official closing price. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at their closing prices. If there were no transactions on that day, securities traded principally on an exchange or on NASDAQ will be valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices prior to the market close. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Fixed income securities having a remaining maturity of greater than 60 days are valued using an independent pricing service. When prices are not available from such services or are deemed to be unreliable, securities may be valued by dealers who make markets in such securities.
If market quotations are unavailable or deemed unreliable by the Fund's administrator, in consultation with the Adviser, securities will be valued by the Adviser in accordance with procedures adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and under the Board of Directors' ultimate supervision. Relying on prices supplied by pricing services or dealers or using fair valuation involves the risk that the values used by a Fund to price its investments may be higher or lower than the values used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.
Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued based on the NAV of those investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in exchange-traded and closed-end funds will be valued at their market price.
8
Sales Charges
General. Purchases of Class A Shares of the Fund are subject to a front-end sales charge of up to five and one-quarter percent (5.25%) of the total purchase price; however, sales charges may be reduced for large purchases as indicated below. Sales charges are not imposed on shares that are purchased with reinvested dividends or other distributions. The table below indicates the front-end sales charge as a percentage of both the offering price and the net amount invested. The term "offering price" includes the front-end sales charge.
Amount of Purchase of Class A Shares |
Sales Charge as a
% of Offering Price |
Commission as a
% of Offering Price |
|||||||||
Less than $50,000 |
5.25 |
% |
4.75 |
% |
|||||||
At least $50,000 but less than $100,000 |
4.75 |
% |
4.25 |
% |
|||||||
At least $100,000 but less than $250,000 |
3.50 |
% |
3.25 |
% |
|||||||
At least $250,000 but less than $500,000 |
2.50 |
% |
2.25 |
% |
|||||||
At least $500,000 but less than $750,000 |
2.00 |
% |
1.90 |
% |
|||||||
At least $750,000 but less than $1,000,000 |
1.50 |
% |
1.45 |
% |
|||||||
$ 1,000,000 or greater |
None |
** |
** No sales charge is payable at the time of purchase on investments of $1,000,000 or more; however, a 1% contingent deferred sales charge is imposed in the event of redemption within 18 months following any such purchase. See the section entitled "Contingent Deferred Sales Charge on Certain Redemptions." Brokers who initiate and are responsible for purchases of $1,000,000 or more may receive a commission of up to 1% of the offering price of Class A Shares.
Combined Purchase Privilege. Certain purchases of Fund shares made at the same time by you, your spouse and your children under age 25 may be combined for purposes of determining the "Amount of Purchase." The combined purchase privilege may also apply to certain employee benefit plans and trust estates. The following purchases may be combined for purposes of determining the "Amount of Purchase:" (a) individual purchases, if made at the same time, by a single purchaser, the purchaser's spouse and children under the age of 25 purchasing shares for their own accounts, including shares purchased by a qualified retirement plan(s) exclusively for the benefit of such individual(s) (such as an IRA, individual-type section 403(b) plan or single-participant Keogh-type plan) or by a "Company," as defined in Section 2(a)(8) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), solely controlled, as defined in the 1940 Act, by such individual(s), or (b) individual purchases by trustees or other fiduciaries purchasing shares (i) for a single trust estate or a single fiduciary account, including an employee benefit plan, or (ii) concurrently by two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of employers affiliated with each other in accordance with Section 2(a)(3)(c) of the 1940 Act (excluding in either case an employee benefit plan described in (a) above), provided such trustees or other fiduciaries purchase shares in a single payment. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts may not be combined with purchases made for such other accounts. You may also further discuss the combined purchase privilege with your investment broker, brokerage firm, financial institution, or other industry professional, including affiliates of the Adviser (collectively, "Service Organizations"). In order to take advantage of the combined purchase privilege, the purchases combined must be brought to the attention of your investment broker or other Service Organization at the time of your purchase.
Cumulative Quantity Discount. You may combine the value of shares held in the Fund, along with the dollar amount of shares being purchased, to qualify for a cumulative quantity discount. The value of shares held is the higher of their cost or current NAV. For example, if you hold shares having a value of $225,000 and purchase $25,000 of additional shares, the sales charge applicable to the additional investment would be 2.50%, the rate applicable to a single purchase of $250,000. In order to receive the cumulative quantity discount, the value of shares held must be brought to the attention of your investment broker or other Service Organization at the time of your purchase.
Letter of Intent. If you anticipate purchasing at least $50,000 of shares within a 13-month period, the shares may be purchased at a reduced sales charge by completing and returning a Letter of Intent (the "Letter"), which can be provided to you by your investment broker or other Service Organization. The reduced sales charge may also be obtained on shares purchased within the 90 days prior to the date of receipt of the Letter. Shares purchased under the
9
Letter are eligible for the same reduced sales charge that would have been available had all the shares been purchased at the same time. There is no obligation to purchase the full amount of shares indicated in the Letter. Should you invest more or less than indicated in the Letter during the 13-month period, the sales charge will be recalculated based on the actual amount purchased. A portion of the amount of the intended purchase normally will be held in escrow in the form of Fund shares pending completion of the intended purchase.
Sales Charge Waivers. The Fund sells Class A Shares at NAV without imposition of a sales charge to the following persons:
n current and retired (as determined by the Adviser) employees of the Adviser and its affiliates, their spouses and children under the age of 25 and employee benefit plans for such employees, provided orders for such purchases are placed by the employee;
n any other investment company in connection with the combination of such company with the Fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;
n Directors of the Company and registered representatives of Service Organizations;
n existing advisory clients of the Adviser on purchases effected by transferring all or a portion of their investment management or trust account to the Fund, provided that such account had been maintained for a period of six months prior to the date of purchase of Fund shares;
n trust companies, bank trust departments and registered investment advisers purchasing for accounts over which they exercise investment authority and which are held in a fiduciary, agency, advisory, custodial or similar capacity, provided that the amount collectively invested or to be invested in the Fund by such entity or adviser during the subsequent 13-month period totals at least $50,000;
n employer-sponsored retirement plans with assets of at least $50,000 or 25 or more eligible participants; and
n accounts established under a fee-based program sponsored and maintained by a registered broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and approved by the Distributor.
In order to take advantage of a sales charge waiver, a purchaser must certify to the Service Organization eligibility for a waiver and must notify the Service Organization whenever eligibility for a waiver ceases to exist. A Service Organization reserves the right to request additional information from a purchaser in order to verify that such purchaser is so eligible. Such information may include account statements or other records regarding shares of the Fund held by you or your immediate family household members.
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge on Certain Redemptions. Purchases of $1,000,000 or more are not subject to an initial sales charge; however, a contingent deferred sales charge is payable on these investments in the event of a share redemption within 18 months following the share purchase, at the rate of 1% of the lesser of the value of the shares redeemed (exclusive of reinvested dividends and capital gain distributions) or the total cost of such shares. In determining whether a contingent deferred sales charge is payable, and the amount of the charge, it is assumed that shares purchased with reinvested dividends and capital gain distributions and then other shares held the longest are the first redeemed. The contingent deferred sales charge is further discussed in the SAI.
Market Timing
In accordance with the policy adopted by its Board of Directors, the Company discourages and does not accommodate market timing and other excessive trading practices. Purchases should be made with a view to longer-term investment only. 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 long-term shareholders. The Company and the Adviser reserve the right to (i) reject a purchase or exchange order, (ii) delay payment of immediate cash redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days, (iii) revoke a shareholder's privilege to purchase Fund Shares (including exchanges), or (iv) limit the amount of any exchange involving the purchase of Fund Shares. An investor may receive notice that their purchase order or exchange has been rejected after the day the order is placed or after acceptance by a financial intermediary. It is currently expected that
10
a shareholder would receive notice that its purchase order or exchange has been rejected within 48 hours after such purchase order or exchange has been received by the Company in good order. The Company and the Adviser will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase orders. To minimize harm to the Company and its shareholders (or the Adviser), the Company (or the Adviser) will exercise its right if, in the Company's (or the Adviser's) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor's trading, in the judgment of the Company (or the Adviser), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. 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 Fund and its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Fund and its shareholders to those of the Adviser or any affiliated person or associated person of the Adviser.
To deter excessive shareholder trading, the Fund charges a redemption fee of 1.50% on shares redeemed within 60 days of purchase. For further information on redemptions, please see the section entitled "Shareholder Information Redemptions of Fund Shares."
There is no assurance that the Adviser will be able to identify market timers, particularly if they are investing through intermediaries.
If necessary, the Company may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a financial intermediary or by certain customers of the financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may also monitor their customers' trading activities in the Fund. The criteria used by intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Company. If a financial intermediary fails to enforce the Company's excessive trading policies, the Company may take certain actions, including terminating the relationship.
Purchase of Fund Shares
Shares representing interests in the Fund are offered continuously for sale by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the "Distributor").
The Board of Directors has approved a Distribution Agreement and adopted Plans of Distribution for Class A Shares and Retail Shares (the "Plans") pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plans, the Distributor is entitled to receive from the Fund a distribution fee with respect to Class A Shares and Retail Shares of the Fund, which is accrued daily and paid monthly, of up to 0.25% on an annualized basis of the average daily net assets of the Class A Shares and Retail Shares. The actual amount of such compensation under the Plans is agreed upon by the Company's Board of Directors and by the Distributor. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment in Class A Shares and Retail Shares and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Amounts paid to the Distributor under the Plans may be used by the Distributor to cover expenses that are related to (i) the sale of Class A shares, (ii) ongoing servicing and/or maintenance of the accounts of Class A and Retail class shareholders, and (iii) sub-transfer agency services, subaccounting services or administrative services related to the sale of Class A Shares and Retail Shares, all as set forth in the Plans. Ongoing servicing and/or maintenance of the accounts of Class A and Retail class shareholders may include updating and mailing prospectuses and shareholder reports, responding to inquiries regarding shareholder accounts and acting as agent or intermediary between shareholders and the Fund or its service providers. The Distributor may delegate some or all of these functions to Service Organizations. See "Purchases Through Intermediaries" below.
The Plans obligate the Fund, during the period it is in effect, to accrue and pay to the Distributor on behalf of the Class A Shares and Retail Shares the fee agreed to under the Distribution Agreement. Payments under the Plans are not tied exclusively to expenses actually incurred by the Distributor, and the payments may exceed distribution expenses actually incurred.
Purchases Through Intermediaries. Shares of the Fund may also be available through Service Organizations. Certain features of the shares, such as the initial and subsequent investment minimums and certain trading restrictions, may be modified or waived by Service Organizations. Service Organizations may impose transaction or administrative charges or other direct fees, which charges and fees would not be imposed if shares are purchased directly from the
11
Company. Therefore, you should contact the Service Organization acting on your behalf concerning the fees (if any) charged in connection with a purchase or redemption of shares and should read this Prospectus in light of the terms governing your accounts with the Service Organization. Service Organizations will be responsible for promptly transmitting client or customer purchase and redemption orders to the Company in accordance with their agreements with the Company or its agent and with clients or customers. Service Organizations or, if applicable, their designees that have entered into agreements with the Company or its agent may enter confirmed purchase orders on behalf of clients and customers, with payment to follow no later than the Company's pricing on the following Business Day. If payment is not received by such time, the Service Organization could be held liable for resulting fees or losses. The Company will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when a Service Organization, or, if applicable, its authorized designee, accepts a purchase or redemption order in good order if the order is actually received by the Company in good order not later than the next business morning. If a purchase order is not received by the Fund in good order, the Transfer Agent will contact the financial intermediary to determine the status of the purchase order. Orders received by the Company in good order will be priced at the appropriate Fund's NAV next computed after they are deemed to have been received by the Service Organization or its authorized designee.
For administration, sub-accounting, transfer agency and/or other services, the Adviser, the Distributor or their affiliates may pay Service Organizations and certain recordkeeping organizations a fee (the "Service Fee") relating to the average annual NAV of accounts with the Company maintained by such Service Organizations or recordkeepers. The Service Fee payable to any one Service Organization is determined based upon a number of factors, including the nature and quality of services provided, the operations processing requirements of the relationship and the standardized fee schedule of the Service Organization or recordkeeper.
General. You may also purchase shares of the Fund at the NAV per share next calculated after your order is received by the Transfer Agent in good order as described below. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. After an initial purchase is made, the Transfer Agent will set up an account for you on the Company's records. The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $2,500 and there is no minimum subsequent investment amount. The minimum initial investment requirements may be reduced or waived from time to time. For purposes of meeting the minimum initial purchase, purchases by clients which are part of endowments, foundations or other related groups may be combined. You can only purchase shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below. Shares may be purchased by principals and employees of the Adviser and its subsidiaries and by their spouses and children either directly or through any trust that has the principal, employee, spouse or child as the primary beneficiaries, their individual retirement accounts, or any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser and its subsidiaries without being subject to the minimum investment limitations.
Initial Investment By Mail. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, an account may be opened by completing and signing an Account Application and mailing it to the Transfer Agent at the address noted below, together with a check payable to Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund. Third party endorsed checks or foreign checks will not be accepted.
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
P.O. Box 9841
Providence, RI 02940
or overnight to:
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Subject to acceptance by the Fund, payment for the purchase of shares received by mail will be credited to a shareholder's account at the NAV per share of the Fund next determined after receipt of payment in good order.
12
Initial Investment By Wire. Subject to acceptance by the Fund, shares may be purchased by wiring federal funds to The Bank of New York Mellon. A completed Account Application must be forwarded to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" in advance of the wire. Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at (888) 520-3277 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. (Prior notification must also be received from investors with existing accounts.) For current wire instructions, contact the Transfer Agent at 855-744-8500.
Federal funds wire purchases will be accepted only on days when the NYSE and The Bank of New York Mellon are open for business.
Additional Investments. Additional investments may be made at any time by purchasing shares at the NAV per share of the Fund by mailing a check to the Transfer Agent at the address noted above under "Initial Investment by Mail" (payable to Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund) or by wiring monies to The Bank of New York Mellon as outlined above under "Initial Investment by Wire." Notification must be given to the Transfer Agent at 855-744-8500 prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the wire date. Initial and additional purchases made by check cannot be redeemed until payment of the purchase has been collected. This may take up to 15 calendar days from the purchase date.
Automatic Investment Plan. Additional investments in shares of the Fund may be made automatically by authorizing the Transfer Agent to withdraw funds from your bank account through the Automatic Investment Plan. Investors who would like to participate in the Automatic Investment Plan should call the Transfer Agent at 855-744-8500, or complete the appropriate section of the account application. The minimum initial investment for the Automatic Investment Plan is $1,000 for Class A Shares and Retail Shares and $1,000,000 for Class I Shares. Minimum monthly payments are $100 for Class A Shares and Retail Shares and $1,000 for Class I Shares.
Retirement Plans/IRA Accounts. Shares may be purchased in conjunction with individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and rollover IRAs. A $15.00 retirement custodial maintenance fee is charged per IRA account per year. For further information as to applications and annual fees, contact the Transfer Agent at 855-744-8500. To determine whether the benefits of an IRA are available and/or appropriate, you should consult with a tax adviser.
Purchases in Kind. In certain circumstances, Shares of the Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e. in exchange for securities, rather than cash). The securities rendered in connection with an in-kind purchase must be liquid securities that are not restricted as to transfer and have a value that is readily ascertainable in accordance with the Company's valuation procedures. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in this Prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of net asset value after such acceptance. The Shares of the Fund that are issued to the investor in exchange for the securities will be determined as of the same time. All dividends, subscriptions, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. The Fund will not accept securities in exchange for its Shares unless such securities are, at the time of the exchange, eligible to be held by the Fund and satisfy such other conditions as may be imposed by the Adviser or the Company. Purchases in-kind may result in the recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the securities transferred to the Fund.
Other Purchase Information. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of shares or to reject purchase orders when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interest of the Fund. The Adviser will monitor the Fund's total assets and may, subject to Board approval, decide to close the Fund at any time to new investments or to new accounts due to concerns that a significant increase in the size of the Fund may adversely affect the implementation of the Fund's strategy. The Adviser, subject to Board approval, may also choose to reopen the Fund to new investments at any time, and may subsequently close the Fund again should concerns regarding the Fund's size recur. If the Fund closes to new investments, the Fund may be offered only to certain existing shareholders of the Fund and certain other persons who may be subject to cumulative, maximum purchase amounts, as follows:
a. persons who already hold shares of the closed Fund directly or through accounts maintained by brokers by arrangement with the Adviser,
b. employees of the Adviser and their spouses, parents and children, and
13
c. Directors of the Company.
Distributions to all shareholders of the closed Fund will continue to be reinvested unless a shareholder elects otherwise. The Adviser, subject to the Board of Directors' discretion, reserves the right to implement specific purchase limitations at the time of closing, including limitations on current shareholders.
Purchases of the Fund's shares will be made in full and fractional shares of the Fund calculated to three decimal places. Certificates for shares will not be issued except at the written request of the shareholder. Certificates for fractional shares, however, will not be issued.
Shares may be purchased and subsequent investments may be made by principals and employees of the Adviser and their family members, either directly or through their IRAs and by any pension and profit-sharing plan of the Adviser, without being subject to the minimum investment limitation.
The Company's officers are authorized to waive the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements.
Good Order. A purchase request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Purchase requests not in good order may be rejected.
Customer Identification Program. Federal law requires the Company to obtain, verify and record identifying information, which may include the name, residential or business street address, date of birth (for an individual), social security or taxpayer identification number or other identifying information for each investor who opens or reopens an account with the Company. Applications without the required information, or without any indication that a social security or taxpayer identification number has been applied for, may not be accepted. After acceptance, to the extent permitted by applicable law or its customer identification program, the Company reserves the right (a) to place limits on transactions in any account until the identity of the investor is verified; or (b) to refuse an investment in a Company portfolio or to involuntarily redeem an investor's shares and close an account in the event that an investor's identity is not verified. The Company and its agents will not be responsible for any loss in an investor's account resulting from the investor's delay in providing all required identifying information or from closing an account and redeeming an investor's shares when an investor's identity cannot be verified.
Redemption of Fund Shares
You may redeem shares of the Fund at the next NAV calculated after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Fund's NAV is calculated once daily at the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the NYSE is open. You can only redeem shares of the Fund on days the NYSE is open and through the means described below.
You may redeem shares of the Fund by mail, or, if you are authorized, by telephone. The value of shares redeemed may be more or less than the purchase price, depending on the market value of the investment securities held by the Fund.
Redemption By Mail. Your redemption requests should be addressed to Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., P.O. Box 9841, Providence, RI 02940, or for overnight delivery to Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581 and must include:
n a letter of instruction, if required, or a stock assignment specifying the number of shares or dollar amount to be redeemed, signed by all registered owners of the shares in the exact names in which they are registered;
n any required Medallion signature guarantees, which are required when (i) the redemption proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s), (ii) the redemption request is for $10,000 or more, or (iii) a share transfer request is made. A Medallion signature guarantee is a special signature guarantee that may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency or savings association which is a participant in a Medallion signature guarantee program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. A Medallion imprint or Medallion stamp indicates that the financial institution is a
14
member of a Medallion signature guarantee program and is an acceptable signature guarantor. The three recognized Medallion signature guarantee programs are Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program (STAMP), Stock Exchanges Medallion Program (SEMP) and New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Program (MSP). Signature guarantees which are not a part of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that a notary public stamp or seal is not acceptable; and
n other supporting legal documents, if required, in the case of estates, trusts, guardianships, custodianships, corporations, pension and profit sharing plans and other organizations.
Redemption By Telephone. In order to utilize the telephone redemption option, you must indicate that option on your Account Application. Please note that the telephone redemption option is not available for retirement accounts. You may then initiate a redemption of shares by calling the Transfer Agent at 855-744-8500 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be mailed to the primary registration address or wired per the authorized instructions. A wire charge of $7.50 is assessed and charged to the shareholder. If the telephone redemption option is authorized, the Transfer Agent may act on telephone instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be a shareholder and believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Transfer Agent's records of such instructions are binding and shareholders, not the Fund or its Transfer Agent, bear the risk of loss in the event of unauthorized instructions reasonably believed by the Fund or its Transfer Agent to be genuine. The Fund and the Transfer Agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. The procedures employed by the Fund and the Transfer Agent in connection with transactions initiated by telephone include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone.
Transaction Fee on Certain Redemptions. The Fund requires the payment of a transaction fee on redemptions of shares held for less than 60 days equal to 1.50% of the NAV of such shares redeemed at the time of redemption. This additional transaction fee is paid to the Fund, not to the Adviser, distributor or Transfer Agent. It is not a sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge. The fee does not apply to redeemed shares that were purchased through reinvested dividends or capital gains distributions. The purpose of the additional transaction fee is to indirectly allocate transaction costs associated with redemptions to those investors making redemptions after holding their shares for a short period, thus protecting existing shareholders. These costs include: (1) brokerage costs; (2) market impact costs i.e., the decrease in market prices which may result when the Fund sells certain securities in order to raise cash to meet the redemption request; (3) the realization of capital gains by the other shareholders in the Fund; and (4) the effect of the "bid-ask" spread in the over-the-counter market. The 1.50% amount represents the Fund's estimate of the brokerage and other transaction costs which may be incurred by the Fund in disposing of stocks in which the Fund may invest. Without the additional transaction fee, the Fund would generally be selling its shares at a price less than the cost to the Fund of acquiring the portfolio securities necessary to maintain its investment characteristics, resulting in reduced investment performance for all shareholders in the Fund. With the additional transaction fee, the transaction costs of selling additional stocks are not borne by all existing shareholders, but the source of funds for these costs is the transaction fee paid by those investors making redemptions. For purposes of this redemption feature, shares purchased first will be considered to be shares first redeemed.
Other Redemption Information. Redemption proceeds for shares of the Fund recently purchased by check may not be distributed until payment for the purchase has been collected, which may take up to fifteen days from the purchase date. Shareholders can avoid this delay by utilizing the wire purchase option. Redemption proceeds will ordinarily be paid within seven business days after a redemption request is received by the Transfer Agent in good order. The Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date at times when the NYSE or the bond market is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC.
If the Board of Directors determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, redemption proceeds may be paid in whole or in part by an in-kind distribution of readily marketable securities held by the Fund instead of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors generally will incur brokerage charges on the sale of portfolio securities so received in the payment of redemptions. If a share-holder receives redemption proceeds in-kind, the shareholder will bear the market risk of the securities received in the redemption until their disposition and should expect to incur
15
transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act, so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Good Order. A redemption request is considered to be in good order when all necessary information is provided and all required documents are properly completed, signed and delivered. Redemption requests not in good order may be delayed.
Involuntary Redemption. The Fund reserves the right to redeem your account at any time the value of the account falls below $500 as the result of a redemption or an exchange request.
You will be notified in writing that the value of your account is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the redemption is processed.
The Fund may assert the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund will distribute substantially all of the net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, of the Fund to the Fund's shareholders. All distributions are reinvested in the form of additional full and fractional shares unless you elect otherwise.
The Fund will declare and pay dividends from net investment income quarterly. Net realized capital gains (including net short-term capital gains), if any, will be distributed at least annually.
The ex-dividend, record and payable dates of any annual distribution will be available by calling 855-744-8500.
Taxes
The following is a summary of certain United States tax considerations relevant under current law, which may be subject to change in the future. Except where otherwise indicated, the discussion relates to investors who are individual United States citizens or residents. You should consult your tax adviser for further information regarding federal, state, local and/or foreign tax consequences relevant to your specific situation.
Distributions. The Fund contemplates distributing as dividends each year all or substantially all of its taxable income, including its net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss). Except as otherwise discussed below, you will be subject to federal income tax on Fund distributions regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Fund distributions attributable to short-term capital gains and net investment income will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income, except as discussed below.
Distributions attributable to the net capital gain of the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. The maximum long-term capital gain rate applicable to individuals, estates, and trusts is 23.8% (which includes a 3.8% Medicare tax). You will be notified annually of the tax status of distributions to you.
Distributions of "qualifying dividends" will also generally be taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates, as long as certain requirements are met. In general, if 95% or more of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of dividends received from domestic corporations or "qualified" foreign corporations ("qualifying dividends"), then all distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates. But if less than 95% of the gross income of the Fund (other than net capital gain) consists of qualifying dividends, then distributions paid by the Fund to individual shareholders will be qualifying dividends only to the extent they are derived from qualifying dividends earned by the Fund. For the lower rates to apply, you must have owned your Fund shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the Fund's ex-dividend date (and the Fund will need to have met a similar holding period requirement with respect to the shares of
16
the corporation paying the qualifying dividend). The amount of the Fund's distributions that qualify for this favorable treatment may be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), a high portfolio turnover rate or investments in debt securities or non-qualified foreign corporations.
Distributions from the Fund will generally be taxable to you in the taxable year in which they are paid, with one exception. Distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid in January of the following year are taxed as though they were paid on December 31.
A portion of distributions paid by the Fund to shareholders that are corporations may also qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations, subject to certain holding period requirements and debt financing limitations. The amount of the dividends qualifying for this deduction may, however, be reduced as a result of the Fund's securities lending activities (if any), by a high portfolio turnover rate or by investments in debt securities or foreign corporations.
If you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price will reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution, but you will be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of capital. This is known as "buying into a dividend."
Sales of Shares. You will generally recognize taxable gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on a sale or redemption of your shares based on the difference between your tax basis in the shares and the amount you receive for them. Generally, you will recognize long-term capital gain or loss if you have held your Fund shares for over twelve months at the time you dispose of them.
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 disposition 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 upward adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.
For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the Fund (or relevant broker or financial adviser) is required to compute and report to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and furnish to Fund shareholders cost basis information when such shares are sold. The Fund has elected to use the average cost method, unless you instruct the Fund to use a different IRS-accepted cost basis method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale. If your account is held by your broker or other financial adviser, they may select a different cost basis method. In these cases, please contact your broker or other financial adviser to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal and state income tax returns. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisers to determine the best IRS-accepted cost basis method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.
IRAs and Other Tax-Qualified Plans. The one major exception to the preceding tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-qualified plan) will not be currently taxable unless such shares were acquired with borrowed funds.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required in certain cases to withhold and remit to the IRS a percentage of taxable dividends or gross proceeds realized upon sale payable to shareholders who have failed to provide a correct tax identification number in the manner required, or who are subject to withholding by the IRS for failure to properly include on their return payments of taxable interest or dividends, or who have failed to certify to the Fund that they are not subject to backup withholding when required to do so or that they are "exempt recipients." The current backup withholding rate is 28%.
U.S. Tax Treatment of Foreign Shareholders. Generally, nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign investors are subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends paid by a U.S. corporation, although the rate may be reduced for an investor that is a qualified resident of a foreign country with an applicable tax treaty with the United
17
States. In the case of a regulated investment company such as the Fund, however, certain categories of dividends are exempt from the 30% withholding tax. These generally include dividends attributable to the Fund's net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital loss) and, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2015, dividends attributable to the Fund's interest income from U.S. obligors and dividends attributable to net short-term capital gains of the Fund.
Foreign shareholders will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on the sale or redemption of shares of the Fund, except that a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a calendar year will be taxable on such gains and on capital gain dividends from the Fund.
In contrast, if a foreign investor conducts a trade or business in the United States and the investment in the Fund is effectively connected with that trade or business, then the foreign investor's income from the Fund will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates in a manner similar to the income of a U.S. citizen or resident.
The Fund will also generally be required to withhold 30% tax on certain payments to foreign entities that do not provide a Form W-8BEN-E that evidences their compliance with, or exemption from, specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
All foreign investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
State and Local Taxes. You may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain from Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of the Fund's distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
More information about taxes is contained in the Fund's SAI.
NO PERSON HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED TO GIVE ANY INFORMATION OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS NOT CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN THE FUND'S SAI INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING MADE BY THIS PROSPECTUS AND, IF GIVEN OR MADE, SUCH REPRESENTATIONS MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON AS HAVING BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMPANY OR ITS DISTRIBUTOR. THIS PROSPECTUS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFERING BY THE COMPANY OR BY THE DISTRIBUTOR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFERING MAY NOT LAWFULLY BE MADE.
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The table below sets forth certain financial information for the periods indicated, including per share information results for a single Class I Share of the Fund. The term "Total investment return" indicates how much your investment would have increased or decreased during this period of time and assumes that you have reinvested all dividends and distributions. This information has been derived from the Fund's financial statements and has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. This information should be read in conjunction with the Fund's financial statements which, together with the report of the independent registered public accounting firm, are included in the Fund's annual report, which is available upon request (see back cover for ordering instructions). There are no financial highlights for Class A Shares or Retail Shares of the Fund because Class A Shares and Retail Shares have not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus.
Class I Shares |
|||||||||||||||
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
For the
Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
For the Period
February 29, 2012 to August 31, 2012 (1) |
|||||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance |
|||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ |
11.85 |
$ |
10.18 |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||||||
Net investment income (2) |
0.16 |
0.15 |
0.08 |
||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain from investments (3) |
2.01 |
1.64 |
0.10 |
||||||||||||
Total from operations |
2.17 |
1.79 |
0.18 |
||||||||||||
Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders from: |
|||||||||||||||
Net investment income |
(0.08 |
) |
(0.05 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.22 |
) |
(0.07 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Total Dividends and Distributions to Shareholders |
(0.30 |
) |
(0.12 |
) |
|
||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period |
$ |
13.72 |
$ |
11.85 |
$ |
10.18 |
|||||||||
Total investment return (4) |
18.57 |
% |
17.78 |
% |
1.80 |
% (5) |
|||||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data |
|||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) |
$ |
60,266 |
$ |
25,638 |
$ |
3,602 |
|||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets with
waivers and reimbursements |
0.98 |
% |
0.98 |
% |
0.98 |
% (6) |
|||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets without
waivers and reimbursements |
1.35 |
% |
2.74 |
% |
20.03 |
% (6) |
|||||||||
Ratio of net investment income to average net assets |
1.25 |
% |
1.34 |
% |
1.64 |
% (6) |
|||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
110 |
% |
81 |
% |
95 |
% (5) |
(1) The Fund commenced investment operations on February 29, 2012.
(2) The selected per share data was calculated based on average shares outstanding method for the period.
(3) The amount shown may not correlate with the change in the aggregate gains and losses due to the timing of sales and purchases of the Fund's shares in relation to fluctuating market values for the Fund's portfolio.
(4) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestments of dividends and distributions, if any.
(5) Not annualized.
(6) Annualized.
19
Appendix A
Prior Performance of Similarly Advised Accounts
The Adviser has experience in managing other accounts with substantially similar investment objectives, policies and strategies as the Fund. The table below is provided to illustrate the past performance of the Adviser in managing all such other accounts and does not represent the performance of the Fund. Investors should not consider this performance information as a substitute for the performance of the Fund, nor should investors consider this information as an indication of the future performance of the Fund or of the Adviser. This performance history is net of all fees (including any applicable sales loads) charged to investors in the other accounts. The net returns are derived using the investment advisory fixed rate fee of 1.00% on total assets applicable for each other account and calculated on a monthly basis. The composite includes other accounts that pay lower expenses than those paid by shareholders of the Fund. Higher expenses reduce returns to investors. The use of the Fund's expense structure would have lowered the performance results. The Fund's results in the future also may be different because the other accounts are not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements and other restrictions imposed on mutual funds under applicable U.S. securities and tax laws that, if applicable, could have adversely affected the performance of the other accounts. In addition, the securities held by the Fund will not be identical to the securities held by the other accounts.
The performance of the other accounts is also compared to the performance of an appropriate broad-based securities benchmark index. This index is unmanaged and is not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with managed funds, including the Fund. Investors cannot invest directly in the Index. The performance information is accompanied by additional disclosures, which are an integral part of the information.
COMPOSITE MONTHLY PERFORMANCE TABLE NET OF FEES
(SINCE INCEPTION JANUARY 14, 2011 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2011)
1,2,3
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
||||||||||||||||||||||
US Equity Low
Volatility Composite |
-1.72 |
% |
1.92 |
% |
1.97 |
% |
4.13 |
% |
0.71 |
% |
0.11 |
% |
|||||||||||||||
S&P 500
®
Index |
-0.55 |
% |
3.20 |
% |
-0.10 |
% |
2.85 |
% |
-1.35 |
% |
-1.83 |
% |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
||||||||||||||||||||||
US Equity Low
Volatility Composite |
-2.82 |
% |
-1.63 |
% |
-2.17 |
% |
4.80 |
% |
0.41 |
% |
1.84 |
% |
|||||||||||||||
S&P 500
®
Index |
-2.15 |
% |
-5.68 |
% |
-7.18 |
% |
10.77 |
% |
-0.51 |
% |
0.85 |
% |
1 Performance was calculated using Global Investment Performance Standards ("GIPS"). This method of calculating performance differs from the SEC's standardized methodology, which may produce different results.
2 Performance shown is composite performance of all similarly advised accounts. The first similarly advised account commenced operations on January 14, 2011, but other accounts commenced operations subsequent to January 14, 2011.
3 The S&P 500 ® Index is an unmanaged index composed of 500 common stocks, classified in eleven industry sectors, which represents approximately 75% of the U.S. equities market. The S&P 500 ® Index assigns relative values to the stocks included in the index, weighted according to each stock's total market value relative to the total market value of the other stocks included in the index.
20
THE SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS U.S. LOW VOLATILITY EQUITY FUND
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
This Prospectus contains important information you should know before you invest. Read it carefully and keep it for future reference. More information about the Fund is available free of charge, upon request, including:
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports:
These reports contain additional information about the Fund's investments, describe the Fund's performance, list portfolio holdings, and discuss recent market conditions and economic trends. The annual report includes Fund strategies and market conditions that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year.
Statement of Additional Information:
The Fund's SAI, dated December 31, 2014, has been filed with the SEC. The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, along with the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports, are available on the Adviser's website at www.summitglobalinvestments.com or may be obtained free of charge by calling 855-744-8500. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
Shareholder Account Service Representatives:
Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday-Friday. Call: 855-744-8500.
Purchases and Redemptions:
Call your registered representative or 855-744-8500.
Written Correspondence
Post Office Address:
|
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. PO Box 9841 Providence, RI 02940 |
||||||
Street Address:
|
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01581 |
Securities and Exchange Commission:
You may view and copy information about the Company and the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of Fund documents by paying a duplicating fee and sending an electronic request to the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by sending your written request and a duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090.
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NO. 811-05518
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ABBEY CAPITAL FUTURES STRATEGY FUND
a series of THE RBB FUND, INC.
Class I Shares Ticker Symbol: ABYIX
Class A Shares Ticker Symbol: ABYAX
Class C Shares Ticker Symbol: ABYCX
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
ABBEY CAPITAL LIMITED
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides supplementary information pertaining to shares of three classes, Class I Shares, Class A Shares and Class C Shares (collectively, the Shares), representing interests in the Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read only in conjunction with the Funds Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus) and the Funds Annual Report dated August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report). Copies of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free 1-844-261-6484. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION |
1 |
|
|
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES |
1 |
|
|
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
22 |
|
|
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
23 |
|
|
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
24 |
|
|
CODE OF ETHICS |
31 |
|
|
PROXY VOTING |
31 |
|
|
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
32 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
33 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISER |
33 |
|
|
INVESTMENT TRADING ADVISERS |
34 |
|
|
THE PORTFOLIO MANAGERS |
36 |
|
|
ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT |
37 |
|
|
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT |
38 |
|
|
TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT |
38 |
|
|
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |
38 |
|
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS |
41 |
|
|
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
42 |
|
|
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
45 |
|
|
VALUATION OF SHARES |
45 |
|
|
TAXES |
45 |
|
|
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
46 |
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS |
47 |
|
|
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
48 |
|
|
APPENDIX A - DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS |
A-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund. Abbey Capital Limited (Abbey Capital or the Adviser), serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Fund.
The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. Current income is a secondary objective. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectus and this SAI, or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS
Multi-Manager Structure. The Fund and Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands, (the Subsidiary) are managed by the Adviser and one or more asset managers who are unaffiliated with the Adviser (each a Trading Adviser and together, the Trading Advisers). Subject to review by the Funds Board of Directors, the Adviser is responsible for selecting the Funds investment strategies and for allocating and reallocating assets among the Trading Advisers consistent with the Funds investment objective and strategies. The Adviser is also responsible for recommending to the Board whether an agreement with a Trading Adviser should be approved, renewed, modified or terminated and for monitoring and evaluating the Trading Advisers. The Adviser is also responsible for implementing procedures to ensure that each Trading Adviser complies with the Funds investment objective, strategies and restrictions.
Portfolio Turnover Rate. Portfolio turnover rate is defined under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) rules as the greater of the value of the securities purchased or securities sold, excluding all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one-year or less, divided by the average monthly value of such securities owned during the year. Based on this definition, instruments with remaining maturities of less than one-year are excluded from the calculation of the portfolio turnover rate. Instruments excluded from the calculation of portfolio turnover generally would include the futures contracts in which the Fund may invest since such contracts generally have remaining maturities of less than one-year. The Fund may at times hold investments in other short-term instruments, such as repurchase agreements, which are excluded for purposes of computing portfolio turnover.
Asset-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities may also be collateralized by a portfolio of U.S. government securities but are not direct obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Such asset pools are securitized through the use of privately-formed trusts or special purpose corporations. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be guaranteed up to certain amounts and for a certain time period by a letter of credit or a pool insurance policy issued by a financial institution unaffiliated with the trust or corporation, or other credit enhancements may be present, although privately issued obligations collateralized by a portfolio of privately issued asset-backed securities do not involve any government-related guarantee or insurance. In addition to the risks that are presented
by mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets. See Mortgage-Backed Securities below for additional information.
Asset-backed securities acquired by the Fund may also include collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). CDOs include collateralized bond obligations (CBOs) and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and other similarly structured securities.
A CBO is a trust or other special purpose entity (SPE) that is typically backed by a diversified pool of fixed-income securities (which may include high risk, below investment grade securities). A CLO is a trust or other SPE that is typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and non-U.S. senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. Although certain CDOs may receive credit enhancement in the form of a senior-subordinate structure, over-collateralization or bond insurance, such enhancement may not always be present and may fail to protect the Fund against the risk of loss on default of the collateral. Certain CDOs may use derivatives contracts to create synthetic exposure to assets rather than holding such assets directly, which entails the risks of derivative instruments described elsewhere in this SAI. CDOs may charge management fees and administrative expenses, which are in addition to those of the Fund.
For both CBOs and CLOs, the cashflows from the SPE are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The riskiest portion is the equity tranche, which bears the first loss from defaults from the bonds or loans in the SPE and serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default (though such protection is not complete). Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche from a CBO or CLO typically has higher ratings and lower yields than its underlying securities, and may be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, CBO or CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults, as well as investor aversion to CBO or CLO securities as a class. Interest on certain tranches of a CDO may be paid in kind (paid in the form of obligations of the same type rather than cash), which involves continued exposure to default risk with respect to such payments.
The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the type of the collateral securities and the class of the CDO in which the Fund invests. Normally, CBOs, CLOs and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CDOs may be characterized by the Fund as illiquid securities. However, an active dealer market may exist for CDOs, allowing a CDO to qualify for Rule 144A transactions. In addition to the normal risks associated with fixed-income securities and asset-backed securities generally discussed elsewhere in this SAI, CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the Fund may invest in tranches of CDOs that are subordinate to other tranches; (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results; and (v) the CDOs manager may perform poorly or default.
Commodity-Linked Investments. The Fund may attempt to provide exposure to the returns of real assets that trade in the commodity markets without direct investment in physical commodities. Real assets include oil, gas, industrial and precious metals, livestock, and agricultural or meat products, or other items that have tangible properties. Commodity-linked derivative instruments include commodity index-linked securities and other derivative instruments that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets. Commodity-linked investments may be more volatile and less liquid than the underlying instruments and their value may be affected by the performance of commodities as well as weather, tax, and other regulatory or political developments, overall market movements and other factors affecting the value of particular industries or commodities, such as disease, embargoes, acts of war or terrorism.
The Fund may invest in commodity-linked derivative instruments such as commodity-linked structured notes. The Fund may invest in commodity-linked notes that pay a return linked to the performance of a commodities index or basket of futures contracts with respect to all of the commodities in an index. In some cases, the return will be based on some multiple of the performance of the index, and this embedded leverage will magnify the positive and negative return the Fund earns from these notes as compared to the index. The principal and/or interest payments of commodity-linked derivatives are tied to the value of a real asset or commodity index. Structured notes may be structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note. The notes are derivative debt instruments with principal payments generally linked to the value
of commodities, commodity futures contracts or the performance of commodity indices and interest and coupon payments pegged to a market-based interest rate, such as LIBOR or a banks prime rate. The value of these notes will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index or investment. These notes expose the Fund economically to movements in commodity prices.
Corporate Obligations. The Fund may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations without limit on credit quality or maturity of debt securities. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are denominated or traded in foreign currencies. The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) or International Depositary Receipts (IDRs). ADRs are securities, typically issued by a U.S. financial institution (a depository), that evidence ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a foreign issuer and deposited with the depository. ADRs may be listed on a national securities exchange or may trade in the over-the-counter market. ADR prices are denominated in U.S. dollars; the underlying security may be denominated in a foreign currency. GDRs, EDRs and IDRs are securities that represent ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a non-U.S. or U.S. corporation. Depositary receipts may be available through sponsored or unsponsored facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Investments in depositary receipts do not eliminate the risks in investing in foreign issuers. The underlying security may be subject to foreign government taxes, which would reduce the yield on such securities.
Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Volume and liquidity in most foreign bond markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility or price can be greater than in the United States. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Inability to dispose of Fund securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to the Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities, or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Individual foreign
economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth or gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.
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 their portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed companies than in the United States.
Settlement mechanics ( e.g. , mail service between the United States and foreign countries) may be slower or less reliable than within the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. 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 a portion of the assets of the Fund is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities.
Although the Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the NAV of the Funds shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the Funds securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which the Fund makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price of the Funds securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of the Funds securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, the Fund is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency. The Fund may invest in obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks (Eurodollars) and U.S. branches of foreign banks (Yankee dollars) as well as foreign branches of foreign banks. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities of U.S. banks, including potential unfavorable political and economic developments, different tax provisions, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest. The Fund may also invest in Yankee bonds, which are issued by foreign governments and their agencies and foreign corporations but pay interest in U.S. dollars and are typically issued in the United States.
Forward Foreign Currency Transactions. The Fund may enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates or to seek to increase total return. The Fund will conduct its foreign currency exchange transactions either on a spot ( i.e. , cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or through entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. 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 (usually less than one year) 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 conducted directly between traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. Although foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the spread) between the price at which they are buying and selling various currencies.
The Fund may engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in one currency to hedge against fluctuations in the value in securities denominated or quoted in a different currency or to seek to increase total return. Cross-hedging may also include entering into a forward transaction involving two foreign currencies, using one foreign currency as a proxy for the U.S. dollar to hedge against variations in the other foreign currency.
At the consummation of the forward contract, the Fund may terminate its contractual obligation by purchasing an offsetting contract obligating it to purchase at the same maturity date, the same amount of such foreign currency. If the Fund engages in an offsetting transaction, the Fund will realize a gain or a loss to the extent that there has been a change in forward contract prices. Closing purchase transactions with respect to forward contracts are usually effected with the currency trader who is a party to the original forward contract.
The Funds transactions in forward contracts will be limited to those described above. Of course, the Fund is not required to enter into such transactions with regard to its foreign currency quoted or denominated securities, and the Fund will not do so unless deemed appropriate by the Adviser or Trading Adviser, as applicable.
When the Fund enters into forward contracts the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may segregate (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the forward contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
The Fund or the Subsidiary may enter into agreements with a futures commission merchant (FCM) which require the FCM to accept physical settlement for certain financial instruments. If this occurs, the Fund would treat the financial instrument as being cash-settled for purposes of determining the Funds coverage requirements.
If the Fund uses forward contracts as a method of protecting the value of the Funds portfolio securities against a decline in the value of a currency, this does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. It simply establishes a rate of exchange which can be achieved 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 Funds foreign assets. It also reduces any potential gain which may have otherwise occurred had the currency value increased above the settlement price of the contract.
While the Fund may enter into forward contracts to seek to reduce currency exchange rate risks or to seek to increase total return, 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 Funds portfolio holdings or 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 the risk of foreign exchange loss.
Forward contracts are subject to the risks 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 clearing house, 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.
The Funds foreign currency transactions (including related options, futures and forward contracts) may be limited by the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), for qualification as a regulated investment company.
Futures And Options On Futures. Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. The Fund may use futures contracts and related options for: bona fide hedging; attempting to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of; attempting to minimize fluctuations in foreign currencies; attempting to gain exposure to a particular market, index or instrument; or other risk management purposes.
The Fund and the Subsidiary, through which it invests, are subject to regulation by the CFTC as commodity pools and the Adviser is subject to regulation by the CFTC as a commodity pool operator (CPO) with respect to the Fund under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). The Adviser does not currently rely on an exclusion from the definition of CPO in CFTC Rule 4.5 with respect to the Fund.
Transactions in futures and options by the Fund are subject to limitations established by futures and option exchanges governing the maximum number of futures and options that may be written or held by a single investor or group of investors acting in concert, regardless of whether the futures or options were written or purchased on the same or different exchanges or are held in one or more accounts or through one or more different exchanges or through one or more brokers. Thus the number of futures or options which the Fund may write or hold may be affected by futures or options written or held by other entities, including other investment companies advised by the Adviser or a Trading Adviser. An exchange may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of those limits and may impose certain other sanctions.
An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified currency amount times the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made; generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.
When the Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, or sells an option thereon, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may segregate (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the futures contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
The Fund or the Subsidiary may enter into agreements with a futures commission merchant (FCM) which require the FCM to accept physical settlement for certain financial instruments. If this occurs, the Fund would treat the financial instrument as being cash-settled for purposes of determining the Funds coverage requirements.
The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by purchasing a put option on the same futures contract with a strike price (i.e., an exercise price) as high or higher than the price of the futures contract. In the alternative, if the strike price of the put is less than the price of the futures contract, the Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by taking a short position in the instruments underlying the futures contract, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract. The Fund may cover its short position in a futures contract by taking a long position in the instruments underlying the futures contracts, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract.
The Fund may cover its sale of a call option on a futures contract by taking a long position in the underlying futures contract at a price less than or equal to the strike price of the call option. In the alternative, if the long position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price greater than the strike price of the written (sold) call, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the call and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a call option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the call option. The Fund may cover its sale of a put option on a futures contract by taking a short position in the underlying futures contract at a price greater than or equal to the strike price of the put option, or, if the short position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price less than the strike price of the written put, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a put option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the put option.
There are significant risks associated with the Funds use of futures contracts and related options, including the following: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on the Advisers or Trading Advisers ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (4) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (5) government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and options on futures. In addition, some strategies reduce the Funds exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure.
Credit Default Swaps, Interest Rate Swaps, Mortgage Swaps, Currency Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Options on Swaps and Interest Rate Caps, Floors and Collars. The Fund may enter into credit default, interest rate and total return swaps. The Fund may also enter into interest rate caps, floors and collars. In addition, the Fund may enter into mortgage swaps and currency swaps.
The Fund may enter into swap transactions for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. As examples, the Fund may enter into swap transactions for the purpose of attempting to obtain or preserve a particular return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets, to protect against currency fluctuations, as a duration management technique, to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date, or to gain exposure to certain markets in an economical way.
Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are generally calculated with respect to a notional amount, i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate, in a particular foreign currency or security, or in a basket of securities representing a particular index. As examples, credit default swaps involve the receipt of floating or fixed rate payments in exchange for assuming potential credit losses of an underlying security. Credit default swaps give one party to a transaction the right to dispose of or acquire an asset (or group of assets), or the right to receive from or make a payment to the other party, upon the occurrence of specified credit events. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments. Mortgage swaps are similar to interest rate swaps in that they represent commitments to pay and receive interest. The notional principal amount, however, is tied to a reference pool or pools of mortgages. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the parties respective rights to make or receive payments in specified currencies. Total return swaps are contracts that obligate a party to pay or receive interest in exchange for payment by the other party of the total return generated by a security, a basket of securities, an index, or an index component.
The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payment of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor. An interest rate collar is the combination of a cap and a floor that preserves a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates.
A great deal of flexibility is possible in the way swap transactions are structured. However, generally the Fund will enter into credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps do not normally involve the delivery of securities, other underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps is normally limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a credit default, interest rate, total return or mortgage swap defaults, the Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. In contrast, currency swaps may involve the delivery of the entire principal amount of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Therefore, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations.
A credit default swap may have as reference obligations one or more securities that may, or may not, be currently held by
the Fund. The protection buyer in a credit default swap is generally obligated to pay the protection seller an upfront or a periodic stream of payments over the term of the swap provided that no credit event, such as a default, on a reference obligation has occurred. If a credit event occurs, the seller generally must pay the buyer the par value (full notional value) of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity described in the swap, or the seller may be required to deliver the related net cash amount, if the swap is cash settled. The Fund may be either the buyer or seller in the transaction. If the Fund is a buyer and no credit event occurs, the Fund may recover nothing if the swap is held through its termination date. However, if a credit event occurs, the buyer generally may elect to receive the full notional value of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity whose value may have significantly decreased. As a seller, the Fund generally receives an upfront payment or a rate of income throughout the term of the swap provided that there is no credit event. As the seller, the Fund would effectively add leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to its total net assets, the Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. If a credit event occurs, the value of any deliverable obligation received by the Fund as seller, coupled with the upfront or periodic payments previously received, may be less than the full notional value it pays to the buyer, resulting in a loss of value to the Fund.
To the extent that the Funds exposure in a transaction involving a swap or an interest rate floor, cap or collar is covered by the segregation of cash or liquid assets, or is covered by other means in accordance with SEC guidance, the Fund and the Adviser believe that the transactions do not constitute senior securities under the Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to the Funds borrowing restrictions. The SEC has recently issued the concept release Use of Derivatives by Investment Companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which discusses, among other matters, whether current market practices involving derivatives are consistent with the leverage provisions of the Act. Accordingly, investors should be aware that the SEC may offer additional guidance in the future that may impact the manner in which the Fund operates.
The Fund will not enter into any credit default, interest rate, total return or mortgage swap transactions unless the unsecured commercial paper, senior debt or claims-paying ability of the other party thereto is rated investment grade by S&Ps or Moodys, or, if unrated by such rating organization, determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser or applicable Trading Adviser. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.
The use of credit default, interest rate, mortgage, total return and currency swaps, as well as interest rate caps, floors and collars, is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of a swap requires an understanding not only of the referenced asset, reference rate, or index but also of the swap itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the swap under all possible market conditions. If the Adviser or applicable Trading Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, credit quality, interest rates and currency exchange rates, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment instruments were not used.
Investing in Emerging Countries, including Asia and Eastern Europe. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers located in emerging countries. The securities markets of emerging countries are less liquid and subject to greater price volatility, and have a smaller market capitalization, than the U.S. securities markets. In certain countries, there may be fewer publicly traded securities and the market may be dominated by a few issues or sectors. Issuers and securities markets in such countries are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial and other reporting requirements or as comprehensive government regulations as are issuers and securities markets in the U.S. In particular, the assets and profits appearing on the financial statements of emerging country issuers may not reflect their financial position or results of operations in the same manner as financial statements for U.S. issuers. Substantially less information may be publicly available about emerging country issuers than is available about issuers in the United States.
Emerging country securities markets are typically marked by a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of ownership of such securities by a limited number of investors. The markets for securities in certain emerging countries are in the earliest stages of their development. Even the markets for relatively widely traded securities in emerging countries may not be able to absorb, without price disruptions, a significant increase in trading volume or trades of a size customarily undertaken by institutional investors in the securities markets of developed countries. The limited size of many of these securities markets can cause prices to be erratic for reasons apart from factors that affect the soundness and competitiveness of the securities issuers. For example, prices may be unduly influenced by traders who control large positions in these markets. Additionally, market making and arbitrage activities are generally less extensive in such markets, which may contribute to increased volatility and reduced liquidity of such markets. The limited liquidity of emerging country securities may also affect the Funds ability to accurately value its portfolio securities or to acquire or dispose of securities at the price and time it wishes to do so or in order to meet redemption requests.
With respect to investments in certain emerging market countries, antiquated legal systems may have an adverse impact on the Fund. For example, while the potential liability of a shareholder in a U.S. corporation with respect to acts of the corporation is generally limited to the amount of the shareholders investment, the notion of limited liability is less clear in certain emerging market countries. Similarly, the rights of investors in emerging market companies may be more limited than those of shareholders in U.S. corporations.
Transaction costs, including brokerage commissions or dealer mark-ups, in emerging countries may be higher than in the United States and other developed securities markets. In addition, existing laws and regulations are often inconsistently applied. As legal systems in emerging countries develop, foreign investors may be adversely affected by new or amended laws and regulations. In circumstances where adequate laws exist, it may not be possible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of the law.
Foreign investment in the securities markets of certain emerging countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit the Funds investment in certain emerging countries and may increase the expenses of the Fund. Certain emerging countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit investment by foreign persons to only a specified percentage of an issuers outstanding securities or a specific class of securities which may have less advantageous terms (including price) than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals. In addition, the repatriation of both investment income and capital from emerging countries may be subject to restrictions which require governmental consents or prohibit repatriation entirely for a period of time. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects of the operation of the Fund. The Fund may be required to establish special custodial or other arrangements before investing in certain emerging countries.
Emerging countries may be subject to a substantially greater degree of economic, political and social instability and disruption than is the case in the United States, Japan and most Western European countries. This instability may result from, among other things, the following: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision making, including changes or attempted changes in governments through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic or social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection or conflict; and (vi) the absence of developed legal structures governing foreign private investments and private property. Such economic, political and social instability could disrupt the principal financial markets in which the Fund may invest and adversely affect the value of the Funds assets. The Funds investments can also be adversely affected by any increase in taxes or by political, economic or diplomatic developments.
The Fund may seek investment opportunities within former east bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Most Eastern European countries had a centrally planned, socialist economy for a substantial period of time. The governments of many Eastern European countries have more recently been implementing reforms directed at political and economic liberalization, including efforts to decentralize the economic decision-making process and move towards a market economy. However, business entities in many Eastern European countries do not have an extended history of operating in a market-oriented economy, and the ultimate impact of Eastern European countries attempts to move toward more market-oriented economies is currently unclear. In addition, any change in the leadership or policies of Eastern European
countries may halt the expansion of or reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring and adversely affect existing investment opportunities.
The economies of emerging countries may differ unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources, self-sufficiency and balance of payments. Many emerging countries have experienced in the past, and continue to experience, high rates of inflation. In certain countries inflation has at times accelerated rapidly to hyperinflationary levels, creating a negative interest rate environment and sharply eroding the value of outstanding financial assets in those countries. Other emerging countries, on the other hand, have recently experienced deflationary pressures and are in economic recessions. The economies of many emerging countries are heavily dependent upon international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners. In addition, the economies of some emerging countries are vulnerable to weakness in world prices for their commodity exports. The Funds income and, in some cases, capital gains from foreign stocks and securities will be subject to applicable taxation in certain of the countries in which it invests, and treaties between the U.S. and such countries may not be available in some cases to reduce the otherwise applicable tax rates.
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 a portion of the assets of the Fund remain uninvested and no return is earned on such assets. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases or sales 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.
Margin Deposits and Cover Requirements. Unlike the purchase or sale of portfolio securities, no price is paid or received by the Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, the Subsidiary will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents, known as initial margin, based on the value of the contract. The nature of initial margin in futures transactions is different from that of margin in securities transactions in that futures contract margin does not involve the borrowing of funds by the customer to finance the transactions. Rather, the initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract which is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, called variation margin, to and from the broker, will be made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying instruments fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as marking to the market. For example, when the Fund has purchased a futures contract and the price of the contract has risen in response to a rise in the price of the underlying instruments, that position will have increased in value and the Fund will be entitled to receive from the broker a variation margin payment equal to that increase in value. Conversely, where the Fund has purchased a futures contract and the price of the futures contract has declined in response to a decrease in the underlying instruments, the position would be less valuable and the Fund would be required to make a variation margin payment to the broker. At any time prior to expiration of the futures contract, the Adviser or Trading Adviser may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, subject to the availability of a secondary market, which will operate to terminate the Funds position in the futures contract. A final determination of variation margin is then made, additional cash is required to be paid by or released to the Fund, and the Fund realizes a loss or gain.
The Fund will comply with guidelines established by the SEC with respect to coverage of forwards, futures, swaps and options. For example, when entering into a contract that must be cash settled, the Fund will cover (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) its position, when added to the amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the daily mark-to-market obligation, rather than the notional value of the contract.
When entering into a contract that does not need to be settled in cash, the Fund is also required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may segregate (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities. Segregated assets cannot be sold or
transferred unless equivalent assets are substituted in their place or it is no longer necessary to segregate them. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Funds assets could impede portfolio management or the Funds ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations. Each Subsidiary (as defined below) will comply with these coverage requirements to the same extent as the Fund that holds the Subsidiarys securities.
The Fund or the Subsidiary may enter into agreements with a futures commission merchant (FCM) which require the FCM to accept physical settlement for certain financial instruments. If this occurs, the Fund would treat the financial instrument as being cash-settled for purposes of determining the Funds coverage requirements.
The Fund may also cover its position in relation to forwards, futures, swaps and options through ownership of the underlying security, financial instrument or currency or by other portfolio positions or by other means consistent with applicable regulatory policies.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in mortgage pass-through certificates and multiple-class pass-through securities, such as real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMIC), pass-through certificates and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs).
Guaranteed mortgage pass-through securities represent participation interests in pools of residential mortgage loans and are issued by U.S. governmental or private lenders and guaranteed by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, including but not limited to the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Ginnie Mae certificates are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government for timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Fannie Mae certificates are guaranteed by Fannie Mae, a federally chartered and privately owned corporation, for full and timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae is authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations. Freddie Mac certificates are guaranteed by Freddie Mac, a corporate instrumentality of the U.S. government, for timely payment of interest and the ultimate collection of all principal of the related mortgage loans.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. The Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
CMOs and REMIC pass-through or participation certificates may be issued by, among others, U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities as well as private lenders. CMOs and REMIC certificates are issued in multiple classes and the principal of and interest on the mortgage assets may be allocated among the several classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates in various ways. Each class of CMOs or REMIC certificates, often referred to as a tranche, is issued at a specific adjustable or fixed interest rate and must be fully retired no later than its final distribution date. Generally, interest is paid or accrues on all classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates on a monthly basis.
Typically, CMOs are collateralized by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac certificates but also may be collateralized by other mortgage assets such as whole loans or private mortgage pass-through securities. Debt service on CMOs is provided from payments of principal and interest on collateral of mortgaged assets and any reinvestment income thereon.
A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment under the Code and invests in certain mortgages primarily secured by interests in real property and other permitted investments. Investors may purchase regular and residual interest shares of beneficial interest in REMIC trusts, although the Fund does not intend to invest in residual interests.
The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by trusts or other entities formed or sponsored by private originators of and institutional investors in mortgage loans and other non-governmental entities (or representing custodial arrangements administered by such institutions). These private originators and institutions include savings and loan associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, insurance companies, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing.
Privately issued mortgage-backed securities are generally backed by pools of conventional ( i.e. , non-government guaranteed or insured) mortgage loans. Since such mortgage-backed securities normally are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit standing of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, in order to receive a high quality rating from the rating organizations ( e.g. , S&Ps or Moodys), they often are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement. Such credit enhancement falls into two categories: (1) liquidity protection and (2) protection against losses resulting after default by a borrower and liquidation of the collateral ( e.g. , sale of a house after foreclosure). Liquidity protection refers to the payment of cash advances to holders of mortgage-backed securities when a borrower on an underlying mortgage fails to make its monthly payment on time. Protection against losses resulting after default and liquidation is designed to cover losses resulting when, for example, the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are insufficient to cover the outstanding amount on the mortgage. Such protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit, through various means of structuring the securities or through a combination of such approaches.
Examples of credit enhancement arising out of the structure of the transaction include senior-subordinated securities (multiple class securities with one or more classes entitled to receive payment before other classes, with the result that defaults on the underlying mortgages are borne first by the holders of the subordinated class), creation of spread accounts or reserve funds (where cash or investments are held in reserve against future losses) and over-collateralization (where the scheduled payments on the underlying mortgages in a pool exceed the amount required to be paid on the mortgage-backed securities). The degree of credit enhancement for a particular issue of mortgage-backed securities is based on the level of credit risk associated with the particular mortgages in the related pool. Losses on a pool in excess of anticipated levels could nevertheless result in losses to security holders since credit enhancement rarely covers every dollar owed on a pool.
Investing in mortgage-backed securities (such as those described above) involves certain risks, including the failure of a counter-party to meet its commitments, adverse interest rate changes and the effects of prepayments on mortgage cash flows. Further, the yield characteristics of mortgage-backed securities differ from those of traditional fixed income securities. The major differences typically include more frequent interest and principal payments (usually monthly), the adjustability of interest rates, and the possibility that prepayments of principal may be made substantially earlier than their final distribution dates.
Prepayment rates are influenced by changes in current interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic, social and other factors and cannot be predicted with certainty. Both adjustable rate mortgage loans and fixed rate mortgage loans may be subject to a greater rate of principal prepayments in a declining interest rate environment and to a lesser rate of principal prepayments in an increasing interest rate environment. Under certain interest rate and prepayment rate scenarios, the Fund may fail to recoup fully its investment in mortgage-backed securities notwithstanding any direct or indirect governmental or agency guarantee. When the Fund reinvests amounts representing payments and unscheduled prepayments of principal, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on existing adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities. Thus, mortgage-backed securities, and adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities in particular, may be less effective than other types of U.S. government securities as a means of locking in interest rates.
Conversely, in a rising interest rate environment, a declining prepayment rate will extend the average life of many mortgage-backed securities. This possibility is often referred to as extension risk. Extending the average life of a mortgage-backed security increases the risk of depreciation due to future increases in market interest rates. The market for certain types of mortgage-backed securities ( i.e. , certain CMOs) may not be liquid under all interest rate scenarios, which may prevent the Fund from selling such securities held in its portfolio at times or prices that it desires.
Different types of derivative debt securities are subject to different combinations of prepayment, extension and/or interest rate risk. Conventional mortgage pass-through securities and sequential pay CMOs are subject to all of these risks, but are typically not leveraged. Thus, the magnitude of exposure may be less than for more leveraged mortgage-backed securities.
Planned amortization class (PAC) and target amortization class (TAC) CMO bonds involve less exposure to prepayment, extension and interest rate risk than other mortgage-backed securities, provided that prepayment rates remain within expected prepayment ranges or collars. To the extent that prepayment rates remain within these prepayment ranges, the residual or support tranches of PAC and TAC CMOs assume the extra prepayment extension and interest rate risk associated with the underlying mortgage assets.
The Fund may invest in floating rate securities based on the Cost of Funds Index (COFI floaters), other lagging rate floating rate securities, floating rate securities that are subject to a maximum interest rate (capped floaters), and mortgage-backed securities purchased at a discount. The primary risks associated with these derivative debt securities are the potential extension of average life and/or depreciation due to rising interest rates.
Recently, rating agencies have placed on credit watch or downgraded the ratings previously assigned to a large number of mortgage-related securities (which may include certain of the mortgage-related securities in which the Fund may have invested or may in the future be invested), and may continue to do so in the future. In the event that any mortgage-related security held by the Fund is placed on credit watch or downgraded, the value of such mortgage-related security may decline and the Fund may consequently experience losses in respect of such mortgage-related security.
Options. The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on indices and enter into related closing transactions. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at any time during the option period. A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying security at any time during the option period. The premium paid to the writer is the consideration for undertaking the obligations under the option contract.
The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on foreign currencies (traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges or over-the-counter markets) to manage its exposure to exchange rates or to seek and increase in total return. Call options on foreign currency written by the Fund will be covered as set out below.
Put and call options on indices are similar to options on securities except that options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the underlying index is greater than (or less than, in the case of puts) the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, expressed in dollars multiplied by a specified number. Thus, unlike options on individual securities, all settlements are in cash, and gain or loss depends on price movements in the particular market represented by the index generally, rather than the price movements in individual securities.
All options written on indices or securities must be covered. When the Fund writes an option on a security, an index or a foreign currency, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may segregate (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the option or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
The Fund or the Subsidiary may enter into agreements with a futures commission merchant (FCM) which require the FCM to accept physical settlement for certain financial instruments. If this occurs, the Fund would treat the financial instrument as being cash-settled for purposes of determining the Funds coverage requirements.
The Fund may trade put and call options on securities, securities indices and currencies, as the Adviser or applicable
Trading Adviser determines is appropriate in seeking the Funds investment objective, and except as restricted by the Funds investment limitations. See Investment Limitations.
The initial purchase (sale) of an option contract is an opening transaction. In order to close out an option position, the Fund may enter into a closing transaction, which is simply the sale (purchase) of an option contract on the same security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option contract originally opened. If the Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or the Fund delivers the security upon exercise.
The Fund may purchase put and call options on securities to protect against a decline in the market value of the securities in its portfolio, to anticipate an increase in the market value of securities that the Fund may seek to purchase in the future or to seek to increase total return. The Fund purchasing put and call options pays a premium therefore. If price movements in the underlying securities are such that exercise of the options would not be profitable for the Fund, loss of the premium paid may be offset by an increase in the value of the Funds securities or by a decrease in the cost of acquisition of securities by the Fund.
The Fund may write covered call options on securities as a means of increasing the yield on its assets and as a means of providing limited protection against decreases in its market value. When the Fund writes an option, if the underlying securities do not increase or decrease to a price level that would make the exercise of the option profitable to the holder thereof, the option generally will expire without being exercised and the Fund will realize as profit the premium received for such option. When a call option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to sell the underlying securities to the option holder at the strike price, and will not participate in any increase in the price of such securities above the strike price. When a put option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the market value of such securities.
The Fund may purchase and write options on an exchange or over-the-counter. Over-the-counter options (OTC options) differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is done normally by reference to information from a market maker. It is the SECs position that OTC options are generally illiquid.
The market value of an option generally reflects the market price of an underlying security. Other principal factors affecting market value include supply and demand, interest rates, the pricing volatility of the underlying security and the time remaining until the expiration date.
Risks associated with options transactions include: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in prices of options and the securities underlying them; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for options; and (4) while the Fund will receive a premium when it writes covered call options, it may not participate fully in a rise in the market value of the underlying security.
Restricted and Illiquid Securities. The Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Illiquid securities include: repurchase agreements and time deposits with a notice or demand period of more than seven days; interest rate; currency and mortgage swaps; interest rate caps; floors and collars; municipal leases; certain restricted securities, such as those purchased in a private placement of securities, unless it is determined, based upon a review of the trading markets for a specific restricted security, that such restricted security is liquid; and certain over-the-counter options. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation.
Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of restricted or other illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid
securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
The Fund may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act (Restricted Securities). These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser or applicable Trading Adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in an underlying investment company during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The Adviser or applicable Trading Adviser will monitor the liquidity of Restricted Securities held by the portion of the assets of the Fund it manages. In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser or Trading Adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Restricted Securities normally reflect a discount from the price at which such securities trade when they are not restricted, since the restriction makes them less liquid. The amount of the discount from the prevailing market price is expected to vary depending upon the type of security, the character of the issuer, the party who will bear the expenses of registering the Restricted Securities and prevailing supply and demand conditions.
As consistent with the Funds investment objectives, the Fund may also invest in Section 4(2) commercial paper. Section 4(2) commercial paper is issued in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the Act and is generally sold to institutional investors who purchase for investment. Any resale of such commercial paper must be in an exempt transaction, usually to an institutional investor through the issuer or investment dealers who make a market in such commercial paper. The Company believes that Section 4(2) commercial paper is liquid to the extent it meets the criteria established by the Companys Board of Directors. The Company intends to treat such commercial paper as liquid and not subject to the investment limitations applicable to illiquid securities or restricted securities.
Rights Offerings and Purchase Warrants. Rights offerings and purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the rights or warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of rights and/or warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the right and/or warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
Risk Considerations of Medium Grade Securities. Obligations in the lowest investment grade ( i.e. , BBB or Baa), referred to as medium grade obligations, have speculative characteristics, and changes in economic conditions and other factors are more likely to lead to weakened capacity to make interest payments and repay principal on these obligations than is the case for higher rated securities. In the event that a security purchased by the Fund is subsequently downgraded below investment grade, the Adviser and Trading Advisers will consider such event in its determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold the security.
Risk Considerations of Lower Rated Securities. The Fund may invest in fixed income securities that are not investment grade but are rated as low as B by Moodys or B by S&P ® (or their equivalents or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser or applicable Trading Adviser to be of comparable credit quality). In the case of a security that is rated differently by two or more rating services, the higher rating is used in connection with the foregoing limitation. In the event that the rating on a security held in the Funds portfolio is downgraded by a rating service, such action will be considered by the Adviser or
applicable Trading Adviser in its evaluation of the overall investment merits of that security, but will not necessarily result in the sale of the security. The widespread expansion of government, consumer and corporate debt within the U.S. economy has made the corporate sector, especially cyclically sensitive industries, more vulnerable to economic downturns or increased interest rates. An economic downturn could severely disrupt the market for high yield fixed income securities and adversely affect the value of outstanding fixed income securities and the ability of the issuers to repay principal and interest.
The Fund may invest in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. The Fund may invest in high yield debt instruments when the Fund believes that such instruments offer a better risk/reward profile than comparable equity opportunities. High yield fixed income securities (commonly known as junk bonds) are considered speculative investments while generally providing greater income than investments in higher rated securities, involve greater risk of loss of principal and income (including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities) and may involve greater volatility of price (especially during periods of economic uncertainty or change) than securities in the higher rating categories. Since yields vary over time, no specific level of income can ever be assured.
The prices of high yield fixed income securities have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress, which would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a fixed income security owned by the Fund defaulted, the Fund could incur additional expenses in attempting to obtain a recovery. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high yield fixed income securities and the Funds NAV to the extent it holds such securities.
High yield fixed income securities also present risks based on payment expectations. For example, high yield fixed income securities may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a declining interest rate market, the Fund may, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities, have to replace the securities with a lower yielding security, which may result in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high yield fixed income securitys value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of the Funds assets, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities. In addition, to the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield fixed income securities, and this may have an impact on the Advisers and Trading Advisers ability to accurately value such securities and the Funds assets and on the Funds ability to dispose of such securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield fixed income securities, especially in a thinly traded market.
New laws proposed or adopted from time to time may have an impact on the market for high yield securities.
Finally, there are risks involved in applying credit or dividend ratings as a method for evaluating high yield securities. For example, ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest or dividend payments, not market value risk of high yield securities. Also, since rating agencies may fail to timely change the credit ratings to reflect subsequent events, the Fund will continuously monitor the issuers of high yield securities in its portfolio, if any, to determine if the issuers will have sufficient cash flow and profits to meet required principal and interest payments, and to assure the securitys liquidity so the Fund can meet redemption requests.
Short Sales. As consistent with the Funds investment objectives, the Fund may engage in short sales that are either uncovered or against the box. A short sale is against the box if at all times during which the short position is open, the Fund owns at least an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable without further consideration for, securities of the same issue as the securities that are sold short. A short sale against the box is a taxable transaction to the Fund with respect to the securities that are sold short.
Uncovered short sales are transactions under which the Fund sells a security it does not own. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of the replacement. The price at such time
may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender amounts equal to any dividends or interest that accrue during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
Until the Fund closes its short position or replaces the borrowed security, the Fund will: (a) maintain a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities at such a level that (i) the amount deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short; and (ii) the amount deposited in the segregated account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will not be less than the market value of the security at the time the security was sold short; or (b) otherwise cover the Funds short position.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 underlying investment companies 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 an underlying investment companys, and thus the Funds, 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 underlying investment companies holdings.
Structured Securities. The Fund may invest in structured securities to the extent consistent with its investment objective. The value of the principal of and/or interest on structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, commodities, securities, indices or other financial indicators (the Reference) or the relative change in two or more References. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Examples of structured securities include, but are not limited to, notes where the principal repayment at maturity is determined by the value of the relative change in two or more specified securities or securities indices.
The terms of some structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, the Fund could suffer a total loss of its investment. 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 rate or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of the changes in the value of the Reference. Consequently, structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of securities. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities due to their derivative nature.
Subsidiary Risk. The Fund intends to make investments through a wholly-owned and controlled Subsidiary of the Fund (Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited). Investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with exposure to the commodity markets within the limitations of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code and recent Internal Revenue Service revenue rulings. The Subsidiary is organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Fund is the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary, and it is not currently expected that shares of the Subsidiary will be sold or offered to other investors.
It is expected that the Subsidiary will invest primarily in derivative instruments, such as, commodity futures contracts, non-commodity futures contracts, such as equity index, government bond, fixed income and foreign exchange futures contracts, commodity and non-commodity swap agreements. The Subsidiary may also invest in fixed income securities and money market instruments, cash and cash equivalents with two years or less term to maturity, and other investments intended to serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiarys derivative positions. Although the Fund may enter into these commodity-linked derivative instruments directly, the Fund will likely gain exposure to these derivative instruments indirectly by investing in the Subsidiary. The Funds investment in the Subsidiary may vary depending on the types of instruments selected by the Adviser or Trading Advisers to gain exposure to the commodities markets. To the extent that the Fund invests in the Subsidiary, the Fund may be subject to the risks associated with the abovementioned derivative instruments and other securities, which are discussed elsewhere in the Prospectus and this SAI.
The Fund intends to treat physically settled futures contracts in the same manner as cash settled futures contracts through the use of a swap and/or letter agreement with the Subsidiarys futures commission merchant for the purposes of complying with Section 18 of 1940 Act. The SEC has not declared whether or not the use of such a letter agreement is sufficient for the purpose of compliance with Section 18 of the 1940 Act. There is a risk, therefore, that the SEC may deem the use of the letter agreement as insufficient and that the Fund may not be permitted to continue to gain exposure to these contracts through the use of the letter agreement.
While the Subsidiary may be considered similar to an investment company, it is not registered under the 1940 Act and, unless otherwise noted in the Prospectus and this SAI, is not subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act and other U.S. regulations. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in the Prospectuses and this SAI and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.
Swap Agreements. The Fund may enter into equity index or interest rate swap agreements for purposes of attempting to gain exposure to the stocks making up an index of securities in a market without actually purchasing those stocks, or to hedge a position. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a day to more than one-year. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, i.e. , the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities representing a particular index. Forms of swap agreements include interest rate caps, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates exceed a specified rate, or cap, interest rate floors, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates fall below a specified level, or floor, and interest rate dollars, under which a party sells a cap and purchases a floor or vice versa in an attempt to protect itself against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels.
Most swap agreements entered into by the Fund calculate the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a net basis. Consequently, the Funds current obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the net amount). The Funds current obligations under a swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owing to the Fund) and any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty will be covered by segregating assets determined to be liquid.
Obligations under swap agreements so covered will not be construed to be senior securities for purposes of the Funds investment restriction concerning senior securities. Because they are two party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid for the Funds illiquid investment limitation. The Fund will not enter into any swap agreement unless the Adviser or applicable Trading Adviser believes that the other party to the transaction is creditworthy. The Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty.
The Fund may enter into swap agreements to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. The counterparty to
any swap agreement will typically be a bank, investment banking firm or broker/dealer. The counter-party will generally agree to pay the Fund the amount, if any, by which the notional amount of the swap agreement would have increased in value had it been invested in the particular stocks, plus the dividends that would have been received on those stocks. The Fund will agree to pay to the counter-party a floating rate of interest on the notional amount of the swap agreement plus the amount, if any, by which the notional amount would have decreased in value had it been invested in such stocks. Therefore, the return to the Fund on any swap agreement should be the gain or loss on the notional amount plus dividends on the stocks less the interest paid by the Fund on the notional amount.
Swap agreements typically are settled on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Payments may be made at the conclusion of a swap agreement or periodically during its term. Swap agreements do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to swap agreements is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a swap agreement defaults, the Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Funds obligations over its entitlements with respect to each equity swap will be accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or liquid assets, having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to such accrued excess will be maintained in a segregated account by the Funds custodian. Inasmuch as these transactions are entered into for hedging purposes or are offset by segregated cash of liquid assets, as permitted by applicable law, the Fund and the Adviser believe that these transactions do not constitute senior securities under the 1940 Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to the Funds borrowing restrictions.
The Adviser and Trading Advisers, under the supervision of the Board, are responsible for determining and monitoring the liquidity of Fund transactions in swap agreements. The use of equity swaps is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions.
U.S. Government Securities. The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).
Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.
See Mortgage-Backed Securities above for additional information about the September 7, 2008 federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
· U.S. Treasury Obligations. U.S. Treasury obligations consist of bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury and separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations that are transferable through the federal book-entry system known as Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities (STRIPS) and
Treasury Receipts (TRs).
· Receipts. Interests in separately traded interest and principal component parts of U.S. government obligations that are issued by banks or brokerage firms and are created by depositing U.S. government obligations into a special account at a custodian bank. The custodian holds the interest and principal payments for the benefit of the registered owners of the certificates or receipts. The custodian arranges for the issuance of the certificates or receipts evidencing ownership and maintains the register. TRs and STRIPS are interests in accounts sponsored by the U.S. Treasury. Receipts are sold as zero coupon securities.
· U.S. Government Zero Coupon Securities. STRIPS and receipts are sold as zero coupon securities, that is, fixed income securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons. Zero coupon securities are sold at a (usually substantial) discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. The amount of this discount is accreted over the life of the security, and the accretion constitutes the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, the market prices of zero coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that have similar maturity but that pay interest periodically. Zero coupon securities are likely to respond to a greater degree to interest rate changes than are non-zero coupon securities with similar maturity and credit qualities.
· U.S. Government Agencies. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by agencies of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury, while still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality. Guarantees of principal by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government may be a guarantee of payment at the maturity of the obligation so that in the event of a default prior to maturity there might not be a market and thus no means of realizing on the obligation prior to maturity. Guarantees as to the timely payment of principal and interest do not extend to the value or yield of these securities nor to the value of the Funds shares.
NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS
Equity Securities. Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
· Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that
may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
· Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers. Investing in equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of depth of management. The securities of smaller companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and even if listed on a national securities exchange may not be traded in volumes typical for that exchange. Consequently, the securities of smaller companies are less likely to be liquid, may have limited market stability, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established growth companies or the market averages in general.
Investment Company Shares. The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to certain restrictions. These investment companies typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by the Fund. The Funds purchase of such investment company securities results in the layering of expenses, such that shareholders would indirectly bear a proportionate share of the operating expenses of such investment companies, including advisory fees, in addition to paying the Funds expenses. Unless an exception is available, Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act prohibits a fund from (i) acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any one investment company, (ii) investing more than 5% of its total assets in any one investment company, and (iii) investing more than 10% of its total assets in all investment companies combined, including its ETF investments.
For hedging or other purposes, the Fund may invest in investment companies that seek to track the composition and/or performance of specific indexes or portions of specific indexes. Certain of these investment companies, known as exchange-traded funds, are traded on a securities exchange. The market prices of index-based investments will fluctuate in accordance with changes in the underlying portfolio securities of the investment company and also due to supply and demand of the investment companys shares on the exchange upon which the shares are traded. Index-based investments may not replicate or otherwise match the composition or performance of their specified index due to transaction costs, among other things.
Pursuant to orders issued by the SEC to each of certain exchange-traded funds (collectively, the ETFs) and procedures approved by the Board, the Fund may invest in the ETFs in excess of the limits described above, provided that the Fund has described the ETF investments in its prospectus and otherwise complies with the conditions of the SEC, as it may be amended, and any other applicable investment limitations. Neither the ETFs nor their investment advisers make any representations regarding the advisability of investing in the ETFs.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Fund has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. Unless otherwise noted, the Funds investment goals and strategies described in the Prospectus may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without the approval of the Funds shareholders.
The Fund may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements provided that there is at least 300% asset coverage for the borrowings of the Fund. The Fund may not mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing. However, the amount shall not be in excess of lesser of the dollar amounts borrowed or 33 1/3% of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing, provided that: (a) short sales and related borrowings of securities are not subject to this restriction; and (b) for the purposes of this restriction, collateral arrangements with respect to options, short sales, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin and collateral arrangements with respect to derivatives instruments are not deemed to be a pledge or other encumbrance of assets. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with the Funds investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation;
2. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the 1933 Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
3. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
4. Purchase or sell commodities, except as permitted by the 1940 Act, as amended, and as interpreted or modified by the regulatory authority having jurisdiction from time to time;
5. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan;
6. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that (a) there is no limitation with respect to (i) instruments issued or guaranteed by the United States, any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any of their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, and (ii) repurchase agreements secured by the instruments described in clause (i); (b) wholly-owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents; and (c) utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry; or
7. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations, which may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by the Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management; or
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts or other derivative instruments, including foreign exchange forward contracts, shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. Pursuant to orders issued by the SEC to ETFs and procedures approved by the Board, the Fund may invest in ETFs in excess of the limits of the 1940 Act. As a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment companys expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.
Securities held by the Fund generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser, any Trading Adviser or their affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act. None of the Fund, the Adviser, or any Trading Adviser has obtained such an exemptive order as of the date of this SAI.
Under the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days (not including Sundays and holidays).
The 1940 Act does not directly restrict an investment companys ability to invest in commodities, but does require that every investment company have a fundamental investment policy governing such investments. The Fund has adopted fundamental policies that would permit direct investment in commodities.
Any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, short sales and other similar instruments, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets. The Fund may pledge, mortgage or hypothecate assets to secure borrowings permitted by the Funds fundamental limitation on borrowing.
Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.
If a percentage restriction under one of the Funds investment policies or limitations or the use of assets is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities issued by the Fund).
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; and Merrill Corporation, the financial printer. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions).
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15 - day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person
meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 81 |
|
Director |
|
1988 to present |
|
From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
|
23 |
|
AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 76 |
|
Director |
|
2002 to present |
|
Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 48 |
|
Director |
|
2012 to present |
|
Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
|
23 |
|
Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
|
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
OFFICERS |
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Salvatore Faia, JD, CPA, CFE Vigilant Compliance Services Brandywine Two 5 Christy Drive, Suite 209 Chadds Ford, PA 19317 Age: 52 |
|
President
Chief Compliance Officer |
|
2009 to present
2004 to present |
|
Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joel Weiss 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 51 |
|
Treasurer |
|
2009 to present |
|
Since 1993, Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diane Drake 301 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 47 |
|
Secretary |
|
2014 to present |
|
Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010, Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 54 |
|
Assistant Treasurer |
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Senior Director and Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy One Logan Square, Ste. 2000 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Age: 55 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and has served on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Giordano, Reichman, Sablowsky and Chandler. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31,2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation
Committee of the Board convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Reichman, Sablowsky, Straniere and Nusblatt. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Reichman, Sablowsky and Nusblatt. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios in the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013:
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
|
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
|
|
|
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
* The Fund commenced operations on July 1, 2014.
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and each Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President, Treasurer and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Company in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
2.53 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
11.50 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
8.44 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
11.50 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
11.50 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
8.44 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
None |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
None |
|
||
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
7.98 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
* The Fund commenced operations on July 1, 2014.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Funds Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its
determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser will vote proxies in accordance with its proxy policies and procedures, which provide the Advisers Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for seeing that proxies required to be voted are voted on behalf of the Fund and in the Funds best interests. The Chief Compliance Officer may choose to appoint one or both of the Portfolio Managers to consider options and propose decisions.
The Company is required to disclose annually the Funds complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX. The Funds proxy voting record for the most recent 12 month period ended June 30th is available upon request by calling 855-744-8500 or by writing to the Fund at: Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., PO Box 9841, Providence, Rhode Island 02940. The Funds Form N-PX is also available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014 to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class I |
|
Abbey Capital Limited ATTN: Michael G. Swift 1-2 Cavendish Row Dublin 1 Ireland |
|
853,474 |
|
26.23 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class I |
|
SEI Private Trust Company C/O Laird Norton ATTN: Mutual Funds Admin. One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456 |
|
817,089 |
|
25.11 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class I |
|
Cavendish Capital Limited 1-2 Cavendish Row Dublin 1 Ireland |
|
511,256 |
|
15.71 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class I |
|
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Special Custody Acct FBO Customers ATTN: Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94104-4122 |
|
463,748 |
|
14.26 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class I |
|
SEI Private Trust Company C/O Mellon Bank ATTN: Mutual Funds Admin. One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456 |
|
297,814 |
|
9.15 |
% |
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class I |
|
SEI Private Trust Company C/O Mellon Bank ATTN: Mutual Funds Admin. One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456 |
|
231,199 |
|
7.10 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class A |
|
Abbey Capital Limited ATTN: Michael G. Swift 1-2 Cavendish Row Dublin 1 Ireland |
|
96,525 |
|
98.83 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class C* |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
* Class C Shares have not commenced operations and consequently, there are no shareholders as of the date of this SAI.
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Portfolio of the Company except for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund of which they owned 2.04% and Schneider Value Fund of which they owned 2.70%.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Abbey Capital Limited (Abbey Capital or the Adviser), 1-2 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1, Ireland, is an Irish limited company founded in 2000. Cavendish Capital Limited owns 100% of Abbey Capital.
The Adviser also serves as the investment adviser to the Subsidiary, Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company, pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Subsidiary. The Adviser does not receive additional compensation for its management of the Subsidiary.
Advisory Agreement with the Company. The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (Advisory Agreement) dated as of June 30, 2014.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Fund including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Fund, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of the securities and other investments to be purchased, retained, or sold by the Fund, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales of securities and other investments made for the Fund. The Adviser will provide the services rendered by it in accordance with the Funds investment objective, restrictions and policies as stated in the Prospectus and in this SAI. The Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment, mistake of law, or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement.
For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of 1.97% of the Funds average daily net assets. The Adviser compensates the Trading Advisers out of the advisory fee that it receives from the Fund. There are no performance fees charged by the Adviser or Trading Advisers either at the Fund or at the Funds wholly-owned Subsidiary. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses through June 30, 2016 in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding certain items
discussed below) to 1.99%, 2.24% and 2.99% of the Funds average daily net assets attributable to Class I Shares, Class A Shares, and Class C Shares, respectively.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid the Adviser the following advisory fees and the Adviser waived/reimbursed the following advisory fees as follows:
Advisory Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
$ |
(25,458 |
) |
$ |
68,803 |
|
$ |
25,458 |
|
The Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. The Fund bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Fund include, but are not limited to the following (or the Funds share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities and other investments, including futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, and options, purchased or sold by the Fund and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of the Fund by the Adviser; (c) filing fees and expenses relating to the registration and qualification of the Company and the Funds shares under federal and/or state securities laws and maintaining such registrations and qualifications; (d) fees and salaries payable to the Companys Directors and officers; (e) taxes (including any income or franchise taxes) and governmental fees; (f) costs of any liability and other insurance or fidelity bonds; (g) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Fund for violation of any law; (h) legal, accounting and auditing expenses, including legal fees of special counsel for the independent Directors; (i) charges of custodians and other agents; (j) expenses of setting in type and printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto for existing shareholders, reports, statements, and confirmations to shareholders and proxy material that are not attributable to a class; (k) costs of mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto to existing shareholders, as well as reports to shareholders and proxy materials that are not attributable to a class; (1) any extraordinary expenses; (m) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (n) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; (o) costs of independent pricing services to value the Funds securities; and (p) the costs of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Funds investment advisory agreement is available in the Funds annual report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 and may be obtained by calling 1-844-261-6484 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall at all times have all rights in and to the Funds name and all investment models used by or on behalf of the Fund. The Adviser may use the Funds name or any portion thereof in connection with any other mutual fund or business activity without the consent of any shareholder, and the Company has agreed to execute and deliver any and all documents required to indicate its consent to such use.
INVESTMENT TRADING ADVISERS
Each Trading Adviser shall, subject to the supervision and oversight of the Adviser, manage the investment and reinvestment of such portion of the assets of the Subsidiary, as the Adviser may from time to time allocate to such Trading Adviser for management. The Adviser pays the Trading Advisers out of its advisory fees.
The Fund and the Adviser have submitted an application with the SEC for an exemptive order with respect to the Fund that would permit the Adviser, without shareholder approval and subject to certain conditions, to terminate existing Trading Advisers or hire new Trading Advisers for the Fund, to materially amend the terms of particular agreements with Trading Advisers or to continue the employment of existing Trading Advisers after events that would otherwise cause an automatic termination of a trading advisory agreement. This arrangement has been approved by the Board of Directors and the Funds initial shareholder. Consequently, if approved by the SEC, under the exemptive order, the Adviser would have the right to hire, terminate and replace Trading Advisers when the Board of Directors and the Adviser feel that a change would benefit the Fund. The exemptive order will enable the Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approval of trading advisory agreements.
The Adviser does not determine what investments will be purchased or sold for the Fund with respect to the portions of the Fund managed by the Trading Advisers. Because each Trading Adviser manages its portion of the Fund independently from the others, the same security may be held in two or more different portions of the Fund or may be acquired for one portion at a time when a Trading Adviser of another portion deems it appropriate to dispose of the security from that other portion. Similarly, under some market conditions, one or more of the Trading Advisers may believe that temporary, defensive investments in short-term instruments or cash are appropriate when another Trading Adviser or Trading Advisers believe continued exposure to the broader securities market is appropriate. Because each Trading Adviser directs the trading for its portion of the Fund and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other Trading Advisers, the Fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single adviser or Trading Adviser were managing the Fund.
The current Trading Advisers to the Fund are set forth below.
Trading Advisers |
|
|
Altis Partners (Jersey) Limited (Altis) 2 Hill Street St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands |
|
Altis is an employee-owned limited company. Altis focuses on systematic and quantitative trading, applying rigorous research into markets combining established scientific principles and advanced technology. |
Cantab Capital Partners, LLP (Cantab) City House 126-130 Hills Road Cambridge, CB2 1RE, UK |
|
Cantab is controlled by its founders, Dr. Ewan Kirk and Erich Schlaikjer. Cantabs investment philosophy is based on a multi-strategy, multi-asset approach looking to identify several distinct sources of return from persistent statistical relationships between assets. |
Eclipse Capital Management, Inc. (Eclipse) 7700 Bonhomme Ave, Suite 500 St. Louis, MO |
|
Eclipse is controlled by its founder, Thomas W. Moller. Eclipse focuses on a systematic approach designed to profit primarily from intermediate- and long-term price trends in multiple market sectors. |
Graham Capital Management, LP (GCM) Rock Ledge Financial Centre 40 Highland Avenue Rowayton, CT 06853 |
|
KGT, Inc. is the General Partners of GCM. GCMs quantitative trading programs or models produce trading signals on a largely automated basis when applied to market data. In GCMs discretionary trading programs, trades are determined subjectively on the basis of its traders assessment of market conditions rather than through application of an automated system. |
Harmonic Capital Partners LLP (HCP) 3 Lombard Street London, EC3V 9AA, UK |
|
Harmonic Capital Limited, a United Kingdom private limited company, has a controlling interest in HCP. HCP uses a systematic multi-strategy approach aiming to capture alpha from futures and currency markets through macro-economic understanding. |
P/E Investments, LLC (P/E) 75 State Street, 31st Floor Boston, MA |
|
Warren Naphtal, J. Richard Zecher, PhD and Mary Stephens Naphtal are managing members of P/E. P/E uses fundamental macroeconomic and financial factors in all aspects of its research in order to develop adaptive quantitative processes. |
Revolution Capital Management, LLC |
|
Michael Mundt and T. Robert Olson are managing members of RCM. |
(RCM) 520 Zang Street Broomfield, Colorado |
|
RCM focuses on short-term, systematic and quantitative trading, applying rigorous statistical analysis to all aspects of research, development, and operations. |
Trigon Investment Advisors, LLC (Trigon) Wall Street Plaza 88 Pine Street New York, New York |
|
Trigon is jointly owned by Ante Basic and Paul D. Mastroddi. Trigon manages with a focus on top-down analysis of fundamentals. |
Trading Advisory Agreements with the Adviser. Each of the Trading Advisory Agreements provides that the Trading Adviser will manage the investment and reinvestment of such portion of the assets of the Fund or the Subsidiary as the Adviser may from time to time allocate to the Trading Adviser in accordance with the Funds objective, policies and restrictions and any investment guidelines established by the Adviser. Each Trading Adviser will, subject to the supervision and control of the Adviser, determine in its discretion which issuers and securities will be purchased, held, sold or exchanged by the Fund and/or the Subsidiary, and will place orders with and give instruction to brokers and dealers to cause the execution of such transactions. The Trading Advisers are required to furnish at their own expense all investment facilities necessary to perform its obligations under the Trading Advisory Agreements.
Generally, each Trading Advisory Agreement may be terminated without penalty by vote of the Companys Board of Directors or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, upon 60 days written notice, or by the Adviser immediately upon notice to the Trading Adviser, and each such agreement terminates automatically in the event of an assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). Each Trading Advisory Agreement also may be terminated by a Trading Adviser upon 30 days written notice and automatically terminates upon termination of the Advisory Agreement.
THE PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
This section includes information about the Funds portfolio managers, including information about other accounts they manage, the dollar range of Fund shares they own and how they are compensated.
Abbey Capital
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total Assets |
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
1. Anthony Gannon |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
6 |
|
$2.4 billion |
|
3 |
|
$2.4 billion |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
2. Mick Swift |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
6 |
|
$2.4 billion |
|
3 |
|
$2.4 billion |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
0 |
|
$0 |
|
Compensation. Abbey Capital compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. The portfolio managers compensation consists of a cash base salary and a discretionary bonus that is based on the individual performance of the portfolio manager and overall profitability of Abbey Capital, which is, in part, dependent on the performance of the Fund, and therefore in part based on the value of the Funds net assets and other client accounts they are managing.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with their management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby a portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, Abbey Capital has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities and other investments among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated.
As of August 31, 2014, the Funds portfolio managers did not own any shares of the Fund.
ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. (BNY Mellon), 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 1980, serves as administrator to the Fund pursuant to administration and accounting services agreements with respect to the Fund (the Administration Agreements). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Fund statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Fund. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies and prepare materials required by the SEC or any state securities commission having jurisdiction over the Fund. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard. For its services to the Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of:
· .060% of the Funds first $250 million of average daily net assets;
· .050% of the Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets;
· .040% of the Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets; and
· .030% of the Funds average daily net assets in excess of $750 million.
The minimum monthly fee is $5,833 per month, exclusive of Rule 38a-1 base compliance support services fees, costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Funds registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid BNY Mellon administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees and related out-of-pocket expenses as follows:
Administration, Accounting and
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
$ |
24,985 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
The Bank of New York (the Custodian), One Wall Street, New York, New York 10286, is custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a custodian agreement dated July 19, 2011. Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund; (b) holds and transfers portfolio investments on account of the Fund; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio investments; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that the Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Fund harmless from the acts and omissions of any affiliate, sub-custodian or domestic sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Funds average gross assets calculated daily and payable monthly, exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT
BNY Mellon also serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of the shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any affiliate . For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum monthly fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis, and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Funds Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Fund, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements.
These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Class I Shares . Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, Foreside Distributors acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of the Funds shares. Foreside Distributors continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. Foreside Distributors has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. Foreside Distributors and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company. Foreside Distributors does not receive compensation from the Company for the distribution of the Funds Class I Shares; however, the Adviser pays an annual fee to Foreside Distributors as compensation for underwriting services rendered to the Fund pursuant to the Distribution Agreement.
Class A Shares and Class C Shares . Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement and the related Plans of Distribution for Class A Shares and Class C Shares (together, the Plans), which were adopted by the Company in the manner prescribed by Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, Foreside Distributors will act as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering for the sale of the Funds Class A Shares and Class C Shares, respectively. Foreside Distributors continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. Foreside Distributors has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. Foreside Distributors and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company. Payments to Foreside Distributors under the Plans are to compensate it for distribution assistance and expenses assumed and activities intended to result in the sale of Class A Shares and Class C Shares, including advertising, printing and mailing of prospectuses to others than current shareholders, compensation of underwriters, compensation to broker-dealers, compensation to sales personnel, and interest, carrying or other financing changes. As compensation for its distribution services, Foreside Distributors receives, pursuant to the terms of the Distribution Agreement, a distribution fee under the Plans, to be calculated daily and paid monthly by the Class A Shares and Class C Shares of the Fund at the annual rates set forth in the Prospectus.
Among other things, the Plans provide that: (1) Foreside Distributors shall be required to submit quarterly reports to the Directors of the Company regarding all amounts expended under the Plans and the purposes for which such expenditures
were made, including commissions, advertising, printing, interest, carrying charges and any allocated overhead expenses; (2) the Plans will continue in effect only so long as they are approved at least annually, and any material amendment thereto is approved, by the Companys Directors, including a majority of those Directors who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plans or any agreements related to the Plans, acting in person at a meeting called for said purpose; (3) the aggregate amount to be spent by the Fund on the distribution of the Funds Class A Shares and Class C Shares under the respective Plans shall not be materially increased without shareholder approval; and (4) while the Plans remain in effect, the selection and nomination of the Companys Directors who are not interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) shall be committed to the discretion of such Directors who are not interested persons of the Company.
The Fund did not have Plan expenses for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 because Class A Shares commenced operations on August 29, 2014 and Class C Shares were not yet operational.
Mr. Sablowsky, a Director of the Company, has an indirect interest in the operation of the Plans by virtue of his position with Oppenheimer Co., Inc., a broker-dealer.
PAYMENTS TO FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The Adviser and/or its affiliates, at their discretion, may make payments from their own resources and not from Fund assets to affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, banks (including bank trust departments), trust companies, registered investment advisers, financial planners, retirement plan administrators, insurance companies, and any other institution having a service, administration, or any similar arrangement with the Fund, its service providers or their respective affiliates, as incentives to help market and promote the Fund and/or in recognition of their distribution, marketing, administrative services, and/or processing support.
These additional payments may be made to financial intermediaries that sell Fund shares or provide services to the Fund, the Distributor or shareholders of the Fund through the financial intermediarys retail distribution channel and/or fund supermarkets. Payments may also be made through the financial intermediarys retirement, qualified tuition, fee-based advisory, wrap fee bank trust, or insurance (e.g., individual or group annuity) programs. These payments may include, but are not limited to, placing the Fund in a financial intermediarys retail distribution channel or on a preferred or recommended fund list; providing business or shareholder financial planning assistance; educating financial intermediary personnel about the Fund; providing access to sales and management representatives of the financial intermediary; promoting sales of Fund shares; providing marketing and educational support; maintaining share balances and/or for sub-accounting, administrative or shareholder transaction processing services. A financial intermediary may perform the services itself or may arrange with a third party to perform the services.
The Adviser and/or its affiliates may also make payments from their own resources to financial intermediaries for costs associated with the purchase of products or services used in connection with sales and marketing, participation in and/or presentation at conferences or seminars, sales or training programs, client and investor entertainment and other sponsored events. The costs and expenses associated with these efforts may include travel, lodging, sponsorship at educational seminars and conferences, entertainment and meals to the extent permitted by law.
Revenue sharing payments may be negotiated based on a variety of factors, including the level of sales, the amount of Fund assets attributable to investments in the Fund by financial intermediaries customers, a flat fee or other measures as determined from time to time by the Adviser and/or its affiliates. A significant purpose of these payments is to increase the sales of Fund shares, which in turn may benefit the Adviser through increased fees as Fund assets grow.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, the Adviser and Trading Advisers are responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser and Trading Advisers seek to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser and Trading Advisers generally seek reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
Brokerage Transactions
Generally, equity securities, both listed and over-the-counter, are bought and sold through brokerage transactions for which commissions are payable. Purchases from underwriters will include the underwriting commission or concession, and purchases from dealers serving as market makers will include a dealers mark-up or reflect a dealers mark-down. Money market securities and other debt securities are usually bought and sold directly from the issuer or an underwriter or market maker for the securities. Generally, the Fund will not pay brokerage commissions for such purchases. When a debt security is bought from an underwriter, the purchase price will usually include an underwriting commission or concession. The purchase price for securities bought from dealers serving as market makers will similarly include the dealers mark up or reflect a dealers mark down. When the Fund executes transactions in the over-the-counter market, it will generally deal with primary market makers unless prices that are more favorable are otherwise obtainable.
In addition, the Adviser and Trading Advisers may place a combined order for two or more accounts they manage, including the Fund, engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security if, in its judgment, joint execution is in the best interest of each participant and will result in best price and execution. Transactions involving commingled orders are allocated in a manner deemed equitable to each account or fund. Although it is recognized that, in some cases, the joint execution of orders could adversely affect the price or volume of the security that a particular account or the Fund may obtain, it is the opinion of the Adviser, the Trading Advisers and the Companys Board of Directors that the advantages of combined orders outweigh the possible disadvantages of separate transactions. Nonetheless, the Adviser and Trading Advisers believe that the ability of the Fund to participate in higher volume transactions will generally be beneficial to the Fund.
The Fund is required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Fund as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. There were no securities held by the Fund of its regular broker-dealers as of the end of the most recent fiscal year as the Fund had not commenced operations.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid no brokerage commissions.
Brokerage Selection
The Company does not expect to use one particular broker or dealer, and when one or more brokers is believed capable of providing the best combination of price and execution, the Funds Adviser and Trading Advisers may select a broker based upon brokerage or research services provided to the Adviser or applicable Trading Adviser. The Adviser and Trading Advisers may pay a higher commission than otherwise obtainable from other brokers in return for such services only if a good faith determination is made that the commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.
Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits an investment adviser or sub-adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause a fund to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. In addition to agency transactions, certain Trading Advisers may receive brokerage and research services in connection with certain riskless principal transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC guidance.
Brokerage and research services include: (1) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (2) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and (3) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance, settlement, and custody). In the case of research services, the applicable Trading Advisers believe that access to independent investment research is beneficial to their investment decision-making processes and, therefore, to the Fund.
To the extent research services may be a factor in selecting brokers, such services may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information as to particular companies and securities as well as market, economic, or institutional areas and information which assists in the valuation and pricing of investments. Examples of research-oriented services for which the applicable Trading Advisers might utilize Fund commissions include research reports and other information on the economy, industries, sectors, groups of securities, individual companies, statistical information, political developments, technical market action, pricing and appraisal services, credit analysis, risk measurement analysis, performance and other analysis. The Trading Advisers may use research services furnished by brokers in servicing all client accounts and not all services may necessarily be used in connection with the account that paid commissions to the broker providing such services. Information so received by the Trading Advisers will be in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by the Trading Adviser under its Trading Advisory Agreement. Any advisory or other fees paid to the Trading Advisers are not reduced as a result of the receipt of research services.
In some cases a Trading Adviser may receive a service from a broker that has both a research and a non-research use. When this occurs, the applicable Trading Adviser makes a good faith allocation, under all the circumstances, between the research and non-research uses of the service. The percentage of the service that is used for research purposes may be paid for with client commissions, while the applicable Trading Adviser will use its own funds to pay for the percentage of the service that is used for non-research purposes. In making this good faith allocation, the Trading Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest, but each applicable Trading Adviser believes that its allocation procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that it appropriately allocates the anticipated use of such services to their research and non-research uses.
From time to time, the Fund may purchase new issues of securities for clients in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the seller may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide the Adviser and Trading Advisers with research services. The FINRA has adopted rules expressly permitting these types of arrangements under certain circumstances. Generally, the seller will provide research credits in these situations at a rate that is higher than that which is available for typical secondary market transactions. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e).
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
Read the Funds Prospectus for information regarding the purchase and redemption of Fund shares, including, in the case of Class A Shares, any applicable sales charges. The following information supplements information in the Funds Prospectus.
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm, financial institutions and industry professionals (Service Organizations) and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend
and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or the Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Class A Shares of the Fund may be subject to sales charges as described below.
Reducing or Eliminating the Front-End Sales Charge
The Funds Class A Shares are offered to the public at NAV plus a front-end sales charge. You can reduce or eliminate the front-end sales charge on Class A Shares of the Fund as follows:
Quantity Discounts . Purchases of at least $25,000 can reduce the sales charges you pay, and purchases of at least $1,000,000 can eliminate the sales charges you pay.
Combined Purchase Privilege . The following purchases may be combined for purposes of determining the amount of purchase: (a) individual purchases, if made at the same time, by a single purchaser, the purchasers spouse and children under the age of 25 purchasing Class A Shares for their own accounts, including shares purchased by a qualified retirement plan(s) exclusively for the benefit of such individual(s) (such as an IRA, individual-type section 403(b) plan or single-participant Keogh-type plan) or by a Company, as defined in Section 2(a)(8) of the 1940 Act, solely controlled, as defined in the 1940 Act, by such individual(s), or (b) individual purchases by trustees or other fiduciaries purchasing Class A Shares (i) for a single trust estate or a single fiduciary account, including an employee benefit plan, or (ii) concurrently by two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of employers affiliated with each other in accordance with Section 2(a)(3)(c) of the 1940 Act (excluding in either case an employee benefit plan described in (a) above), provided such trustees or other fiduciaries purchase shares in a single payment. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts may not be combined with purchases made for such other accounts.
Cumulative Quantity Discount. You may combine the value of Class A Shares held in the Fund, along with the dollar amount of Class A Shares being purchased, to qualify for a cumulative quantity discount. The value of Class A Shares held is the higher of their cost or current net asset value. For example, if you hold Class A Shares having a value of $225,000 and purchase $25,000 of additional Class A Shares, the sales charge applicable to the additional investment would be 2.50%, the rate applicable to a single purchase of $250,000. In order to receive the cumulative quantity discount, the value of Class A Shares held must be brought to the attention of your investment broker or other Service Organization at the time of your purchase.
Letter of Intent . You can sign a Letter of Intent committing to purchase of a specific dollar amount of Class A Shares of the Fund within a 13-month period to combine such purchases in calculating the sales charge. A portion of your Fund shares will be held in escrow. If you complete your purchase commitments as stated in the Letter of Intent, your Fund shares held in escrow will be released to your account. If you do not fulfill the Letter of Intent, the appropriate amount of Fund shares held in escrow will be redeemed to pay the sales charges that were not applied to your purchases.
Dealer Reallowances
As shown in the table below, Foreside Distributors, the Distributor for the shares of the Fund, may provide dealer reallowances up to the full sales charge for purchases of the Funds Class A Shares in which a front-end sales charge is applicable.
Amount of Purchase of
|
|
Sales Charge as a
|
|
Sales Charge as a
|
|
Dealer Concession
|
|
Less than $25,000 |
|
5.75 |
% |
6.10 |
% |
5.00 |
% |
At least $25,000 but less than $49,999 |
|
5.00 |
% |
5.26 |
% |
4.75 |
% |
At least $50,000 but less than $99,999 |
|
4.75 |
% |
4.99 |
% |
4.00 |
% |
At least $100,000 but less than $249,999 |
|
3.75 |
% |
3.83 |
% |
3.25 |
% |
At least $250,000 but less than $499,999 |
|
2.50 |
% |
2.56 |
% |
2.00 |
% |
At least $500,000 but less than $1,000,000 |
|
2.00 |
% |
2.04 |
% |
1.75 |
% |
$1,000,000 or greater |
|
None |
|
None |
|
** see below |
|
** No sales charge is payable at the time of purchase on investments of $1,000,000 or more.. The Funds distributor may pay a commission at the rate of 1% to certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals, including affiliates of the Adviser, who initiate and are responsible for purchases of $1,000,000 or more.
Other Purchase Information
If shares of the Fund are held in a street name account with an authorized dealer, all recordkeeping, transaction processing and payments of distributions relating to the beneficial owners account will be performed by the authorized dealer, and not by the Fund and its Transfer Agent. Since the Fund will have no record of the beneficial owners transactions, a beneficial owner should contact the authorized dealer to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, to make changes in or give instructions concerning the account or to obtain information about the account. The transfer of shares in a street name account to an account with another dealer or to an account directly with the Fund involves special procedures and will require the beneficial owner to obtain historical purchase information about the shares in the account from the authorized dealer.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers, financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to approval by the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the investments being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Code and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Fund qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Funds business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Funds taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities
of the issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
State and Local Taxes
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which the Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
Any annual net profit of the Subsidiary will be recognized as ordinary income by the Fund, but any net annual loss of the Subsidiary will not be recognized and will not carry forward.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of each class of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by class on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Ernst & Young LLP, One Commerce Square, Suite 700, 2005 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated by reference into this SAI. Such financial statements have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon such report given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ALTAIR SMALLER COMPANIES FUND
a series of THE RBB FUND, INC.
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
Altair Advisers LLC
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides supplementary information pertaining to Altair Smaller Companies Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read only in conjunction with the Funds Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus). Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free 1-844-261-6482.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page |
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GENERAL INFORMATION |
S-1 |
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES |
S-1 |
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
S-39 |
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
S-42 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
S-43 |
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CODE OF ETHICS |
S-53 |
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PROXY VOTING |
S-54 |
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
S-54 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
S-55 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISER |
S-55 |
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INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISERS |
S-57 |
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THE PORTFOLIO MANAGERS |
S-59 |
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ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT |
S-67 |
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CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT |
S-68 |
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TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT |
S-68 |
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DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT |
S-69 |
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FUND TRANSACTIONS |
S-70 |
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
S-72 |
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TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
S-73 |
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VALUATION OF SHARES |
S-74 |
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TAXES |
S-74 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
S-76 |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
S-77 |
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APPENDIX A DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS |
A-1 |
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APPENDIX B SUMMARY OF PROXY VOTING POLICY OF APERIO GROUP, LLC |
B-1 |
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APPENDIX C SUMMARY OF PROXY VOTING POLICY OF DRIEHAUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC |
C-1 |
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APPENDIX D SUMMARY OF VOTING POLICY OF GRANITE INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC |
D-1 |
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APPENDIX E PROXY VOTING POLICY OF PACIFIC RIDGE CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC |
E-1 |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(continued)
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Page |
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APPENDIX F PROXY VOTING POLICY OF PIER CAPITAL, LLC |
F-1 |
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APPENDIX G PROXY VOTING POLICY OF RIVER ROAD ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC |
G-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating 23 separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to shares of the Altair Smaller Companies Fund. Altair Advisers LLC (Altair or the Adviser), serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Fund.
The Fund seeks capital appreciation. The Fund may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectus and this SAI, or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
Principal Investment Policies and Risks.
Multi-Manager Structure. The Fund is managed by the Adviser and one or more asset managers who are unaffiliated with the Adviser (each a Sub-Adviser and together, the Sub-Advisers). Subject to review by the Funds Board of Directors, the Adviser is responsible for selecting the Funds investment strategies and for allocating and reallocating assets among the Sub-Advisers consistent with the Funds investment objective and strategies. The Adviser is also responsible for recommending to the Board whether an agreement with a Sub-Adviser should be approved, renewed, modified or terminated and for monitoring and evaluating the Sub-Advisers. The Adviser is also responsible for implementing procedures to ensure that each Sub-Adviser complies with the Funds investment objective, strategies and restrictions.
Portfolio Turnover Rate. Portfolio turnover rate is defined under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) rules as the greater of the value of the securities purchased or securities sold, excluding all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one-year or less, divided by the average monthly value of such securities owned during the year. Based on this definition, instruments with remaining maturities of less than one-year are excluded from the calculation of the portfolio turnover rate. Instruments excluded from the calculation of portfolio turnover generally would include the futures contracts in which the Fund may invest since such contracts generally have remaining maturities of less than one-year. The Fund may at times hold investments in other short-term instruments, such as repurchase agreements, which are excluded for purposes of computing portfolio turnover.
Corporate Obligations. The Fund may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations without limit on credit quality or maturity of debt securities. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value.
Equity Markets. The Fund invests primarily in equity markets at all times. Equity markets can be highly volatile, so that investing in the Fund involves substantial risk. As a result, investing in the Fund involves the risk of loss of capital.
Equity Securities. Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
· Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on
changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
· Micro, Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers. Investing in equity securities of micro, small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of depth of management. The securities of smaller companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and even if listed on a national securities exchange may not be traded in volumes typical for that exchange. Consequently, the securities of smaller companies are less likely to be liquid, may have limited market stability, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established growth companies or the market averages in general.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are denominated or traded in foreign currencies. The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) or International Depositary Receipts (IDRs). ADRs are securities, typically issued by a U.S. financial institution (a depository), that evidence ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a foreign issuer and deposited with the depository. ADRs may be listed on a national securities exchange or may trade in the over-the-counter market. ADR prices are denominated in U.S. dollars; the underlying security may be denominated in a foreign currency. GDRs, EDRs and IDRs are securities that represent ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a non-U.S. or U.S. corporation. Depositary receipts may be available through sponsored or unsponsored facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Investments in depositary receipts do not eliminate the risks in investing in foreign issuers. The underlying
security may be subject to foreign government taxes, which would reduce the yield on such securities.
Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Volume and liquidity in most foreign bond markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility or price can be greater than in the United States. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Inability to dispose of Fund securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to the Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities, or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth or gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.
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 their portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed companies than in the United States.
Settlement mechanics (e.g., mail service between the United States and foreign countries) may be slower or less reliable than within the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. 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 a portion of the assets of the Fund is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities.
Although the Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the NAV of the Funds shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the Funds securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which the Fund makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price of the Funds securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of the Funds securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, the Fund is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency. The Fund may invest in obligations of foreign branches of
U.S. banks (Eurodollars) and U.S. branches of foreign banks (Yankee dollars) as well as foreign branches of foreign banks. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities of U.S. banks, including potential unfavorable political and economic developments, different tax provisions, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest. The Fund may also invest in Yankee bonds, which are issued by foreign governments and their agencies and foreign corporations but pay interest in U.S. dollars and are typically issued in the United States.
Illiquid Securities. Illiquid securities are securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business (within seven days) at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Because of their illiquid nature, illiquid securities must be priced at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to procedures approved by the Companys Board of Directors. Despite such good faith efforts to determine fair value prices, the Funds illiquid securities are subject to the risk that the securitys fair value price may differ from the actual price which the Fund may ultimately realize upon its sale or disposition. Difficulty in selling illiquid securities may result in a loss or may be costly to the Fund. Under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser and the Sub-Advisers determine the liquidity of the Funds investments. In determining the liquidity of the Funds investments, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers may consider various factors, including: (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations; (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace; (3) dealer undertakings to make a market; and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security). The Fund will not hold more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities.
Initial Public Offerings. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, the Fund may purchase stock in an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a companys first offering of stock to the public. Risks associated with IPOs may include considerable fluctuation in the market value of IPO shares due to certain factors, such as the absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, a limited number of shares available for trading, lack of information about the issuer and limited operating history. The purchase of IPO shares may involve high transaction costs. When the Funds asset base is small, a significant portion of the Funds performance could be attributable to investments in IPOs, because such investments would have a magnified impact on the Fund. As the Funds assets grow, the effect of the Funds investments in IPOs on the Funds performance probably will decline, which could reduce the Funds 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 Funds portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, the Fund cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
Market Fluctuation. The market value of the Funds investments, and thus the Funds NAV, will change in response to market conditions affecting the value of its portfolio securities. When interest rates decline, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to decline. In contrast,
as interest rates on adjustable rate loans are reset periodically, yields on investments in such loans will gradually align themselves to reflect changes in market interest rates, causing the value of such investments to fluctuate less dramatically in response to interest rate fluctuations than would investments in fixed rate obligations. Because the investment alternatives available to the Fund may be limited by the specific objective of the Fund, investors should be aware that an investment in the Fund may be subject to greater market fluctuation than an investment in a portfolio of securities representing a broader range of investment alternatives. In view of the specialized nature of the investment activities of the Fund, an investment in the Fund should not be considered a complete investment program.
Micro-Cap and Small-Cap Stocks . The Fund may invest in securities of companies with micro-and small-size capitalizations that tend to be riskier than securities of companies with large capitalizations. This is because micro- and small-cap companies typically have smaller product lines and less access to liquidity than large cap companies, and are therefore more sensitive to economic downturns. In addition, growth prospects of micro- and small-cap companies tend to be less certain than large cap companies, and the dividends paid on micro- and small-cap stocks are frequently negligible. Moreover, micro- and small-cap stocks have, on occasion, fluctuated in the opposite direction of large cap stocks or the general stock market. Consequently, securities of micro- and small-cap companies tend to be more volatile than those of large-cap companies. The market for micro- and small-cap securities may be thinly traded and as a result, greater fluctuations in the price of micro- and small-cap securities may occur.
Non-Diversification. Non-diversification risk is the risk that the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse financial, economic or other developments affecting any single issuer, and more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments. A non-diversified classification means that the Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. The securities of a particular issuer may dominate the Underlying Index of such a Fund and, consequently, the Funds investment portfolio.
The Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a regulated investment company for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and to relieve the Fund of any liability for federal income tax to the extent that its earnings are distributed to shareholders. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Fund and may make it less likely that the Fund will meet its investment objectives.
Real Estate Investment Trust Securities. The Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs generally invest directly in real estate, in mortgages or in some combination of the two. Individual REITs may own a limited number of properties and may concentrate in a particular region or property type. A REIT is a corporation, or a business trust that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation, which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level federal income tax and making the REIT a pass-through vehicle for federal income tax purposes. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things, invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs) or cash and government securities, derive most of its income from rents from
real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property and distribute to shareholders annually a substantial portion of its otherwise taxable income.
Generally, REITs can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity and mortgage REITs. The values of securities issued by REITs are affected by tax and regulatory requirements and by perceptions of management skill. They also are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers or tenants, self-liquidation and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status under the Code or to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act. Unexpected high rates of default on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a mortgage REIT. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. To the extent that a mortgage REITs portfolio is exposed to lower-rated, unsecured or subordinated instruments, the risk of loss may increase, which may have a negative impact on the Fund.
REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. REITs are sensitive to factors such as changes in real estate values, property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, occupancy rates, government regulations affecting zoning, land use and rents, and management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Companies in the real estate industry may also be subject to liabilities under environmental and hazardous waste laws. REITS whose underlying assets include long-term health care properties, such as nursing, retirement and assisted living homes, may be affected by federal regulations concerning the health care industry. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses, including management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests in addition to the expenses of the Fund. The Fund is also subject to the risk that the REITs in which it invests will fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code and/or fail to qualify for an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. A REITs return may be adversely affected when interest rates are high or rising.
Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500®.
Restricted and Illiquid Securities. The Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Illiquid securities include: repurchase agreements and time deposits with a notice or demand period of more than seven days; interest rate; currency and mortgage swaps; interest rate caps; floors and collars; municipal leases; certain restricted securities, such as those purchased in a private placement of securities, unless it is determined, based upon a review of the trading markets for a specific restricted
security, that such restricted security is liquid; and certain over-the-counter options. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation.
Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of restricted or other illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
The Fund may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act) but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the 1933 Act (Restricted Securities). These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the Fund during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser will monitor the liquidity of Restricted Securities held by the portion of the assets of the Fund it manages. In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser or Sub-Adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Restricted Securities normally reflect a discount from the price at which such securities trade when they are not restricted, since the restriction makes them less liquid. The amount of the discount from the prevailing market price is expected to vary depending upon the type of security, the character of the issuer, the party who will bear the expenses of registering the Restricted Securities and prevailing supply and demand conditions.
As consistent with the Funds investment objective, the Fund may also invest in Section 4(2) commercial paper. Section 4(2) commercial paper is issued in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the 1933 Act and is generally sold to institutional investors who purchase for investment. Any resale of such commercial paper must be in an exempt transaction, usually to an institutional investor through the issuer or investment dealers who make a market in such commercial paper. The Company believes that Section 4(2) commercial paper is liquid to the extent it meets the criteria established by the Companys Board of Directors. The Company intends to treat such commercial paper as liquid and not subject to the investment limitations applicable to illiquid securities or restricted securities.
Rights Offerings and Purchase Warrants. Rights offerings and purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the rights or warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of rights and/or warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the right and/or warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
Risk Considerations of Medium Grade Securities. Obligations in the lowest investment grade (i.e., BBB or Baa), referred to as medium grade obligations, have speculative characteristics, and changes in economic conditions and other factors are more likely to lead to weakened capacity to make interest payments and repay principal on these obligations than is the case for higher rated securities. In the event that a security purchased by the Fund is subsequently downgraded below investment grade, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers will consider such event in its determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold the security.
Risk Considerations of Lower Rated Securities. The Fund may invest in fixed income securities that are not investment grade but are rated as low as B by Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) or B by Standard and Poors® (S&P) (or their equivalents or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser to be of comparable credit quality). In the case of a security that is rated differently by two or more rating services, the higher rating is used in connection with the foregoing limitation. In the event that the rating on a security held in the Funds portfolio is downgraded by a rating service, such action will be considered by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser in its evaluation of the overall investment merits of that security, but will not necessarily result in the sale of the security. The widespread expansion of government, consumer and corporate debt within the U.S. economy has made the corporate sector, especially cyclically sensitive industries, more vulnerable to economic downturns or increased interest rates. An economic downturn could severely disrupt the market for high yield fixed income securities and adversely affect the value of outstanding fixed income securities and the ability of the issuers to repay principal and interest.
The Fund may invest in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. The Fund will invest in high yield debt instruments when the Fund believes that such instruments offer a better risk/reward profile than comparable equity opportunities. High yield fixed income securities (commonly known as junk bonds) are considered speculative investments while generally providing greater income than investments in higher rated securities, involve greater risk of loss of principal and income (including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities) and may involve greater volatility of price (especially during periods of economic uncertainty or change) than securities in the higher rating categories. Since yields vary over time, no specific level of income can ever be assured.
The prices of high yield fixed income securities have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or
individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress, which would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a fixed income security owned by the Fund defaulted, the Fund could incur additional expenses in attempting to obtain a recovery. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high yield fixed income securities and the Funds NAV to the extent it holds such securities.
High yield fixed income securities also present risks based on payment expectations. For example, high yield fixed income securities may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a declining interest rate market, the Fund may, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities, have to replace the securities with a lower yielding security, which may result in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high yield fixed income securitys value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of the Funds assets, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities. In addition, to the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield fixed income securities, and this may have an impact on the Advisers and Sub-Advisers ability to accurately value such securities and the Funds assets and on the Funds ability to dispose of such securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield fixed income securities, especially in a thinly traded market.
New laws proposed or adopted from time to time may have an impact on the market for high yield securities.
Finally, there are risks involved in applying credit or dividend ratings as a method for evaluating high yield securities. For example, ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest or dividend payments, not market value risk of high yield securities. Also, since rating agencies may fail to timely change the credit ratings to reflect subsequent events, the Fund will continuously monitor the issuers of high yield securities in its portfolio, if any, to determine if the issuers will have sufficient cash flow and profits to meet required principal and interest payments, and to assure the securitys liquidity so the Fund can meet redemption requests.
Securities of Unseasoned Issuers. The Fund may invest in securities of unseasoned issuers, including equity securities of unseasoned issuers which are not readily marketable. The term unseasoned refers to issuers which, together with their predecessors, have been in operation for less than three years.
Special Situation Companies. The Fund may invest in Special Situations. The term Special Situation shall be deemed to refer to a security of a company in which an unusual and possibly non-repetitive development is taking place which, in the opinion of the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, may cause the security to attain a higher market value independently, to a degree, of the trend in the securities market in general. The particular development (actual or prospective), which may qualify a security as a Special Situation, may be one of many different types.
Such developments may include, among others, a technological improvement or important discovery or acquisition which, if the expectation for it materialized, would effect a substantial change in the companys business; a reorganization; a recapitalization or other development involving a security exchange or conversion; a merger, liquidation or distribution of cash, securities or other assets; a breakup or workout of a holding company; litigation which, if resolved favorably, would improve the value of the companys stock; a new or changed management; or material changes in management policies. A Special Situation may often involve a comparatively small company, which is not well known, and which has not been closely watched by investors generally, but it may also involve a large company. The fact, if it exists, that an increase in the companys earnings, dividends or business is expected, or that a given security is considered to be undervalued, would not in itself be sufficient to qualify as a Special Situation. The Fund may invest in securities (even if not Special Situations) which, in the opinion of the Adviser, are appropriate investments for the Fund, including securities which the Adviser or Sub-Adviser believes are undervalued by the market.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 Funds 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 Funds 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 Funds holdings.
Non-Principal Investment Policies and Risks.
Asset-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities may also be collateralized by a portfolio of U.S. government securities but are not direct obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Such asset pools are securitized through the use of privately-formed trusts or special purpose corporations. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be guaranteed up to certain amounts and for a certain time period by a letter of
credit or a pool insurance policy issued by a financial institution unaffiliated with the trust or corporation, or other credit enhancements may be present, although privately issued obligations collateralized by a portfolio of privately issued asset-backed securities do not involve any government-related guarantee or insurance. In addition to the risks that are presented by mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets. See Mortgage-Backed Securities below for additional information.
Asset-backed securities acquired by the Fund may also include collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). CDOs include collateralized bond obligations (CBOs) and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and other similarly structured securities.
A CBO is a trust or other special purpose entity (SPE) that is typically backed by a diversified pool of fixed-income securities (which may include high risk, below investment grade securities). A CLO is a trust or other SPE that is typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and non-U.S. senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. Although certain CDOs may receive credit enhancement in the form of a senior-subordinate structure, over-collateralization or bond insurance, such enhancement may not always be present and may fail to protect the Fund against the risk of loss on default of the collateral. Certain CDOs may use derivatives contracts to create synthetic exposure to assets rather than holding such assets directly, which entails the risks of derivative instruments described elsewhere in this SAI. CDOs may charge management fees and administrative expenses, which are in addition to those of the Fund.
For both CBOs and CLOs, the cashflows from the SPE are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The riskiest portion is the equity tranche, which bears the first loss from defaults from the bonds or loans in the SPE and serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default (though such protection is not complete). Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche from a CBO or CLO typically has higher ratings and lower yields than its underlying securities, and may be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, CBO or CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults, as well as investor aversion to CBO or CLO securities as a class. Interest on certain tranches of a CDO may be paid in kind (paid in the form of obligations of the same type rather than cash), which involves continued exposure to default risk with respect to such payments.
The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the type of the collateral securities and the class of the CDO in which the Fund invests. Normally, CBOs, CLOs and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CDOs may be characterized by the Fund as illiquid securities. However, an active dealer market may exist for CDOs, allowing a CDO to qualify for Rule 144A transactions. In addition to the normal risks associated with fixed-income securities and asset-backed securities generally discussed elsewhere in this SAI, CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or
default; (iii) the Fund may invest in tranches of CDOs that are subordinate to other tranches; (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results; and (v) the CDOs manager may perform poorly or default.
Commercial Paper. Commercial paper is the term used to designate unsecured short-term promissory notes issued by corporations and other entities. Maturities on these issues vary from a few to 270 days.
Commodity-Linked Derivatives. The Fund may attempt to provide exposure to the returns of real assets that trade in the commodity markets without direct investment in physical commodities. Real assets include oil, gas, industrial and precious metals, livestock, and agricultural or meat products, or other items that have tangible properties. Commodity-linked derivative instruments include commodity index-linked securities and other derivative instruments that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets. Commodity-linked investments may be more volatile and less liquid than the underlying instruments and their value may be affected by the performance of commodities as well as weather, tax, and other regulatory or political developments, overall market movements and other factors affecting the value of particular industries or commodities, such as disease, embargoes, acts of war or terrorism.
The Fund may invest in commodity-linked derivative instruments such as commodity-linked structured notes. The Fund may invest in commodity-linked notes that pay a return linked to the performance of a commodities index or basket of futures contracts with respect to all of the commodities in an index. In some cases, the return will be based on some multiple of the performance of the index, and this embedded leverage will magnify the positive and negative return the Fund earns from these notes as compared to the index. The principal and/or interest payments of commodity-linked derivatives are tied to the value of a real asset or commodity index. Structured notes may be structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note. The notes are derivative debt instruments with principal payments generally linked to the value of commodities, commodity futures contracts or the performance of commodity indices and interest and coupon payments pegged to a market-based interest rate, such as LIBOR or a banks prime rate. The value of these notes will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index or investment. These notes expose the Fund economically to movements in commodity prices.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the
Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Dollar Rolls. The Fund may enter into dollar rolls in which the Fund sells fixed income securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts to repurchase substantially similar (same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a specified future date. During the roll period, the Fund would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. However, the Fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the forward price for the future purchase, as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. The return on dollar rolls may be negatively impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. The Fund does not presently intend to engage in dollar roll transactions involving more than 5% of its net assets. For additional information on dollar roll transactions, see the section entitled Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions in this SAI.
Forward Foreign Currency Transactions. The Fund may, to the extent that it invests in foreign securities, enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates. The Fund will conduct its foreign currency exchange transactions either on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or through entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. 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 (usually less than one year) 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 conducted directly between traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. Although foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the spread) between the price at which they are buying and selling various currencies.
The Fund is permitted to enter into forward contracts under two circumstances. First, when the Fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security quoted or denominated in a foreign currency, it may desire to lock in the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed number of U.S. dollars, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the Fund will be able to insulate itself from a possible loss resulting from a 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 and the date on which payment is made or received.
Second, when the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, believes that the currency of a particular foreign country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, it may cause the Fund to enter a forward contract to sell, for a fixed U.S. dollar amount, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the Funds 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 since 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 the forward contract is entered into and the date it matures.
Although the Fund has no current intention to do so, it may engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in one currency to hedge against fluctuations in the value in securities denominated or quoted in a different currency if the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the two currencies. Cross-hedging may also include entering into a forward transaction involving two foreign currencies, using one foreign currency as a proxy for the U.S. dollar to hedge against variations in the other U.S. foreign currency, if the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the proxy currency and the U.S. dollar.
The Fund will not enter into forward contracts to sell currency or maintain a net exposure to such contracts if the consummation of such contracts would obligate the Fund to deliver an amount of foreign currency in excess of the value of the Funds respective portfolio securities or other assets quoted or denominated in that currency. At the consummation of the forward contract, the Fund may either make delivery of the foreign currency or terminate its contractual obligation by purchasing an offsetting contract obligating it to purchase at the same maturity date, the same amount of such foreign currency. If the Fund chooses to make delivery of foreign currency, it may be required to obtain such delivery through the sale of portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such currency or through conversion of other assets of the Fund into such currency. If the Fund engages in an offsetting transaction, the Fund will realize a gain or a loss to the extent that there has been a change in forward contract prices. Closing purchase transactions with respect to forward contracts are usually effected with the currency trader who is a party to the original forward contract.
The Funds transactions in forward contracts will be limited to those described above. Of course, the Fund is not required to enter into such transactions with regard to its foreign currency quoted or denominated securities, and the Fund will not do so unless deemed appropriate by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable.
When entering into a forward contract, the Fund will segregate either cash or liquid securities quoted or denominated in any currency in an amount equal to the value of the Funds total assets committed to the consummation of forward currency exchange contracts which require the Fund to purchase a foreign currency. If the value of the segregated securities declines, additional cash or securities will be segregated by the Fund on a daily basis so that the value of the segregated securities will equal the amount of the Funds commitments with respect to such contracts.
If the Fund uses forward contracts as a method of protecting the value of the Funds portfolio securities against a decline in the value of a currency, this does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. It simply establishes a rate of exchange which can be achieved 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 Funds foreign assets. It also reduces any potential gain which may have otherwise occurred had the currency value increased above the settlement price of the contract.
While the Fund may enter into forward contracts to seek 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 Funds portfolio holdings or 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 the risk of foreign exchange loss.
Forward contracts are subject to the risks 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 clearing house, 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.
The Funds foreign currency transactions (including related options, futures and forward contracts) may be limited by the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code for qualification as a regulated investment company.
Futures And Options On Futures. Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. The Fund will reduce the risk that it will be unable to close out a futures contract by only entering into futures contracts that are traded on a national futures exchange regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Fund may use futures contracts and related options for: bona fide hedging; attempting to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of; attempting to minimize fluctuations in foreign currencies; attempting to gain exposure to a particular market, index or instrument; or other risk management purposes. To the extent futures and/or options on futures are employed by the Fund, the Fund will limit such investments in commodity futures, commodity options contracts and swaps to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). For this reason, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing
trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO, the disclosure and operations of the Funds would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made; generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.
When the Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, or sells an option thereon, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may segregate (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the futures contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by purchasing a put option on the same futures contract with a strike price (i.e., an exercise price) as high or higher than the price of the futures contract. In the alternative, if the strike price of the put is less than the price of the futures contract, the Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by taking a short position in the instruments underlying the futures contract, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract. The Fund may cover its short position in a futures contract by taking a long position in the instruments underlying the futures contracts, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract.
The Fund may cover its sale of a call option on a futures contract by taking a long position in the underlying futures contract at a price less than or equal to the strike price of the call option. In the alternative, if the long position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price greater than the strike price of the written (sold) call, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the call and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a call option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the call option. The Fund may cover its sale of a put option on a futures contract by taking a short position in the underlying futures contract at a price greater than or equal to the strike price of the put option, or, if the short position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price less than the strike price of the written put, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and
the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a put option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the put option.
There are significant risks associated with the Funds use of futures contracts and related options, including the following: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on the Advisers or Sub-Advisers ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (4) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (5) government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and options on futures. In addition, some strategies reduce the Funds exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure.
Swap Agreements. The Fund may enter into equity index or interest rate swap agreements for purposes of attempting to gain exposure to the stocks making up an index of securities in a market without actually purchasing those stocks, or to hedge a position. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a day to more than one-year. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities representing a particular index. Forms of swap agreements include interest rate caps, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates exceed a specified rate, or cap, interest rate floors, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates fall below a specified level, or floor, and interest rate dollars, under which a party sells a cap and purchases a floor or vice versa in an attempt to protect itself against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels.
Most swap agreements entered into by the Fund calculate the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a net basis. Consequently, the Funds current obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the net amount). The Funds current obligations under a swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owing to the Fund) and any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty will be covered by segregating assets determined to be liquid. Obligations under swap agreements so covered will not be construed to be senior securities for purposes of the Funds investment restriction concerning senior securities. Because they are two party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid for the Funds illiquid investment limitation. The Fund will not enter into any swap agreement unless the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser believes that the other party to the transaction is creditworthy. The Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty.
The Fund may enter into swap agreements to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. The counterparty to any swap agreement will typically be a bank, investment banking firm or broker/dealer. The counter-party will generally agree to pay the Fund the amount, if any, by which the notional amount of the swap agreement would have increased in value had it been invested in the particular stocks, plus the dividends that would have been received on those stocks. The Fund will agree to pay to the counter-party a floating rate of interest on the notional amount of the swap agreement plus the amount, if any, by which the notional amount would have decreased in value had it been invested in such stocks. Therefore, the return to the Fund on any swap agreement should be the gain or loss on the notional amount plus dividends on the stocks less the interest paid by the Fund on the notional amount.
Swap agreements typically are settled on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Payments may be made at the conclusion of a swap agreement or periodically during its term. Swap agreements do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to swap agreements is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a swap agreement defaults, the Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Funds obligations over its entitlements with respect to each equity swap will be accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or liquid assets, having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to such accrued excess will be maintained in a segregated account by the Funds custodian. Inasmuch as these transactions are entered into for hedging purposes or are offset by segregated cash of liquid assets, as permitted by applicable law, the Fund and the Adviser believe that these transactions do not constitute senior securities under the 1940 Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to the Funds borrowing restrictions.
The Adviser and Sub-Advisers, under the supervision of the Board, are responsible for determining and monitoring the liquidity of Fund transactions in swap agreements. The use of equity swaps is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions.
Credit Default Swaps, Interest Rate Swaps, Mortgage Swaps, Currency Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Options on Swaps and Interest Rate Caps, Floors and Collars. The Fund may enter into credit default, interest rate and total return swaps. The Fund may also enter into interest rate caps, floors and collars. In addition, the Fund may enter into mortgage swaps and currency swaps.
The Fund may enter into swap transactions for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. As examples, the Fund may enter into swap transactions for the purpose of attempting to obtain or preserve a particular return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets, to protect against currency fluctuations, as a duration management technique, to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date, or to gain exposure to certain markets in an economical way.
Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are generally calculated with respect to a notional amount, i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate, in a particular foreign currency or security, or in a basket of securities representing a particular index. As examples, credit default swaps involve the receipt of floating or fixed rate payments in exchange for assuming potential credit losses of an underlying security. Credit default swaps give one party to a transaction the right to dispose of or acquire an asset (or group of assets), or the right to receive from or make a payment to the other party, upon the occurrence of specified credit events. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments. Mortgage swaps are similar to interest rate swaps in that they represent commitments to pay and receive interest. The notional principal amount, however, is tied to a reference pool or pools of mortgages. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the parties respective rights to make or receive payments in specified currencies. Total return swaps are contracts that obligate a party to pay or receive interest in exchange for payment by the other party of the total return generated by a security, a basket of securities, an index, or an index component.
The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payment of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor. An interest rate collar is the combination of a cap and a floor that preserves a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates.
A great deal of flexibility is possible in the way swap transactions are structured. However, generally the Fund will enter into credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps do not normally involve the delivery of securities, other underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps is normally limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a credit default, interest rate, total return or mortgage swap defaults, the Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. In contrast, currency swaps may involve the delivery of the entire principal amount of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Therefore, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations.
A credit default swap may have as reference obligations one or more securities that may, or may not, be currently held by the Fund. The protection buyer in a credit default swap is generally obligated to pay the protection seller an upfront or a periodic stream of payments over the term
of the swap provided that no credit event, such as a default, on a reference obligation has occurred. If a credit event occurs, the seller generally must pay the buyer the par value (full notional value) of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity described in the swap, or the seller may be required to deliver the related net cash amount, if the swap is cash settled. The Fund may be either the buyer or seller in the transaction. If the Fund is a buyer and no credit event occurs, the Fund may recover nothing if the swap is held through its termination date. However, if a credit event occurs, the buyer generally may elect to receive the full notional value of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity whose value may have significantly decreased. As a seller, the Fund generally receives an upfront payment or a rate of income throughout the term of the swap provided that there is no credit event. As the seller, the Fund would effectively add leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to its total net assets, the Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. If a credit event occurs, the value of any deliverable obligation received by the Fund as seller, coupled with the upfront or periodic payments previously received, may be less than the full notional value it pays to the buyer, resulting in a loss of value to the Fund.
To the extent that the Funds exposure in a transaction involving a swap or an interest rate floor, cap or collar is covered by the segregation of cash or liquid assets, or is covered by other means in accordance with SEC guidance, the Fund and the Adviser believe that the transactions do not constitute senior securities under the Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to the Funds borrowing restrictions. The SEC has recently issued the concept release Use of Derivatives by Investment Companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which discusses, among other matters, whether current market practices involving derivatives are consistent with the leverage provisions of the Act. Accordingly, investors should be aware that the SEC may offer additional guidance in the future that may impact the manner in which the Fund operates.
The Fund will not enter into any credit default, interest rate, total return or mortgage swap transactions unless the unsecured commercial paper, senior debt or claims-paying ability of the other party thereto is rated investment grade by S&Ps or Moodys, or, if unrated by such rating organization, determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.
The use of credit default, interest rate, mortgage, total return and currency swaps, as well as interest rate caps, floors and collars, is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of a swap requires an understanding not only of the referenced asset, reference rate, or index but also of the swap itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the swap under all possible market conditions. If the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, credit quality, interest rates and currency exchange rates, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment instruments were not used.
Forward Commitment and When-Issued Transactions. The Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis (subject to its investment policies and
restrictions). These transactions involve a commitment by a fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date (ordinarily one or two months later). 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 commitments are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges. The Fund will not enter into such transactions for the purpose of leverage.
When-issued purchases and forward commitments enable the Fund to lock in what is believed by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, the Fund might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, the Fund might sell securities it owns and purchase the same or a similar security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. When-issued securities or forward commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date.
The value of securities purchased on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation of the Funds NAV starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the securities, and the Fund is subject to the rights and risks of ownership of the securities on that date. The Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until they are paid for and delivered on the settlement date. When the Fund makes a forward commitment to sell securities it owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are included in the Funds assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities are not reflected in the Funds NAV as long as the commitment to sell remains in effect. Settlement of when-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions generally takes place within two months after the date of the transaction, but the Fund may agree to a longer settlement period.
The Fund will make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued basis or to 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 renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into. The Fund also may 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, and its distributions from any net realized capital gains will be taxable to shareholders. When the Fund purchases securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, the Fund or the Custodian will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities having a value (determined daily) at least equal to the amount of the Funds purchase commitments. These procedures are designed to ensure that the Fund will maintain sufficient assets at all times to cover its obligations under when-issued purchases and forward commitments.
Investing in Emerging Countries, including Asia and Eastern Europe. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers located in emerging countries. The securities markets of emerging countries are less liquid and subject to greater price volatility, and have a smaller market capitalization, than the U.S. securities markets. In certain countries, there may be fewer publicly
traded securities and the market may be dominated by a few issues or sectors. Issuers and securities markets in such countries are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial and other reporting requirements or as comprehensive government regulations as are issuers and securities markets in the U.S. In particular, the assets and profits appearing on the financial statements of emerging country issuers may not reflect their financial position or results of operations in the same manner as financial statements for U.S. issuers. Substantially less information may be publicly available about emerging country issuers than is available about issuers in the United States.
Emerging country securities markets are typically marked by a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of ownership of such securities by a limited number of investors. The markets for securities in certain emerging countries are in the earliest stages of their development. Even the markets for relatively widely traded securities in emerging countries may not be able to absorb, without price disruptions, a significant increase in trading volume or trades of a size customarily undertaken by institutional investors in the securities markets of developed countries. The limited size of many of these securities markets can cause prices to be erratic for reasons apart from factors that affect the soundness and competitiveness of the securities issuers. For example, prices may be unduly influenced by traders who control large positions in these markets. Additionally, market making and arbitrage activities are generally less extensive in such markets, which may contribute to increased volatility and reduced liquidity of such markets. The limited liquidity of emerging country securities may also affect the Funds ability to accurately value its portfolio securities or to acquire or dispose of securities at the price and time it wishes to do so or in order to meet redemption requests.
With respect to investments in certain emerging market countries, antiquated legal systems may have an adverse impact on the Fund. For example, while the potential liability of a shareholder in a U.S. corporation with respect to acts of the corporation is generally limited to the amount of the shareholders investment, the notion of limited liability is less clear in certain emerging market countries. Similarly, the rights of investors in emerging market companies may be more limited than those of shareholders in U.S. corporations.
Transaction costs, including brokerage commissions or dealer mark-ups, in emerging countries may be higher than in the United States and other developed securities markets. In addition, existing laws and regulations are often inconsistently applied. As legal systems in emerging countries develop, foreign investors may be adversely affected by new or amended laws and regulations. In circumstances where adequate laws exist, it may not be possible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of the law.
Foreign investment in the securities markets of certain emerging countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit the Funds investment in certain emerging countries and may increase the expenses of the Fund. Certain emerging countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit investment by foreign persons to only a specified percentage of an issuers outstanding securities or a specific class of securities which may have less advantageous terms (including price) than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals. In addition, the repatriation of both investment income and capital from emerging countries may be subject to restrictions which require
governmental consents or prohibit repatriation entirely for a period of time. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects of the operation of the Fund. The Fund may be required to establish special custodial or other arrangements before investing in certain emerging countries.
Emerging countries may be subject to a substantially greater degree of economic, political and social instability and disruption than is the case in the United States, Japan and most Western European countries. This instability may result from, among other things, the following: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision making, including changes or attempted changes in governments through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic or social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection or conflict; and (vi) the absence of developed legal structures governing foreign private investments and private property. Such economic, political and social instability could disrupt the principal financial markets in which the Fund may invest and adversely affect the value of the Funds assets. The Funds investments can also be adversely affected by any increase in taxes or by political, economic or diplomatic developments.
The Fund may seek investment opportunities within former east bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Most Eastern European countries had a centrally planned, socialist economy for a substantial period of time. The governments of many Eastern European countries have more recently been implementing reforms directed at political and economic liberalization, including efforts to decentralize the economic decision-making process and move towards a market economy. However, business entities in many Eastern European countries do not have an extended history of operating in a market-oriented economy, and the ultimate impact of Eastern European countries attempts to move toward more market-oriented economies is currently unclear. In addition, any change in the leadership or policies of Eastern European countries may halt the expansion of or reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring and adversely affect existing investment opportunities.
The economies of emerging countries may differ unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources, self-sufficiency and balance of payments. Many emerging countries have experienced in the past, and continue to experience, high rates of inflation. In certain countries inflation has at times accelerated rapidly to hyperinflationary levels, creating a negative interest rate environment and sharply eroding the value of outstanding financial assets in those countries. Other emerging countries, on the other hand, have recently experienced deflationary pressures and are in economic recessions. The economies of many emerging countries are heavily dependent upon international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners. In addition, the economies of some emerging countries are vulnerable to weakness in world prices for their commodity exports. The Funds income and, in some cases, capital gains from foreign stocks and securities will be subject to applicable taxation in certain of the countries in which it invests, and treaties between the U.S. and such countries may not be available in some cases to reduce the otherwise applicable tax rates.
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 a portion of the assets of the Fund remain uninvested and no return is earned on such assets. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases or sales 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.
Investment Company Shares. The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to certain restrictions. These investment companies typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by the Fund. The Funds purchase of such investment company securities results in the layering of expenses, such that shareholders would indirectly bear a proportionate share of the operating expenses of such investment companies, including advisory fees, in addition to paying the Funds expenses. Unless an exception is available, Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act prohibits a fund from (i) acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any one investment company, (ii) investing more than 5% of its total assets in any one investment company, and (iii) investing more than 10% of its total assets in all investment companies combined, including its ETF investments.
For hedging or other purposes, the Fund may invest in investment companies that seek to track the composition and/or performance of specific indexes or portions of specific indexes. Certain of these investment companies, known as exchange-traded funds, are traded on a securities exchange. The market prices of index-based investments will fluctuate in accordance with changes in the underlying portfolio securities of the investment company and also due to supply and demand of the investment companys shares on the exchange upon which the shares are traded. Index-based investments may not replicate or otherwise match the composition or performance of their specified index due to transaction costs, among other things.
Pursuant to orders issued by the SEC to each of certain exchange-traded funds (collectively, the ETFs) and procedures approved by the Board, the Fund may invest in the ETFs in excess of the limits described above, provided that the Fund has described the ETF investments in its prospectus and otherwise complies with the conditions of the SEC, as it may be amended, and any other applicable investment limitations. Neither the ETFs nor their investment advisers make any representations regarding the advisability of investing in the ETFs.
Inflation-Protected Securities. The Fund may invest in inflation-protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, known as TIPs or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, which are debt securities whose principal and interest payments are adjusted for inflation and interest is paid on the adjusted amount. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index, such as the consumer price index (CPI). A fixed coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that as inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of your investment. Inflation-protected securities normally will decline in price when real interest rates rise. (A real interest rate is calculated by subtracting the inflation rate from a nominal interest rate. For example, if a 10-year Treasury note is yielding 5% and inflation is 2%, the real interest rate is
3%.) If inflation is negative, the principal and income of an inflation-protected security will decline and could result in losses for the Fund.
Any increase in principal for an inflation-protected security resulting from inflation adjustments is considered by IRS regulations to be taxable income in the year it occurs. For direct holders of an inflation-protected security, this means that taxes must be paid on principal adjustments even though these amounts are not received until the bond matures. By contrast, the Fund holding these securities distributes both interest income and the income attributable to principal adjustments in the form of cash or reinvested shares, which are taxable to shareholders.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in mortgage pass-through certificates and multiple-class pass-through securities, such as real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMIC), pass-through certificates and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs).
Guaranteed mortgage pass-through securities represent participation interests in pools of residential mortgage loans and are issued by U.S. governmental or private lenders and guaranteed by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, including but not limited to the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Ginnie Mae certificates are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government for timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Fannie Mae certificates are guaranteed by Fannie Mae, a federally chartered and privately owned corporation, for full and timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae is authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations. Freddie Mac certificates are guaranteed by Freddie Mac, a corporate instrumentality of the U.S. government, for timely payment of interest and the ultimate collection of all principal of the related mortgage loans.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. The Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
CMOs and REMIC pass-through or participation certificates may be issued by, among others, U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities as well as private lenders. CMOs and REMIC certificates are issued in multiple classes and the principal of and interest on the mortgage assets
may be allocated among the several classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates in various ways. Each class of CMOs or REMIC certificates, often referred to as a tranche, is issued at a specific adjustable or fixed interest rate and must be fully retired no later than its final distribution date. Generally, interest is paid or accrues on all classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates on a monthly basis.
Typically, CMOs are collateralized by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac certificates but also may be collateralized by other mortgage assets such as whole loans or private mortgage pass-through securities. Debt service on CMOs is provided from payments of principal and interest on collateral of mortgaged assets and any reinvestment income thereon. Unexpected high rates of default on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a mortgage REIT. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. To the extent that a mortgage REITs portfolio is exposed to lower-rated, unsecured or subordinated instruments, the risk of loss may increase, which may have a negative impact on the Fund.
A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment under the Code and invests in certain mortgages primarily secured by interests in real property and other permitted investments. Investors may purchase regular and residual interest shares of beneficial interest in REMIC trusts, although the Fund does not intend to invest in residual interests.
The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by trusts or other entities formed or sponsored by private originators of and institutional investors in mortgage loans and other non-governmental entities (or representing custodial arrangements administered by such institutions). These private originators and institutions include savings and loan associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, insurance companies, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing.
Privately issued mortgage-backed securities are generally backed by pools of conventional (i.e., non-government guaranteed or insured) mortgage loans. Since such mortgage-backed securities normally are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit standing of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, in order to receive a high quality rating from the rating organizations (e.g., S&Ps or Moodys), they often are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement. Such credit enhancement falls into two categories: (1) liquidity protection and (2) protection against losses resulting after default by a borrower and liquidation of the collateral (e.g., sale of a house after foreclosure). Liquidity protection refers to the payment of cash advances to holders of mortgage-backed securities when a borrower on an underlying mortgage fails to make its monthly payment on time. Protection against losses resulting after default and liquidation is designed to cover losses resulting when, for example, the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are insufficient to cover the outstanding amount on the mortgage. Such protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit, through various means of structuring the securities or through a combination of such approaches.
Examples of credit enhancement arising out of the structure of the transaction include senior-subordinated securities (multiple class securities with one or more classes entitled to receive payment before other classes, with the result that defaults on the underlying mortgages are borne first by the holders of the subordinated class), creation of spread accounts or reserve funds
(where cash or investments are held in reserve against future losses) and over-collateralization (where the scheduled payments on the underlying mortgages in a pool exceed the amount required to be paid on the mortgage-backed securities). The degree of credit enhancement for a particular issue of mortgage-backed securities is based on the level of credit risk associated with the particular mortgages in the related pool. Losses on a pool in excess of anticipated levels could nevertheless result in losses to security holders since credit enhancement rarely covers every dollar owed on a pool.
Investing in mortgage-backed securities (such as those described above) involves certain risks, including the failure of a counter-party to meet its commitments, adverse interest rate changes and the effects of prepayments on mortgage cash flows. Further, the yield characteristics of mortgage-backed securities differ from those of traditional fixed income securities. The major differences typically include more frequent interest and principal payments (usually monthly), the adjustability of interest rates, and the possibility that prepayments of principal may be made substantially earlier than their final distribution dates.
Prepayment rates are influenced by changes in current interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic, social and other factors and cannot be predicted with certainty. Both adjustable rate mortgage loans and fixed rate mortgage loans may be subject to a greater rate of principal prepayments in a declining interest rate environment and to a lesser rate of principal prepayments in an increasing interest rate environment. Under certain interest rate and prepayment rate scenarios, the Fund may fail to recoup fully its investment in mortgage-backed securities notwithstanding any direct or indirect governmental or agency guarantee. When the Fund reinvests amounts representing payments and unscheduled prepayments of principal, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on existing adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities. Thus, mortgage-backed securities, and adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities in particular, may be less effective than other types of U.S. government securities as a means of locking in interest rates.
Conversely, in a rising interest rate environment, a declining prepayment rate will extend the average life of many mortgage-backed securities. This possibility is often referred to as extension risk. Extending the average life of a mortgage-backed security increases the risk of depreciation due to future increases in market interest rates. The market for certain types of mortgage-backed securities (i.e., certain CMOs) may not be liquid under all interest rate scenarios, which may prevent the Fund from selling such securities held in its portfolio at times or prices that it desires.
Different types of derivative debt securities are subject to different combinations of prepayment, extension and/or interest rate risk. Conventional mortgage pass-through securities and sequential pay CMOs are subject to all of these risks, but are typically not leveraged. Thus, the magnitude of exposure may be less than for more leveraged mortgage-backed securities.
Planned amortization class (PAC) and target amortization class (TAC) CMO bonds involve less exposure to prepayment, extension and interest rate risk than other mortgage-backed securities, provided that prepayment rates remain within expected prepayment ranges or collars. To the extent that prepayment rates remain within these prepayment ranges, the
residual or support tranches of PAC and TAC CMOs assume the extra prepayment extension and interest rate risk associated with the underlying mortgage assets.
The Fund may invest in floating rate securities based on the Cost of Funds Index (COFI floaters), other lagging rate floating rate securities, floating rate securities that are subject to a maximum interest rate (capped floaters), and mortgage-backed securities purchased at a discount. The primary risks associated with these derivative debt securities are the potential extension of average life and/or depreciation due to rising interest rates.
Recently, rating agencies have placed on credit watch or downgraded the ratings previously assigned to a large number of mortgage-related securities (which may include certain of the mortgage-related securities in which the Fund may have invested or may in the future be invested), and may continue to do so in the future. In the event that any mortgage-related security held by the Fund is placed on credit watch or downgraded, the value of such mortgage-related security may decline and the Fund may consequently experience losses in respect of such mortgage-related security.
Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions. The Fund may enter into mortgage dollar roll transactions in which the Fund sells securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts with the same counterparty to repurchase similar (same type, coupon and maturity), but not identical securities, on a specified future date. For financial reporting and tax purposes, the Fund treats mortgage dollar rolls as two separate transactions; one involving the purchase of a security and a separate transaction involving a sale. The Fund does not currently intend to enter into mortgage dollar rolls for financing and does not treat them as borrowings.
During the roll period, the Fund would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. The Fund would benefit to the extent of any difference between the price received for the securities sold and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the drop) or fee income plus the interest on the cash proceeds of the securities sold until the settlement date of the forward purchase. Unless such benefits exceed the income, capital appreciation and gain or loss due to mortgage prepayments that would have been realized on the securities sold as part of the mortgage dollar roll, the use of this technique will diminish the investment performance of the Fund compared with what such performance would have been without the use of mortgage dollar rolls. The Fund will hold and maintain in a segregated account until the settlement date cash or liquid, high-grade debt securities in an amount equal to the forward purchase price. Any benefits derived from the use of mortgage dollar rolls may depend upon mortgage prepayment assumptions, which will be affected by changes in interest rates. There is no assurance that mortgage dollar rolls can be successfully employed. For additional information on dollar rolls, please refer to the section entitled Dollar Rolls in this SAI.
Municipal Obligations. The Fund may invest in municipal obligations. Municipal obligations are issued by or on behalf of states, territories and possessions of the United States and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities to obtain funds for various public purposes. The interest on most of these obligations is generally exempt from regular federal income tax in the hands of most individual investors, although it may be subject to the individual and corporate alternative minimum tax. The two principal classifications of municipal obligations are notes and bonds.
Municipal notes are generally used to provide for short-term capital needs and generally have maturities of one year or less. Municipal notes include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, and construction loan notes. Tax anticipation notes are sold to finance working capital needs of municipalities. They are generally payable from specific tax revenues expected to be received at a future date. Revenue anticipation notes are issued in expectation of receipt of other types of revenue such as federal revenues available under the Federal Revenue Sharing Program. Tax anticipation notes and revenue anticipation notes are generally issued in anticipation of various seasonal revenues such as income, sales, use, and business taxes. Bond anticipation notes are sold to provide interim financing.
These notes are generally issued in anticipation of long-term financing in the market. In most cases, these monies provide for the repayment of the notes. Construction loan notes are sold to provide construction financing. After the projects are successfully completed and accepted, many projects receive permanent financing through the Federal Housing Administration under Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae. There are, of course, a number of other types of notes issued for different purposes and secured differently from those described above.
Municipal bonds, which meet longer term capital needs and generally have maturities of more than one year when issued, have two principal classifications, general obligation bonds and revenue bonds. Issuers of general obligation bonds include states, counties, cities, towns and regional districts. The proceeds of these obligations are used to fund a wide range of public projects including the construction or improvement of schools, highways and roads, water and sewer systems and a variety of other public purposes. The basic security of general obligation bonds is the issuers pledge of its faith, credit, and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. The taxes that can be levied for the payment of debt service may be limited or unlimited as to rate or amount or special assessments.
The principal security for a revenue bond is generally the net revenues derived from a particular facility or group of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other specific revenue source. Revenue bonds have been issued to fund a wide variety of capital projects including: electric, gas, water and sewer systems; highways, bridges and tunnels; port and airport facilities; colleges and universities; and hospitals. Revenue obligations are not backed by the credit and taxing authority of the issuer but are payable solely from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise tax or other specific revenue source. In addition, revenue obligations may be backed by a letter of credit, guarantee or insurance. Revenue obligations include private activity bonds, resource recovery bonds, certificates of participation and certain municipal notes. Although the principal security behind these bonds varies widely, many provide additional security in the form of a debt service reserve fund whose monies may also be used to make principal and interest payments on the issuers obligations. Housing finance authorities have a wide range of security including partially or fully insured, rent subsidized and/or collateralized mortgages, and/or the net revenues from housing or other public projects. In addition to a debt service reserve fund, some authorities provide further security in the form of a states ability (without obligation) to make up deficiencies in the debt service reserve fund. Lease rental revenue bonds issued by a state or local authority for capital projects are secured by annual lease rental payments from the state or locality to the authority sufficient to cover debt service on the authoritys obligations.
Industrial development bonds (now a subset of a class of bonds known as private activity bonds), although nominally issued by municipal authorities, are generally not secured by the taxing power of the municipality but are secured by the revenues of the authority derived from payments by the industrial user.
There is, in addition, a variety of hybrid and special types of municipal obligations as well as numerous differences in the security of municipal obligations both within and between the two principal classifications above. An entire issue of municipal obligations may be purchased by one or a small number of institutional investors such as the Fund. Thus, the issue may not be said to be publicly offered. Unlike securities which must be registered under the 1933 Act, prior to offer and sale unless an exemption from such registration is available, municipal obligations which are not publicly offered may nevertheless be readily marketable. A secondary market exists for municipal obligations that were not publicly offered initially.
The Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, determines whether a municipal obligation is readily marketable based on whether it may be sold in a reasonable time consistent with the customs of the municipal markets (usually seven days) at a price (or interest rate), which accurately reflects its value. In addition, stand-by commitments and demand obligations also enhance marketability.
For the purpose of the Funds investment restrictions, the identification of the issuer of municipal obligations that are not general obligation bonds is made by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, on the basis of the characteristics of the obligation as described above, the most significant of which is the source of funds for the payment of principal of and interest on such obligations.
Yields on municipal obligations depend on a variety of factors, including money market conditions, municipal bond market conditions, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the quality of the issue. High grade municipal obligations tend to have a lower yield than lower rated obligations. Municipal obligations are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the Federal Bankruptcy Code and laws, if any, that may be enacted by Congress or state legislatures extending the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations or municipalities to levy taxes. There is also the possibility that as a result of litigation or other conditions the power or ability of any one or more issuers to pay when due principal of and interest on its or their municipal obligations may be materially affected.
Economic, business or political developments might affect all municipal obligations of a similar type. The Fund believes that the most important consideration affecting risk is the quality of particular issues of municipal obligations rather than factors affecting all, or broad classes of, municipal obligations.
The Fund may invest in variable, floating rate and other municipal securities on which the interest may fluctuate based on changes in market rates. The interest rates payable on variable rate securities are adjusted at designated intervals (e.g., daily, monthly, semi-annually), and the interest rates payable on, floating rate securities are adjusted whenever there is a change in the
market rate of interest on which the interest payable is based. The interest rate on variable and floating rate securities is ordinarily determined by reference to or is a percentage of a banks prime rate, the 90-day U.S. Treasury bill rate, the rate of return on commercial paper or bank certificates of deposit, an index of short-term interest rates, or some other objective measure. The value of floating and variable rate securities generally is more stable than that of fixed rate securities in response to changes in interest rate levels. The Fund may consider the maturity of a variable or floating rate municipal security to be shorter than its ultimate maturity if the Fund has the right to demand prepayment of its principal at specified intervals prior to the securitys ultimate maturity.
The Fund may invest in municipal leases and certificates of participation in municipal leases. A municipal lease is an obligation in the form of a lease or installment purchase which is issued by a state or local government to acquire equipment and facilities. Certificates of participation represent undivided interests in municipal leases, installment purchase agreements or other instruments. The certificates are typically issued by a trust or other entity, which has received an assignment of the payments to be made by the state or political subdivision under such leases or installment purchase agreements. The primary risk associated with municipal lease obligations and certificates of participation is that the governmental lessee will fail to appropriate funds to enable it to meet its payment obligations under the lease. Although the obligations may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of non-appropriation or foreclosure might prove difficult, time consuming and costly and may result in a delay in recovering, or the failure to fully recover, the Funds original investment. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated municipal leases or participates in such leases, the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser will monitor on an ongoing basis the credit quality rating and risk of cancellation of such unrated leases. Certain municipal lease obligations and certificates of participation may be deemed illiquid for the purposes of the limitation on investments in illiquid securities.
The Fund may invest in pre-refunded municipal securities. The principal of and interest on pre-refunded municipal securities are no longer paid from the original revenue source for the securities. Instead, the source of such payments is typically an escrow fund consisting of U.S. government securities. The assets in the escrow fund are derived from the proceeds of refunding bonds issued by the same issuer as the pre-refunded municipal securities. Issuers of municipal securities use this advance refunding technique to obtain more favorable terms with respect to securities that are not yet subject to call or redemption by the issuer. For example, advance refunding enables an issuer to refinance debt at lower market interest rates, restructure debt to improve cash flow or eliminate restrictive covenants in the indenture or other governing instrument for the pre-refunded municipal securities. Except for a change in the revenue source from which principal and interest payments are made, the pre-refunded municipal securities remain outstanding on their original terms until they mature or are redeemed by the issuer. Pre-refunded municipal securities are usually purchased at a price, which represents a premium over their face value.
Obligations of Domestic Banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign Branches of U.S. Banks. The Fund may invest in obligations issued by banks and other savings institutions. Investments in bank obligations include obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks. Such investments in domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign
branches of domestic banks may involve risks that are different from investments in securities of domestic branches of U.S. banks. These risks may include future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions which might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held by the Fund. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. Bank obligations include the following:
· Bankers Acceptances. Bankers acceptances are bills of exchange or time drafts drawn on and accepted by a commercial bank. Corporations use bankers acceptances to finance the shipment and storage of goods and to furnish dollar exchange. Maturities are generally six months or less.
· Certificates of Deposit. Certificates of deposit are interest-bearing instruments with a specific maturity. They are issued by banks and savings and loan institutions in exchange for the deposit of funds and normally can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Certificates of deposit with penalties for early withdrawal will be considered illiquid.
· Time Deposits. Time deposits are non-negotiable receipts issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. Like a certificate of deposit, it earns a specified rate of interest over a definite period of time; however, it cannot be traded in the secondary market. Time deposits with a withdrawal penalty or that mature in more than seven days are considered to be illiquid securities.
Options. The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on indices and enter into related closing transactions. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at any time during the option period. A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying security at any time during the option period. The premium paid to the writer is the consideration for undertaking the obligations under the option contract.
The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on foreign currencies (traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges or over-the-counter markets) to manage its exposure to exchange rates. Call options on foreign currency written by the Fund will be covered, which means that the Fund will own an equal amount of the underlying foreign currency.
Put and call options on indices are similar to options on securities except that options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the underlying index is greater than (or less than, in the case of puts) the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, expressed in dollars multiplied by a specified number. Thus, unlike options on individual securities, all settlements are in cash, and gain or loss depends on price movements in the particular market represented by the index generally, rather than the price movements in individual securities.
All options written on indices or securities must be covered. When the Fund writes an option on a security, an index or a foreign currency, it will establish a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities in an amount at least equal to the market value of the option and will maintain the account while the option is open or will otherwise cover the transaction.
The Fund may trade put and call options on securities, securities indices and currencies, as the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser determines is appropriate in seeking the Funds investment objective, and except as restricted by the Funds investment limitations. See Investment Limitations.
The initial purchase (sale) of an option contract is an opening transaction. In order to close out an option position, the Fund may enter into a closing transaction, which is simply the sale (purchase) of an option contract on the same security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option contract originally opened. If the Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or the Fund delivers the security upon exercise.
The Fund may purchase put and call options on securities to protect against a decline in the market value of the securities in its portfolio or to anticipate an increase in the market value of securities that the Fund may seek to purchase in the future. The Fund purchasing put and call options pays a premium therefor. If price movements in the underlying securities are such that exercise of the options would not be profitable for the Fund, loss of the premium paid may be offset by an increase in the value of the Funds securities or by a decrease in the cost of acquisition of securities by the Fund.
The Fund may write covered call options on securities as a means of increasing the yield on its assets and as a means of providing limited protection against decreases in its market value. When the Fund writes an option, if the underlying securities do not increase or decrease to a price level that would make the exercise of the option profitable to the holder thereof, the option generally will expire without being exercised and the Fund will realize as profit the premium received for such option. When a call option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to sell the underlying securities to the option holder at the strike price, and will not participate in any increase in the price of such securities above the strike price. When a put option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the market value of such securities.
The Fund may purchase and write options on an exchange or over-the-counter. Over-the-counter options (OTC options) differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is done normally by reference to information from a market maker. It is the SECs position that OTC options are generally illiquid.
The market value of an option generally reflects the market price of an underlying security. Other principal factors affecting market value include supply and demand, interest rates, the pricing volatility of the underlying security and the time remaining until the expiration date.
Risks associated with options transactions include: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in prices of options and the securities underlying them; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for options; and (4) while the Fund will receive a premium when it writes covered call options, it may not participate fully in a rise in the market value of the underlying security.
Pay-in-Kind Securities, Zero Coupon and Capital Appreciation Bonds. To the extent consistent with its investment objective, the Fund may invest in pay-in-kind (PIK) securities. PIK securities may be debt obligations or preferred shares that provide the issuer with the option of paying interest or dividends on such obligations in cash or in the form of additional securities rather than cash. Similarly, zero coupon and capital appreciation bonds are debt securities issued or sold at a discount from their face value and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified date. The amount of the discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. These securities also may take the form of debt securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves or receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations or coupons. A portion of the discount with respect to stripped tax-exempt securities or their coupons may be taxable. Such securities are designed to give an issuer flexibility in managing cash flow. PIK securities that are debt securities can either be senior or subordinated debt and generally trade flat (i.e., without accrued interest). The trading price of PIK debt securities generally reflects the market value of the underlying debt plus an amount representing accrued interest since the last interest payment.
PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds do not pay interest periodically to maturity, and, therefore, they involve the additional risk that the Fund will not realize any cash until a specified future payment date unless a portion of such securities is sold, and, if the issuer of such securities defaults, the Fund may not obtain any return at all on its investment. In addition, even though such securities may not provide for the payment of current interest in cash, the Fund is nonetheless required to accrue income on such investments for each taxable year and generally is required to distribute such accrued amounts (net of deductible expenses, if any) to avoid being subject to tax. Because cash generally is not received at the time of the accrual, the Fund may be required to liquidate other portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to satisfy federal tax distribution requirements applicable to the Fund. Additionally, the market prices of PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds generally are more volatile than the market prices of interest bearing securities and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than interest bearing securities having similar maturities and credit quality.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which the Fund acquires a fixed
income security (generally a security issued by the U.S. government or an agency thereof, a bankers acceptance, or a certificate of deposit) from a commercial bank, broker, or dealer, and simultaneously agrees to resell such security to the seller at an agreed upon price and date (normally, the next business day). Because the security purchased constitutes collateral for the repurchase obligation, a repurchase agreement may be considered a loan that is collateralized by the security purchased. The acquisition of a repurchase agreement may be deemed to be an acquisition of the underlying securities as long as the obligation of the seller to repurchase the securities is collateralized fully. The Fund follows certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with creditworthy financial institutions whose condition will be continually monitored by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. The repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund will provide that the underlying collateral at all times shall have a value at least equal to 102% of the resale price stated in the agreement and consist only of securities permissible under Section 101(47)(A)(i) of the Bankruptcy Code (the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, monitors compliance with this requirement). Under all repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund, the custodian or its agent must take possession of the underlying collateral. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Fund will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of the Funds right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss. It is the current policy of the Fund, not to invest in repurchase agreements that do not mature within seven days if any such investment, together with any other illiquid assets held by that Fund, amounts to more than 15% of the Funds total assets. The investments of the Fund in repurchase agreements, at times, may be substantial when, in the view of the Adviser or applicable Sub-Advisers, liquidity or other considerations so warrant.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities for temporary purposes (such as to obtain cash to meet redemption requests) when the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed disadvantageous or inconvenient by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to the Funds agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Such agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act and will be limited, together with other borrowings, to 33 1/3% of the Funds total assets (including the amount borrowed) less all liabilities other than borrowings. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account with the Funds custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement and will monitor the account to ensure that such value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase and the interest received on the cash exchanged for the securities.
Securities Lending. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations that meet capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Companys Board of Directors. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33 1/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). The Fund will not lend portfolio securities to the Adviser, any Sub-Adviser or their affiliates unless permissible
under the 1940 Act and the rules and promulgations thereunder. Loans of portfolio securities will be fully collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities, and the collateral will be maintained in an amount equal to at least 102% of the current market value of the loaned domestic securities (105% of loaned foreign securities) by marking to market daily. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of the Fund.
The Fund may pay a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral, or other fee, to an unaffiliated or, to the extent consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder, affiliated third party for acting as the Funds securities lending agent.
By lending its securities, the Fund may increase its income by receiving payments from the borrower that reflect the amount of any interest or any dividends payable on the loaned securities as well as by either investing cash collateral received from the borrower in short-term instruments or obtaining a fee from the borrower when U.S. government securities or letters of credit are used as collateral. The Fund does not have the right to vote loaned securities. The Fund will attempt to call all loaned securities back to permit the exercise of voting rights on material matters, if time and jurisdictional restrictions permit. There is no guarantee that all loans can be recalled.
Short Sales. As consistent with the Funds investment objectives, the Fund may engage in short sales that are either uncovered or against the box. A short sale is against the box if at all times during which the short position is open, the Fund owns at least an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable without further consideration for, securities of the same issue as the securities that are sold short. A short sale against the box is a taxable transaction to the Fund with respect to the securities that are sold short.
Uncovered short sales are transactions under which the Fund sells a security it does not own. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of the replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender amounts equal to any dividends or interest that accrue during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
Until the Fund closes its short position or replaces the borrowed security, the Fund will: (a) maintain a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities at such a level that (i) the amount deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short; and (ii) the amount deposited in the segregated account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will not be less than the market value of the security at the time the security was sold short; or (b) otherwise cover the Funds short position.
Structured Securities. The Fund may invest in structured securities to the extent consistent with its investment objective. The value of the principal of and/or interest on structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, commodities, securities, indices or other financial indicators (the Reference) or the relative change in two or more References. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Examples of structured securities include, but are not limited to, notes where the principal repayment at maturity is determined by the value of the relative change in two or more specified securities or securities indices.
The terms of some structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, the Fund could suffer a total loss of its investment. 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 rate or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of the changes in the value of the Reference. Consequently, structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of securities. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities due to their derivative nature.
U.S. Government Securities. The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).
Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.
See Mortgage-Backed Securities above for additional information about the September 7, 2008 federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
· U.S. Treasury Obligations. U.S. Treasury obligations consist of bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury and separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations that are transferable through the federal book-entry system known as Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities (STRIPS) and Treasury Receipts (TRs).
· Receipts. Interests in separately traded interest and principal component parts of U.S. government obligations that are issued by banks or brokerage firms and are created by depositing U.S. government obligations into a special account at a custodian bank. The custodian holds the interest and principal payments for the benefit of the registered owners of the certificates or receipts. The custodian arranges for the issuance of the certificates or receipts evidencing ownership and maintains the register. TRs and STRIPS are interests in accounts sponsored by the U.S. Treasury. Receipts are sold as zero coupon securities.
· U.S. Government Zero Coupon Securities. STRIPS and receipts are sold as zero coupon securities, that is, fixed income securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons. Zero coupon securities are sold at a (usually substantial) discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. The amount of this discount is accreted over the life of the security, and the accretion constitutes the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, the market prices of zero coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that have similar maturity but that pay interest periodically. Zero coupon securities are likely to respond to a greater degree to interest rate changes than are non-zero coupon securities with similar maturity and credit qualities.
· U.S. Government Agencies. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by agencies of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury, while still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality. Guarantees of principal by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government may be a guarantee of payment at the maturity of the obligation so that in the event of a default prior to maturity there might not be a market and thus no means of realizing on the obligation prior to maturity. Guarantees as to the timely payment of principal and interest do not extend to the value or yield of these securities nor to the value of the Funds shares.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Fund has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares
of the Fund are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. Unless otherwise noted, the Funds investment goals and strategies described in the Prospectus may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without the approval of the Funds shareholders.
The Fund may not:
1. Borrow money except that (a) the Fund may borrow from banks or through reverse repurchase agreements in amounts up to 331/2% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed); and (b) the Fund may engage in transactions in mortgage dollar rolls which are accounted for as financings. For purposes of this limitation, investment strategies which either obligate the Fund to purchase securities or require the Fund to segregate assets are not considered to be borrowings. Asset coverage of at least 300% is required for all borrowings, except where the Fund has borrowed money for temporary purposes in amounts not exceeding 5% of its total assets;
2. Issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act, except as permitted by rule, regulation or order of the SEC;
3. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the 1933 Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
5. Purchase or sell commodities, except as permitted by the 1940 Act, as amended, and as interpreted or modified by the regulatory authority having jurisdiction from time to time;
6. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan;
7. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that (a) there is no limitation with respect to (i) instruments issued or guaranteed by the United States, any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any of their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, and (ii) repurchase agreements secured by the instruments described in clause (i); (b) wholly-owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents; and (c) utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas
transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry; or
8. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations, which may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by the Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management; or
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts or other derivative instruments, including foreign exchange forward contracts, shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin; or
3. Pledge, mortgage or hypothecate assets, except as permitted by the 1940 Act.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. Pursuant to orders issued by the SEC to ETFs and procedures approved by the Board, the Fund may invest in ETFs in excess of the limits of the 1940 Act. As a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment companys expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.
Securities held by the Fund generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser, any Sub-Adviser or their affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act. None of the Fund, the Adviser, or any Sub-Adviser has obtained such an exemptive order as of the date of this SAI.
Under the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days (not including Sundays and holidays).
The 1940 Act does not directly restrict an investment companys ability to invest in commodities, but does require that every investment company have a fundamental investment
policy governing such investments. The Fund has adopted fundamental policies that would permit direct investment in commodities.
Any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, short sales and other similar instruments, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets. The Fund may pledge, mortgage or hypothecate assets to secure borrowings permitted by the Funds fundamental limitation on borrowing.
Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.
If a percentage restriction under one of the Funds investment policies or limitations or the use of assets is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities issued by the Fund).
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; and Merrill Corporation, the financial printer. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are
released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions).
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15 - day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or
telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of
|
|
Principal
|
|
Number
|
|
Other
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert Sablowsky
|
|
Director |
|
1991 to present |
|
Since July 2002, Senior Vice President and prior thereto, Executive Vice President, of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (a registered broker-dealer). |
|
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OFFICERS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Salvatore Faia, JD,
|
|
President
|
|
President 2009 to present and Chief Compliance Officer 2004 to present |
|
Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joel Weiss
|
|
Treasurer |
|
2009 to present |
|
Since 1993, Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diane Drake
|
|
Secretary |
|
2014 to present |
|
Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010, Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw
|
|
Assistant Treasurer |
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Senior Director and Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of
|
|
Principal
|
|
Number
|
|
Other
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy
|
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and has served on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr.
Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Giordano, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee of the Board convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee. The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Nusblatt, Reichman, Sablowsky and Straniere. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Nusblatt, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios in the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013:
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
* The Fund commenced operations on October 20, 2014.
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and each Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services. Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President, Treasurer and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Company in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
|
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
None |
|
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officers: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
* The Fund commenced operations on October 20, 2014. Under current compensation arrangements, it is estimated that the Directors will receive the following compensation from the Fund for the fiscal period October 20, 2014 through August 31, 2015: Mr. Brodsky, $837; Mr. Carnall, $875; Mr. Chandler, $970; Mr. Giordano, $956; Mr. Reichman, $1,112; Mr. Straniere, $821; Mr. Nusblatt, $0; and Mr. Sablowsky, $914.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company, the Adviser and the Sub-Advisers have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Funds Sub-Advisers, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, each Sub-Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. Each Sub-Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
Each Sub-Adviser will vote proxies in connection with securities in which the portion of the Funds assets allocated to the Sub-Adviser are invested, respectively, in accordance with its proxy policies and procedures, which policies and procedures or a summary thereof are included in Appendix B-G to this SAI. The proxy policies of each Sub-Adviser differ. If one or more Sub-Advisers each has responsibility for voting a particular proxy, it is possible that the Sub-Advisers will disagree on how to vote the proxy.
The Company is required to disclose annually the Funds complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX. The Funds proxy voting record for the most recent 12 month period ended June 30th is available upon request by calling 1-844-261-6482 or by writing to the Fund at: Altair Smaller Companies Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., PO Box 9841, Providence, Rhode Island 02940. The Funds Form N-PX is also available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014 to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
SEI Private Trust Company C/O State Street Bank ATTN: Mutual Funds Admin. One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456 |
|
11,170,624 |
|
80.04 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Portfolio of the Company except for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund of which they owned 2.04% and Schneider Value Fund of which they owned 2.70%.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Altair Advisers LLC (Altair or the Adviser) is a professional investment management firm registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Adviser was established in June 2002. PHRM Investments LLC holds a controlling interest in the Adviser.
Advisory Agreement with the Company. The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (Advisory Agreement) dated as of October 17, 2014.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Fund including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Fund, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, or sold by the Fund, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales made for the Fund. The Adviser will provide the services rendered by it in accordance with the Funds investment objective, restrictions and policies as stated in the Prospectus and in this SAI. The Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment, mistake of law, or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement. As discussed further below, the Adviser has delegated responsibility for the investment of the assets of the Fund to Sub-Advisers.
The Fund is currently only available to clients of the Adviser and to other investors at the Funds discretion. The Adviser does not receive a separate management fee from the Fund. However, pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to receive reimbursement for out-of-
pocket expenses it incurs in connection with its compliance monitoring of Fund trading, up to 0.01% of the Funds average daily net assets.
The Adviser has contractually agreed to reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation, extraordinary items, interest or taxes) exceeds 1.35% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least October 20, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. If at any time during the first three years the investment advisory agreement is in effect, the Funds Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 1.35%, the Adviser may recoup any waived or reimbursed amounts from the Fund if such reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed expense limitations that were in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement.
Except as otherwise noted in the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. The Fund bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Fund include, but are not limited to the following (or the Funds share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by the Fund and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of the Fund by the Adviser; (c) filing fees and expenses relating to the registration and qualification of the Company and the Funds shares under federal and/or state securities laws and maintaining such registrations and qualifications; (d) fees and salaries payable to the Companys Directors and officers; (e) taxes (including any income or franchise taxes) and governmental fees; (f) costs of any liability and other insurance or fidelity bonds; (g) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Fund for violation of any law; (h) legal, accounting and auditing expenses, including legal fees of special counsel for the independent Directors; (i) charges of custodians and other agents; (j) expenses of setting in type and printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto for existing shareholders, reports, statements, and confirmations to shareholders and proxy material that are not attributable to a class; (k) costs of mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto to existing shareholders, as well as reports to shareholders and proxy materials that are not attributable to a class; (1) any extraordinary expenses; (m) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (n) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; (o) costs of independent pricing services to value a portfolios securities; and (p) the costs of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Funds investment advisory
agreement will be available in the Funds first annual or semi-annual report to shareholders and may be obtained by calling 1-844-261-6482 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall at all times have all rights in and to the Funds name and all investment models used by or on behalf of the Fund. The Adviser may use the Funds name or any portion thereof in connection with any other mutual fund or business activity without the consent of any shareholder, and the Company has agreed to execute and deliver any and all documents required to indicate its consent to such use.
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISERS
Each Sub-Adviser shall, subject to the supervision and oversight of the Adviser, manage the investment and reinvestment of such portion of the assets of the Fund, as the Adviser may from time to time allocate to such Sub-Adviser for management. For their services, each Sub-Adviser is entitled to receive a fee based upon a percentage of the Funds average daily net assets, which will be paid by the Fund and not by the Adviser.
The Fund and the Adviser have submitted an application with the SEC for an exemptive order with respect to the Fund that would permit the Adviser, without shareholder approval and subject to certain conditions, to terminate existing Sub-Advisers or hire new Sub-Advisers for the Fund, to materially amend the terms of particular agreements with Sub-Advisers or to continue the employment of existing Sub-Advisers after events that would otherwise cause an automatic termination of a sub-advisory agreement. This arrangement has been approved by the Board of Directors and the Funds initial shareholder. Consequently, if approved by the SEC, under the exemptive order, the Adviser would have the right to hire, terminate and replace Sub-Advisers when the Board of Directors and the Adviser feel that a change would benefit the Fund. The exemptive order will enable the Fund to operate with greater efficiency and without incurring the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approval of sub-advisory agreements.
The Adviser does not determine what investments will be purchased or sold for the Fund with respect to the portions of the Fund managed by the Sub-Advisers. Because each Sub-Adviser manages its portion of the Fund independently from the others, the same security may be held in two or more different portions of the Fund or may be acquired for one portion at a time when a Sub-Adviser of another portion deems it appropriate to dispose of the security from that other portion. Similarly, under some market conditions, one or more of the Sub-Advisers may believe that temporary, defensive investments in short-term instruments or cash are appropriate when another Sub-Adviser or Sub-Advisers believe continued exposure to the broader securities market is appropriate. Because each Sub-Adviser directs the trading for its portion of the Fund and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other Sub-Advisers, the Fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single adviser or Sub-Adviser were managing the Fund.
The current Sub-Advisers to the Fund are set forth below.
Sub-Advisers
Aperio Group, LLC (Aperio)
Sausalito, CA 94965 |
|
Paul Solli, Patrick Geddes, Robert Newman, and Guy Arthur Lampard are managing members of Aperio. |
|
|
|
Driehaus Capital Management LLC (Driehaus)
Chicago, IL 60611 |
|
Driehaus is majority-owned by Driehaus Capital Holdings LLC (DCH), an affiliated company. DCH is owned by entities related to Driehaus founder, Richard Driehaus, and certain key employees. |
|
|
|
Granite Investment Partners, LLC (Granite)
2121 Rosecrans Ave, Suite 2360 El Segundo, California 90245 |
|
Granite has no individuals or entities that are 25% or greater owners. |
|
|
|
Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC (Pacific Ridge)
Lake Oswego, OR 97035 |
|
Pacific Ridge Holdings, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, controls 25% or more of the voting interest in Pacific Ridge. |
|
|
|
Pier Capital LLC (Pier Capital)
Stamford, CT 06901 |
|
Pier Capital is controlled by its founder, Jan Eric Parsons. |
|
|
|
River Road Asset Management, LLC (River Road)
Louisville, KY 40202 |
|
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, RRAM Acquisition, LLC, holds 25% or more of the voting interest in River Road. Additionally, collectively certain employees of River Road hold 25% or more of the voting interest in River Road, but no one employee holds 25% or more of the voting interest individually. |
Sub-Advisory Agreements with the Adviser. Each of the Sub-Advisory Agreements provides that the Sub-Adviser will manage the investment and reinvestment of such portion of the assets of the Fund as the Adviser may from time to time allocate to the Sub-Adviser in accordance with the Funds objective, policies and restrictions and any investment guidelines established by the Adviser. Each Sub-Adviser will, subject to the supervision and control of the Adviser, determine in its discretion which issuers and securities will be purchased, held, sold or exchanged by the Fund, and will place orders with and give instruction to brokers and dealers to cause the execution of such transactions. The Sub-Advisers are required to furnish at their own expense all investment facilities necessary to perform its obligations under the Sub-Advisory Agreements.
Generally, each Sub-Advisory Agreement may be terminated without penalty by vote of the Companys Board of Directors or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, upon 60 days written notice, or by the Adviser immediately upon notice to the Sub-Adviser, and each such agreement terminates automatically in the event of an assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). Each Sub-Advisory Agreement also may be terminated by a Sub-
Adviser upon 30 days written notice and automatically terminates upon termination of the Advisory Agreement.
THE PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
This section includes information about the Funds portfolio managers, including information about other accounts they manage, the dollar range of Fund shares they own and how they are compensated.
Altair
Other Accounts . In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of October 14, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Steven B. Weinstein |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
258 |
|
$ |
4,052,999,995 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
2. Jason M. Laurie |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
258 |
|
$ |
4,052,999,995 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
3. Bryan R. Malis |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
258 |
|
$ |
4,052,999,995 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
4. Michael J. Murray |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
258 |
|
$ |
4,052,999,995 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
5. Daniel L. Tzonev |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
258 |
|
$ |
4,052,999,995 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
6. Aaron D. Dirlam |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
258 |
|
$ |
4,052,999,995 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Compensation. The Adviser compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. Each of the portfolio managers compensation consists of a cash base salary and a bonus paid in cash that is based on overall profitability of the Adviser, and therefore in part based on the value of the Funds net assets and other client accounts they are managing.
Conflicts of Interests. The Adviser provides investment management services to multiple clients with investment objectives and strategies that are similar as well as different than those of the Fund. The Advisers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with its management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The portfolio managers management of the Fund and other accounts may result in a portfolio manager devoting a disproportionate amount of time and attention to the management of the Fund or another account. Generally, the Adviser seeks to manage such competing interests for the time and attention of the portfolio managers. Although the Adviser does not track the time a portfolio manager spends on the Fund or other accounts, the Adviser does periodically assess whether a portfolio manager has adequate time and resources to effectively manage all of such portfolio managers accounts.
Aperio
Other Accounts . In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Patrick Geddes |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
1705 |
|
$ |
8,986M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
2. Ran Leshem |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
1705 |
|
$ |
8,986M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
3. Robert Tymoczko |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
1705 |
|
$ |
8,986M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Aperio were approximately $8,986 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation . Aperio compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. Aperio provides a competitive salary plus bonus system of compensation for all employees. Bonus awards are highly dependent on firm profitability and individual contribution. In addition, Aperio provides additional long term compensation for key staff members. As an index shop, Aperio does not link compensation to portfolio performance.
Conflicts of Interests. Aperio recognizes that conflicts of interest are an inherent part of the investment advisory business and has implemented policies and procedures in order to manage such conflicts and ensure that all clients of the firm are treated in a fair and equitable fashion. Among other things, Aperio has adopted a Code of Ethics which governs employees personal investing activity and is designed to help employees comply with legal restrictions on personal investments while honoring their duties to Aperios clients.
Driehaus
Other Accounts . In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Jeffrey James |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
105.8 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
4 |
|
$ |
49.3 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
39 |
|
$ |
676.5 |
|
2 |
|
$ |
126.1 |
|
2. Michael Buck |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
104.0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
4 |
|
$ |
49.3 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
39 |
|
$ |
676.5 |
|
2 |
|
$ |
126.1 |
|
* Total assets under management for Driehaus were approximately $11,833 million as of August 31, 2014.
**Total assets under management numbers are estimated and unreconciled.
Compensation . Driehaus compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. The portfolio managers are paid a fixed salary plus a bonus. They each receive bonuses which are based on a percentage of management fees paid by the registered investment companies and other accounts managed, as applicable. In addition, if performance exceeds certain percentile benchmarks when compared to its peer group (using Lipper rankings) and/or certain risk adjusted return formulas, they each earn a specified additional percentage of the management fees paid by the registered investment companies and other accounts managed. They also each receive a bonus based on a percentage of any performance-based fees paid by the registered investment companies and other accounts managed, if applicable. The assistant
portfolio manager also receives a bonus based on a percentage of his salary, which has both subjective and objective components.
If Driehaus declares a profit sharing plan contribution, the portfolio managers also would receive such contribution. The portfolio managers are eligible to participate in an equity purchase plan available to certain key employees of Driehaus. The portfolio manager is also eligible to participate in a deferred compensation plan.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio managers may manage the assets of more than one registered investment company (for this section only, each a Fund), other pooled investment vehicles and/or other accounts (collectively, the Accounts) for Driehaus. Both clients and affiliated persons of Driehaus, including the portfolio managers, may own interests in these Accounts. The same or related securities may be appropriate and desirable investments for both a Fund and the Accounts (including another fund) and they may compete in the marketplace for the same investment opportunities, which may be limited. In addition, transactions by the Accounts in securities held by a Fund or that a Fund is seeking to buy or sell (or transactions in related securities) may have an adverse impact on the prices that a Fund pays for those securities or can realize upon sale, or on the ability of Driehaus to buy or sell the desired amount of such securities for a Fund at favorable prices. This is particularly true when the Accounts transactions occur at a point in time close to when trades in the same or related securities are effected for a Fund. This presents a conflict between the interests of the Fund and the interests of the Accounts as well as the affiliates of Driehaus who invest in the Accounts.
Conflicts also may arise between the interests of a Fund and the interests of Driehaus and its affiliates, including the portfolio managers. These conflicts can occur as one or more of the Accounts pay advisory fees to Driehaus, including performance-based compensation, at a higher rate than the rate of fees paid by the Fund. In addition, Driehauss affiliates, including the Funds portfolio managers, may personally own interests in the Accounts or have other financial incentives (including that a portfolio managers compensation is based, in part, on assets under management). For example, portfolio managers could favor an Account over a Fund when dividing their time and attention between them or when presented with limited investment opportunities that would be desirable and suitable for both a Fund and the Accounts or when making trading decisions.
Driehaus, through trade allocation and other policies and procedures, seeks to manage these conflicts of interest to reduce any adverse effects on either a Fund or the Accounts. These policies and procedures include requirements that transactions by a Fund and the Accounts in the same securities that occur on the same day are average priced when feasible and allocated on a fair and equitable basis. In addition, Driehaus conducts periodic reviews of transactions in and holdings of the same or related securities by a Fund and the Accounts for compliance with the Driehauss policies and procedures.
Granite
Other Accounts . In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Jeffrey J. Hoo |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
44.2M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
242 |
|
$ |
136.5M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
2. Joshua D. Shaskan |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
35.4M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
21 |
|
$ |
41.1M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
3. Peter O. Lopez |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
6 |
|
$ |
1.0M |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Granite were approximately $893 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. Granite compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. The portfolio managers compensation includes base compensation, revenue-based and performance-based compensation for each team (Small Cap and Large Cap) and, if principals, a profits interest in Granite. The overall compensation structure is reviewed annually. Portfolio managers, and other key investment personnel, have membership interests in Granite and are evaluated on an annual basis to determine additional allocations of membership interest. Such interests entitle the members to distribution of profits as well as certain liquidity features. The interests effectively vest over a determined time period so as to provide a retention incentive. This ownership feature is intended to create both stability and an entrepreneurial atmosphere at Granite.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with their management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby a portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of
the Fund. However, the Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated, and they will generally be allocated pro rata in proportion to the size of the orders or redemptions placed.
Pacific Ridge
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Mark D. Cooper |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
11 |
|
$ |
142 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
6 |
|
$ |
65 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
2. Dominic R. Marshall |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
11 |
|
$ |
142 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
6 |
|
$ |
65 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Pacific Ridge were approximately $207 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation . Pacific Ridge compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. Each of the portfolio managers compensation consists of a cash base salary and a discretionary performance bonus paid in cash that is based on overall profitability of the Adviser and performance of the Fund, and therefore in part based on the value of the Funds net assets and other client accounts they are managing.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with their management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby a portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated,
and they will generally be allocated pro rata in proportion to the size of the orders or redemptions placed.
Pier Capital
Other Accounts . In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Jan Parsons |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
***2 |
|
$ |
***239,622,610.53 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
23,374,968.48 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
61,183,161.26 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
31 |
|
$ |
370,316,283.81 |
|
**11 |
|
$ |
**96,467,431.80 |
|
2. Alexander Yakirevich |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
***2 |
|
$ |
***239,622,610.53 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
23,374,968.48 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
61,183,161.26 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
27 |
|
$ |
367,776,181.67 |
|
**11 |
|
$ |
**96,467,431.80 |
|
* Total assets under management for Pier Capital were approximately $671.12 million as of August 31, 2014.
**Other accounts for performance fee calculations include individual participants in Piers Small Cap Growth Commingled fund offering.
***Includes a non-US Registered Investment Company
Compensation. Pier Capital compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. Jan Parsons and Alexander Yakirevich receive a fixed salary based on tenure and experience from Pier Capital. In addition, as partners, both Mr. Parsons and Mr. Yakirevich receive a contracted percentage of equity distribution from Pier Capital.
Conflicts of Interests. Jan Parsons and Alexander Yakirevich must adhere to policies and procedures adopted by Pier Capital designed to address any potential material conflicts of interest. For instance, all portfolio managers are responsible for all accounts within a certain investment discipline, and do not, absent special circumstances, differentiate from such investment discipline when allocating resources. Additionally, the Sub-Adviser and its advisory affiliates utilize a system for allocating investment opportunities among portfolio that is designed to provide a fair and equitable allocation. Equity Trader trades all accounts through a block trade and the average share price is prorated across all accounts.
River Road
Other Accounts . In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. James C. Shircliff |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
6 |
|
$ |
1,993 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
25 |
|
$ |
2,434 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
144 |
|
$ |
2,961 |
|
2 |
|
$ |
469 |
|
2. Andrew Beck |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
3 |
|
$ |
602 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
3 |
|
$ |
345 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
43 |
|
$ |
951 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
62 |
|
3. J. Justin Akin |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
3 |
|
$ |
602 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
3 |
|
$ |
345 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
39 |
|
$ |
945 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
62 |
|
* Total assets under management for River Road were approximately $8,472 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. River Road compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. Compensation for portfolio managers includes an annual fixed base salary and a potential performance-based bonus. In addition, all portfolio managers are shareholders in the firm and have signed long-term employment agreements.
Conflicts of Interests. Portfolio managers at River Road may manage one or more mutual funds as well as other types of accounts, including separate accounts for institutions and individuals, and other pooled investment vehicles. Portfolio managers make investment decisions for an account or portfolio based on its investment objectives and policies, and other relevant investment considerations. A portfolio manager may manage a separate account or other pooled investment vehicle whose fees may be materially greater than the management fees paid by the fund and may include a performance-based fee. Management of multiple funds and accounts may create potential conflicts of interest relating to the allocation of investment opportunities, and the aggregation and allocation of trades. In addition, River Road monitors a variety of areas (e.g., allocation of investment opportunities) and compliance with the firms Code of Ethics. River Road has a fiduciary responsibility to all of the clients for which it manages accounts. River Road seeks to provide best execution of all securities transactions and to aggregate securities transactions and then allocate securities to client accounts in a fair and timely manner.
River Road has developed policies and procedures, including brokerage and trade allocation policies and procedures, designed to mitigate and manage the potential conflicts of interest that may arise from the management of multiple types of accounts for multiple clients.
Fund Shares Owned by Portfolio Managers .
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the following portfolio managers in the Fund as of December 12, 2014.
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares
|
|
Steven Weinstein |
|
$50,001 $100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Murray |
|
$10,001 $50,000 |
|
ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. (BNY Mellon), 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as administrator to the Fund pursuant to administration and accounting services agreements with respect to the Fund (the Administration Agreements). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Fund statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Fund. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies and prepare materials required by the SEC or any state securities commission having jurisdiction over the Fund. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard. For its services to the Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of :
· .060% of the Funds first $250 million of average daily net assets;
· .050% of the Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets;
· .040% of the Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets; and
· .030% of the Funds average daily net assets in excess of $750 million.
The minimum monthly fee is $5,833 per month, exclusive of Rule 38a-1 base compliance support services fees, costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Funds registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
The Bank of New York (the Custodian), One Wall Street, New York, New York 10286, is custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a custodian agreement dated July 19, 2011. Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund; (b) holds and transfers portfolio investments on account of the Fund; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio investments; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that the Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Fund harmless from the acts and omissions of any affiliate, sub-custodian or domestic sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Funds average gross assets calculated daily and payable monthly, exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT
BNY Mellon also serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of the shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any affiliate . For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum monthly fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis, and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Funds Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund(s) pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Fund, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Funds through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers are responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers seek to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser and Sub-Advisers generally seek reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
Brokerage Transactions
Generally, equity securities, both listed and over-the-counter, are bought and sold through brokerage transactions for which commissions are payable. Purchases from underwriters will include the underwriting commission or concession, and purchases from dealers serving as market makers will include a dealers mark-up or reflect a dealers mark-down. Money market securities and other debt securities are usually bought and sold directly from the issuer or an underwriter or market maker for the securities. Generally, the Fund will not pay brokerage commissions for such purchases. When a debt security is bought from an underwriter, the purchase price will usually include an underwriting commission or concession. The purchase price for securities bought from dealers serving as market makers will similarly include the dealers mark up or reflect a dealers mark down. When the Fund executes transactions in the over-the-counter market, it will generally deal with primary market makers unless prices that are more favorable are otherwise obtainable.
In addition, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers may place a combined order for two or more accounts they manage, including the Fund, engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security if, in its judgment, joint execution is in the best interest of each participant and will result in best price and execution. Transactions involving commingled orders are allocated in a manner deemed
equitable to each account or fund. Although it is recognized that, in some cases, the joint execution of orders could adversely affect the price or volume of the security that a particular account or the Fund may obtain, it is the opinion of the Adviser, the Sub-Advisers and the Companys Board of Directors that the advantages of combined orders outweigh the possible disadvantages of separate transactions. Nonetheless, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers believe that the ability of the Fund to participate in higher volume transactions will generally be beneficial to the Fund.
The Fund is required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Fund as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. There were no securities held by the Fund of its regular broker-dealers as of the end of the most recent fiscal year as the Fund had not commenced operations.
Brokerage Selection
The Company does not expect to use one particular broker or dealer, and when one or more brokers is believed capable of providing the best combination of price and execution, the Funds Adviser and Sub-Advisers may select a broker based upon brokerage or research services provided to the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. The Adviser and Sub-Advisers may pay a higher commission than otherwise obtainable from other brokers in return for such services only if a good faith determination is made that the commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.
Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits an investment adviser or sub-adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause a fund to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. In addition to agency transactions, certain Sub-Advisers may receive brokerage and research services in connection with certain riskless principal transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC guidance. Brokerage and research services include: (1) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (2) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and (3) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance, settlement, and custody). In the case of research services, the applicable Sub-Advisers believe that access to independent investment research is beneficial to their investment decision-making processes and, therefore, to the Fund.
To the extent research services may be a factor in selecting brokers, such services may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information as to particular companies and securities as well as market, economic, or institutional areas and information which assists in the valuation and pricing of investments. Examples of research-oriented services for which the applicable Sub-Advisers might utilize Fund commissions include research reports and other information on the economy, industries, sectors, groups of securities, individual companies, statistical information, political developments, technical market action, pricing and appraisal services, credit analysis, risk measurement analysis, performance and other
analysis. The Sub-Advisers may use research services furnished by brokers in servicing all client accounts and not all services may necessarily be used in connection with the account that paid commissions to the broker providing such services. Information so received by the Sub-Advisers will be in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by the Sub-Adviser under its Sub-Advisory Agreement. Any advisory or other fees paid to the Sub-Advisers are not reduced as a result of the receipt of research services.
In some cases a Sub-Adviser may receive a service from a broker that has both a research and a non-research use. When this occurs, the applicable Sub-Adviser makes a good faith allocation, under all the circumstances, between the research and non-research uses of the service. The percentage of the service that is used for research purposes may be paid for with client commissions, while the applicable Sub-Adviser will use its own funds to pay for the percentage of the service that is used for non-research purposes. In making this good faith allocation, the Sub-Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest, but each applicable Sub-Adviser believes that its allocation procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that it appropriately allocates the anticipated use of such services to their research and non-research uses.
From time to time, the Fund may purchase new issues of securities for clients in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the seller may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide the Adviser and Sub-Advisers with research services. FINRA has adopted rules expressly permitting these types of arrangements under certain circumstances. Generally, the seller will provide research credits in these situations at a rate that is higher than that which is available for typical secondary market transactions. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e).
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or the Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Purchase Information
If shares of the Fund are held in a street name account with an authorized dealer, all recordkeeping, transaction processing and payments of distributions relating to the beneficial owners account will be performed by the authorized dealer, and not by the Fund and its Transfer Agent. Since the Fund will have no record of the beneficial owners transactions, a beneficial owner should contact the authorized dealer to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, to make changes in or give instructions concerning the account or to obtain information about the account. The transfer of shares in a street name account to an account with another dealer or to an account directly with the Fund involves special procedures and will require the beneficial owner to obtain historical purchase information about the shares in the account from the authorized dealer.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers, financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone
transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to approval by the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the investments being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Code and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Funds business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Funds taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the
securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
State and Local Taxes
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which the Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of each class of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by class on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate
action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall
due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered
in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
SUMMARY OF PROXY VOTING POLICY OF APERIO GROUP, LLC
Aperio Groups policy is to vote proxies for clients, unless directed otherwise by the client in writing. Aperio Group votes proxies consistent with what the Firm determines is in best interest of Aperio Groups clients. Aperio Group will generally cast proxy votes in favor of proposals that increase shareholder value and will generally be cast against proposals having the opposite effect.
In cases where a client requests us to vote in a specific way on a particular company issue, Aperio Group will vote that clients proxies in accordance with their specific instructions.
Aperio Group offers specific strategies related to Socially Responsive Investing (SRI). Proxies for those clients are voted using specific SRI proxy voting criteria provided by a third party service provider and may differ from votes cast for other clients portfolios managed by Aperio.
Aperio Group may choose not to vote proxies in certain situations or for certain accounts, such as: 1) where a client has informed Aperio Group that it wishes to retain the right to vote the proxy, Aperio Group will instruct the custodian to send the proxy material directly to the client, 2) where Aperio Group deems the cost of voting would exceed any anticipated benefit to the client, 3) where a proxy is received for a client account that has been terminated with Aperio Group, or 4) where a proxy is received for a security Aperio Group no longer manages (i.e. the Adviser had previously sold the entire position).
A client may request a complete copy of our current Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures and voting guidelines and/or information on how we have voted proxies for their account(s) by contacting Aperio Group by phone at 415-339-4300 or e-mail at operations@aperiogroup.com.
APPENDIX C
SUMMARY OF PROXY VOTING POLICY OF
DRIEHAUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
For those clients for whom Driehaus Capital Management LLC (DCM) has undertaken to vote proxies, DCM retains the final authority and responsibility for such voting. On behalf of our valued clients, DCM (i) provides the client with this written summary of its proxy voting policy and the complete proxy voting policy upon request; (ii) discloses to the client how to obtain voting information; (iii) applies the proxy voting policy consistently; (iv) documents the reasons for voting; (v) maintains records of voting activities for clients and regulating authorities; and (vi) votes securities based on a pre-determined voting policy, based on the recommendations of an independent third-party to avoid conflicts of interest with DCM.
In order to facilitate this proxy voting process, DCM has retained ISS Governance Services, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of MSCI Inc. (ISS) to provide in-depth proxy research, vote recommendations and execution, and the record keeping necessary for the appropriate management of a client account. ISS is an investment adviser that specializes in providing a variety of fiduciary-level services related to proxy voting. DCM has ascertained that ISS has the capacity and competency to analyze proxy issues, make vote recommendations in an impartial manner and in the best interests of DCMs clients. The default choice used by DCM for ISS recommendations is the ISS U.S. Policy for its domestic client accounts and the applicable international policy for its international client accounts. Clients may choose another policy, such as the ISS Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Policy, as appropriate. In addition to analyses, ISS delivers to DCM voting reports that reflect voting activities for DCMs clients, enabling the clients to monitor voting activities performed by DCM.
DCMs proxy voting policy sets forth the general voting guidelines that ISS follows on various types of issues when there are no company-specific reasons for voting to the contrary. In making the proxy voting decision, there are two overriding considerations: first, the economic impact of the proposal; and second, the best interest impact of a proposal if it were to pass or not pass, as the case may be. ISS performs company-by-company analysis, which means that all votes are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and no issues are considered routine. Each issue is considered in the context of the company under review. DCM generally follows ISSs recommendations and does not use its discretion in the proxy voting decision. For this reason, client proxies are voted in the clients best interests, in accordance with a predetermined policy based upon recommendations of an independent third party, and are not affected by any potential or actual conflict of interest of DCM. In addition, DCM annually, and more frequently if necessary, reviews ISSs policies and procedures regarding any potential conflicts of interest when making vote recommendations to determine if ISS is acting impartially.
Clients who are interested in obtaining information from DCM on how their securities were voted may contact the Relationship Management Department at 1-800-688-8819. In addition, the Relationship Management Department mails to each client an annual record of all proxies voted on behalf of that client. Clients may also contact the Relationship Management Department if they wish to receive a copy of DCMs complete proxy voting policy.
APPENDIX D
SUMMARY OF PROXY VOTING POLICY OF
GRANITE INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC
Granite votes proxies on behalf of its Clients when authorized to do so. In general, Clients delegate the responsibility of voting proxies to Granite. However, a Client may reserve the authority to vote proxies for itself. When granted proxy voting authority, Granite will vote such securities for the exclusive benefit and in the best economic interest of those Clients and their beneficiaries as determined by Granite in good faith, subject to any restrictions or directions from a Client. Such voting responsibilities are exercised in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, as well as with Granites fiduciary duties under applicable law to act in the best interests of its Clients.
Granite has contracted with Broadridge Financial Solutions and utilizes their Proxy Edge® platform (ProxyEdge). ProxyEdge will provide proxy voting support with regard to casting votes and keeping voting records. ProxyEdge will vote proxies it receives from the Custodian(s) on behalf of Granite. However, proxies not received in a timely manner may not be voted. Under the terms of its arrangement with ProxyEdge, Granite will generally follow the Glass Lewis recommendations. However, certain clients may use the socially responsible guidelines which may cause those clients to vote differently than other clients.
Granite can instruct ProxyEdge to vote either for or against a particular type of proposal or Granite can instruct ProxyEdge to seek instruction with respect to that particular type of proposal from Granite on a case-by-case basis. ProxyEdge receives proxy statements where Granite is authorized to vote and sorts the proposals according to Granites voting instructions. Proposals for which a voting decision has been pre-determined are automatically voted by ProxyEdge pursuant to voting instructions. Case-by-case decisions are generally made by the PMs. All voting records where Granite retains proxy voting authority are maintained by ProxyEdge, except that Granite will maintain copies of any document created by Granite that was material in making a determination of how to vote a case-by-case proxy or that memorializes the basis for that decision.
While how best to vote a proxy to maximize shareholder value may not be clear or be able to be decided with certainty, the policies are intended to provide guidance so that it acts in a manner it deems to be prudent and diligent and which is intended to enhance the economic value of the Clients assets. A copy of Granites proxy voting guidelines is available upon request.
APPENDIX E
PROXY VOTING POLICY OF
PACIFIC RIDGE CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC
Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC, as a matter of policy and as a fiduciary to our clients, has responsibility for voting proxies for portfolio securities consistent with the best economic interests of the clients. Our firm maintains written policies and procedures as to the handling, research, voting and reporting of proxy voting and makes appropriate disclosures about our firms proxy policies and practices. Our policy and practice includes the responsibility to monitor corporate actions, receive and vote client proxies and disclose any potential conflicts of interest as well as making information available to clients about the voting of proxies for their portfolio securities and maintaining relevant and required records.
Background
Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised.
Investment advisers registered with the SEC, and which exercise voting authority with respect to client securities, are required by Rule 206(4)-6 of the Advisers Act to (a) adopt and implement written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that client securities are voted in the best interests of clients, which must include how an adviser addresses material conflicts that may arise between an advisers interests and those of its clients; (b) disclose to clients how they may obtain information from the adviser with respect to the voting of proxies for their securities; (c) describe to clients a summary of its proxy voting policies and procedures and, upon request, furnish a copy to its clients; and (d) maintain certain records relating to the advisers proxy voting activities when the adviser has proxy voting authority.
Responsibility
The Chief Compliance Officer has the responsibility for the implementation and monitoring of our proxy voting policy, practices, disclosures and record keeping, including outlining our voting guidelines in our procedures.
Procedure
Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC has adopted procedures to implement the firms policy and reviews to monitor and ensure the firms policy is observed, implemented properly and amended or updated, as appropriate, which include the following:
Voting Procedures
· All employees will forward any proxy materials received on behalf of clients to the proxy voting department;
· Absent material conflicts, the Portfolio Manager in charge of the stock will vote the proxy with applicable voting guidelines, sign and return the in a timely and appropriate manner to the proxy voting team who will then place the votes via electronic means.
Disclosure
Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will provide conspicuously displayed information in its Disclosure Document summarizing this proxy voting policy and procedures, including a statement that clients may request information regarding how Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC voted a clients proxies, and that clients may request a copy of the firms proxy policies and procedures.
The Chief Compliance Officer will also send a copy of this summary to all existing clients who have previously received Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLCs Disclosure Document; or the Chief Compliance Officer may send each client the amended Disclosure Document.
Client Requests for Information
· All client requests for information regarding proxy votes, or policies and procedures, received by any employee should be forwarded to the Chief Compliance Officer.
· In response to any request, the Chief Compliance Officer will prepare a written response to the client with the information requested, and as applicable will include the name of the issuer, the proposal voted upon, and how Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC voted the clients proxy with respect to each proposal about which client inquired.
Voting Guidelines
· In the absence of specific voting guidelines from the client, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will vote proxies in the best interests of shareholders. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLCs policy is to vote all proxies from a specific issuer the same way for each client absent qualifying restrictions from a client. Clients are permitted to place reasonable restrictions on Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLCs voting authority in the same manner that they may place such restrictions on the actual selection of account securities.
· Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will generally vote in favor of routine corporate housekeeping proposals such as the election of directors and selection of auditors absent conflicts of interest raised by an auditors non-audit services.
· Generally vote against proposals that cause board members to become entrenched or cause unequal voting rights.
· In reviewing proposals, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will further consider the opinion of management and the effect on management, and the effect on shareholder value and the issuers business practices.
· Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will abstain from any advisory proxy items regarding executive compensation or the frequency of the vote on executive compensation.
· Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC does not vote proxies relating to any cash vehicles (i.e. Sweep funds, cash accounts and daily cash mutual funds) held by and chosen by clients.
· Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will vote against any proxy items allowing board members to vote in their discretion on unspecified business that may properly come before the shareholders meeting.
Conflicts of Interest
· Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will identify any conflicts that exist between the interests of the adviser and the client by reviewing the relationship of Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC with the issuer of each security to determine if Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC or any of its employees has any financial, business or personal relationship with the issuer.
· If a material conflict of interest exists, the Chief Compliance Officer will determine whether it is appropriate to disclose the conflict to the affected clients, to give the clients an opportunity to vote the proxies themselves, or to address the voting issue through other objective means such as voting in a manner consistent with a predetermined voting policy or receiving an independent third party voting recommendation.
· Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC will maintain a record of the voting resolution of any conflict of interest.
Recordkeeping
The Chief Compliance Officer shall retain the following proxy records in accordance with the SECs five-year retention requirement.
· These policies and procedures and any amendments;
· Each proxy statement that Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC receives;
· A record of each vote that Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC casts;
· Any document Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC created that was material to making a decision how to vote proxies, or that memorializes that decision including periodic reports to the Chief Compliance Officer or proxy committee, if applicable.
· A copy of each written request from a client for information on how Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC voted such clients proxies, and a copy of any written response.
In the event PRCP retains the research, voting and/or recordkeeping services of an outside proxy firm, PRCP will tailor its proxy policy and procedures to be consistent with the services received and the firms actual proxy handling and voting processes.
APPENDIX F
PROXY VOTING POLICY OF
PIER CAPITAL, LLC
Introduction
This statement sets forth the Firms policy with respect to the exercise of voting authority in connection with proxy proposals, amendments, consents, corporate actions, class action participation (Proxy Discretion) with respect to securities held by the Firms Clients.
Policy Statement
The Advisers Act requires the Firm to, at all times, act in the best financial interest of the Clients. To this end, the Firm has adopted and implemented these Proxy Policies and Procedures which are designed to result in voting proxies for the benefit of Clients in order to enhance the value of the securities in Client portfolios. The financial interest of the Clients is the primary consideration when exercising Proxy Discretion taking into account the surrounding facts and circumstances as more fully set forth herein.
Basic Standards
Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised. The Firm considers it to be our fiduciary duty to preserve and protect the assets of the Clients, including exercising Proxy Discretion, for their benefit. Accordingly, it is Firm policy to exercise Proxy Discretion in a prudent and diligent manner and to base decisions on our reasonable judgment of what will serve the best financial interest of the Clients, after taking into account relevant factors, including, among others,:
· Impact on the value of the securities
· Anticipated costs and benefits associated with the proposal
· Effect on liquidity
· Customary industry and business practices
In those cases where a Client is deemed to be plan assets, the beneficial owners of the security are deemed to be the participants in the employee benefit plans for which we act as investment manager. In those cases where securities are on loan, the Firm as the lender cannot and does not exercise Proxy Discretion for such securities.
There is no per se rule regarding what is a correct decision when exercising Proxy Discretion. Accordingly, as in other areas relating to prudent investing, our decision is based on our good faith analysis and judgment in the context of the surrounding facts and circumstances in question. In determining our vote, however, we will not and do not subordinate the financial interests of our Clients to any other entity or interested party.
Conflicts of Interest
At times, conflicts may arise between the interest of the Clients on the one hand, and the interests of the Firm on the other hand. Examples of conflicts of interest include:
· The Firm manages a pension plan or assets for a company that is also soliciting proxies.
· The Firm has a material business relationship with a proponent of a proxy proposal.
· The Firm or any of its principals or employees have a personal relationship with participants in a proxy contest.
If the Firm has determined that it has or may be perceived to have a conflict of interest when voting a proxy, the Firm will address matters involving such a conflict of interest as follows:
1. If the proposal is addressed by the specific policies herein, the Firm will vote in accordance with such policies.
2. If the Firm believes it is in the best economic interests of the Clients to depart from such policies, the Firm may depart from such policies, provided that, (a) it has documented its rationalization for such vote, and (b) consulting with the Compliance Officer who will advise as to a reasonable resolution of the conflict.
We will use commercially reasonable efforts to determine whether a potential conflict exists based on current known facts and circumstances. Any consideration received in connection with the exercise of Proxy Discretion belongs to the relevant Client and will not be retained by Firm, its employees, or affiliates.
Proxy Discretion Procedures
The Compliance Officer/Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for the administration of Proxy Discretion and the actual voting of the proxies in an accurate and timely manner. The PM or his designee is responsible for making all proxy voting decisions in accordance with these policies and procedures. In this capacity, the Compliance Officer/Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for and performs the following functions:
· Receive proxy materials or notices from prime brokers
· Determine the number of shares held by Clients as of the record date
· Exercise Proxy Discretion consistent with this policy on routine matters or consult with the PM or his designee for decision on non-routine matters
· Record the Proxy Discretion decision
· When relevant, record the rationale provided by the PM or his designee and
· When requested, provide Clients with a report of Proxy Discretion exercised with respect to their positions
In order to facilitate the proxy voting process, Pier has engaged ADP, an independent proxy voting service (the Proxy Service) to vote proxies for the Funds on Piers behalf. The Proxy Service allows Pier to vote according to our guidelines as set forth and review reports indicating how individual votes have been cast. The Proxy Service does not automatically cast votes for Pier. Pier must enter its vote into the Proxy Service system. The Proxy Service then casts the vote on Piers behalf.
Standing Instructions
To facilitate the timely and complete administration of proxies, the Firm has developed the following standing instructions for the exercise of Proxy Discretion which it believes is in the best economic interest of the Clients.
Unless otherwise advised by the portfolio manager, all proxies will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of management unless in the portfolio managers opinion such recommendation is not in the best financial interest of the Clients. This standing instruction is consistent with Firms investment process which generally evaluates the quality and commitment of management.
We may abstain from voting if we conclude that the effect on a Clients economic interests or the value of the portfolio holding is insignificant or indeterminable. In making such a decision, the Firm may consider various factors including, (i) costs associated with exercising Proxy Discretion (e.g., translation or travel expenses) and (ii) potential legal restrictions on trading resulting from the exercise of Proxy Discretion. The firm will not abstain or decide not to vote a proxy if the Client constitutes a Plan.
In the case of social or political responsibility, we believe social and political issues do not enhance shareholder value and generally abstain or vote against such proposals.
Disclosure
The Firm will disclose in Part II of its Form ADV that a copy of this proxy policy is available and will provide details and contact information in order to direct such requests to the appropriate source. Further, the ADV disclosure will also contain a summary of these policies and procedures and will be updated as necessary to reflect changes.
Delegation
We maintain the records required to be maintained by the Firm with respect to proxies in accordance with the Advisers Act, generally for a period of five years in an easily accessible place, the first two years in a Firm office. For proxies, we will maintain or have available to us,
· Written or electronic copies of each proxy statement,
· Record of each proxy voting decision,
· Documents, if any, regarding decisions that were material in making the voting decision, and
· A copy of each written request from a Client or investor/limited partner for proxy voting information and our written response.
We may but need not retain proxy statements that we received regarding Client securities to the extent that such proxies are available on the SECs EDGAR system. We may also rely upon a third party to maintain certain records required to be maintained by the Advisers Act.
Review & Changes
We shall from time to time review these policies and procedures and may adopt changes based upon our experience, evolving industry practice and developments in applicable laws and regulations. Unless otherwise agreed to with a Client, we may change these proxy voting policies and procedures from time to time without notice to or approval by any Client.
Clients may request a current version of our proxy policies and procedures as well as information as to how the Firm voted proxies or corporate actions for their respective portfolios by contacting Piers Compliance Officer at 203-425-1442. Such copies are provided at no charge and may be delivered electronically in the discretion of the Firm.
APPENDIX G
PROXY VOTING POLICY OF
RIVER ROAD ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
PROXY VOTING
Policy
River Road exercises discretionary voting authority over proxies issued on securities held in client accounts unless the client has explicitly reserved voting authority. Our policy and practice includes the responsibility to receive and vote client proxies, mitigate any potential conflicts of interest, make information available to clients about the voting of proxies for their portfolio securities, and maintain required records. River Road, as a matter of policy and as a fiduciary to our clients, votes proxies for client securities consistent with the best economic interests of the clients. River Road engages a third-party voting agent, Glass Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis), to help discharge its duties.
Background
Registered investment advisers that exercise voting authority with respect to client securities are required by Rule 206(4)-6 of the Advisers Act to do the following:
· Adopt and implement written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that client securities are voted in the best interests of clients, which must include how an adviser addresses material conflicts that may arise between an advisers interests and those of its clients;
· Disclose to clients how they may obtain information from the adviser with respect to the voting of proxies for their securities; and
· Describe to clients a summary of its proxy voting policies and procedures and, upon request, furnish a copy to its clients.
Advisers also must maintain certain records relating to proxy voting activities. See Books and Records.
Responsibility
The Proxy Voting Policy Committee, the Proxy Voting Procedure Committee, and the Compliance Department are responsible for implementing and monitoring this policy.
Procedure
River Road has adopted the following procedures to implement and monitor the firms policy:
Proxy Committees :
River Road established two proxy committees to oversee proxy voting activities.
The Proxy Voting Policy Committee is responsible for establishing voting guidelines and reviewing special issues. The Committee consists at a minimum of the Chief Investment Officer, the Director of Research, the Chief Compliance Officer, and a Compliance Department proxy designee (Proxy Designee). The Committee meets annually to review Glass Lewis proxy voting guidelines. The Committee must determine and document where River Road disagrees with the agents guidelines, if at all, and determine necessary action, if any. The Committee is responsible for adopting the final voting
guidelines. The minutes from the meeting will be distributed to the investment team (as necessary) for their reference as they make voting decisions throughout the year. Meetings may be called by any Committee member throughout the year, based on issues that arise.
The Proxy Voting Procedure Committee is responsible for operational and procedural aspects of the proxy voting process. The Committee consists at a minimum of the Chief Compliance Officer and the Proxy Designee. The Committee meets annually to review operational or procedural issues related to the proxy process. Meetings may be called by any Committee member throughout the year, based on issues that arise.
Voting Agent : Glass Lewis performs the following services:
· provides analysis of proxy proposals,
· tracks and receives proxies for which River Road clients are entitled to vote,
· votes the proxies as directed by River Road, and
· compiles and provides client voting records.
Voting Process :
The Proxy Designee coordinates the proxy voting process. The steps for reviewing and submitting votes are as follows:
· The Proxy Designee reviews the Glass Lewis web-based system on at least a weekly basis for upcoming meetings.
· The Proxy Designee reconciles the number of ballots reflected by Glass Lewis to River Roads records and reports any discrepancies to Glass Lewis for follow up. River Road makes its best efforts to ensure that all shares are voted. However, issues with receiving ballots from client custodians may prevent voting for a particular account. River Road continues to follow up with Glass Lewis and the custodian where necessary until issues are resolved.
· If the policy recommendation and the management recommendation for all votes on a ballot are the same, the Proxy Designee will vote accordingly.
· If the policy recommendation and management recommendation are different for a particular vote, the Proxy Designee distributes Glass Lewis proxy paper for the upcoming meeting to the appropriate member of the investment team. The investment team member (in consultation with the portfolio manager) is responsible for reviewing the proxy paper and making the appropriate vote decision based on this policy and the Proxy Voting Policy meeting minutes. Where the investment team member decides to vote differently from the policy recommendation, they must document the investment rationale. The Proxy Designee then obtains prior approval from the Chief Compliance Officer, the Compliance Manager, or their designee before submitting the vote decision.
Client Direction : River Roads policy is to vote all proxies the same way for each client. Clients are permitted to place reasonable restrictions on River Roads voting authority by providing their own voting guidelines. If clients provide River Road with their voting guidelines and River Road accepts them, River Road will instruct the voting agent to vote proxies pursuant to the client guidelines.
Conflicts of Interest : River Road has eliminated most conflicts of interest by using an independent third party (Glass Lewis) that votes pursuant to the guidelines adopted by the Proxy Voting Policy Committee or in accordance with River Roads direction after following this process. In cases where River Road
believes there may be an actual or perceived conflict of interest, River Road requires additional steps that may include the following:
· documenting the potential conflict of interest,
· obtaining the prior approval of the Chief Investment Officer and CCO,
· obtaining Committee review or approval,
· deferring to the voting recommendation of a third party,
· voting pursuant to client direction (following disclosure of the conflict),
· abstaining from voting,
· voting reflectively (in the same proportion and manner as other shareholders), or
· taking such other action as necessary to protect the interests of clients.
River Road will maintain a record of the voting resolution of any conflict of interest.
Securities Lending : Where clients have implemented securities lending programs, River Road will be unable to vote proxies for securities on loan unless it issues instructions to the client custodian to callback the securities prior to record date. River Road typically does not instruct custodians to callback securities.
Disclosure and Client Requests for Information : River Road discloses a summary of this policy and information on how clients may obtain a copy of this policy and records of how River Road voted securities for their accounts in Form ADV Part 2A. Employees that receive a client request for information regarding proxy votes or policies and procedures must forward such request to the Compliance Department where necessary. The Compliance Department is responsible for gathering the relevant information.
Testing : The Compliance Department typically performs a monthly review of reconciliations and proxy voting records to ensure the process is being followed.
Version Reference
Version Date |
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Description of Changes |
01/01/2012 |
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Content and Format Changes |
BEDFORD SHARES OF THE MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
OF
THE RBB FUND, INC.
Ticker: BDMXX
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 31, 2014
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides information about the Companys Bedford Class of the Money Market Portfolio (the Portfolio) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This information is in addition to the information that is contained in the Bedford Family Money Market Portfolio Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus).
This SAI is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Portfolios Annual Report dated August 31, 2014. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. Copies of the Portfolios Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by telephoning (800) 888-9723. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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GENERAL INFORMATION |
1 |
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INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND POLICIES |
1 |
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
9 |
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
11 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
12 |
|
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CODE OF ETHICS |
19 |
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PROXY VOTING |
19 |
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
19 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
20 |
|
|
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS |
24 |
|
|
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
25 |
|
|
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
26 |
|
|
VALUATION OF SHARES |
26 |
|
|
TAXES |
27 |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
28 |
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
28 |
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APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
|
|
APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the Bedford Class shares representing interests in one diversified investment portfolio of the Company, which is offered by a Prospectus. Since June 30, 2011, BlackRock Advisors, LLC (BALLC or the Adviser) serves as the investment adviser to the Portfolio. Prior thereto, BlackRock Institutional Management Corporation (BIMC), an affiliate of BALLC, served as the investment adviser to the Portfolio.
INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Portfolio. The Portfolio seeks to generate current income to provide you with liquidity and to protect your investment. The Adviser may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Portfolios Prospectus and this SAI, or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Portfolios investment policies and limitations.
Principal Investment Policies and Risks
Asset-Backed Securities. The Portfolio may invest in asset-backed securities which are backed by mortgages, installment sales contracts, credit card receivables or other assets and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities. It may also invest in asset-backed securities issued by private companies. Asset-backed securities also include adjustable rate securities. The estimated life of an asset-backed security varies with the prepayment experience with respect to the underlying debt instruments. For this and other reasons, an asset-backed securitys stated maturity may be shortened, and the securitys total return may be difficult to predict precisely. Such difficulties are not expected, however, to have a significant effect on the Portfolio since the remaining maturity of any asset-backed security acquired will be 397 days or less. Asset-backed securities are considered for industry concentration purposes (see Fundamental Investment Limitations and Policies). In periods of falling interest rates, the rate of mortgage prepayments tends to increase. During these periods, the reinvestment of proceeds by the Portfolio will generally be at lower rates than the rates on the prepaid obligations.
Asset-backed securities are generally issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in an underlying pool of assets, or as debt instruments, which are also known as collateralized obligations, and are generally issued as the debt of a special purpose entity organized solely for the purpose of owning such assets and issuing such debt. Asset-backed securities are often backed by a pool of assets representing the obligations of a number of different parties.
In general, the collateral supporting non-mortgage asset-backed securities is of shorter maturity than mortgage-related securities. Like other fixed-income securities, when interest rates rise the value of an asset-backed security generally will decline; however, when interest rates decline, the value of an asset-backed security with prepayment features may not increase as much as that of other fixed-income securities.
Bank Obligations. The Portfolio will invest at least 25% of its total assets in obligations of issuers in the banking industry, such as short-term obligations of bank holding companies, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and time deposits, including U.S. dollar-denominated instruments issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion. The Portfolio may invest substantially in obligations of foreign banks or foreign branches of U.S. banks where the investment adviser deems the instrument to present minimal credit risks. Such investments may nevertheless entail risks in addition to those of domestic issuers, including higher transaction costs, less complete financial information, less stringent regulatory requirements, less market liquidity, future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions which might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held in the Portfolio. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. The Portfolio will invest in obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks
and foreign branches of domestic banks only when its investment adviser believes that the risks associated with such investment are minimal. The Portfolio may also make interest-bearing savings deposits in commercial and savings banks in amounts not in excess of 5% of its total assets.
The activities of banks are subject to extensive regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans that may be made and the interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and costs 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 play an important part in the operation of this industry.
Commercial Paper. The Portfolio may purchase commercial paper rated (i) (at the time of purchase) in the two highest rating categories of at least two nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) or, by the only NRSRO providing a rating; or (ii) issued by issuers (or, in certain cases guaranteed by persons) with short-term debt having such ratings. These rating categories are described in Appendix A to this SAI. The Portfolio may also purchase unrated commercial paper provided that such paper is determined to be of comparable quality by the Portfolios investment adviser in accordance with guidelines approved by the Companys Board of Directors.
Commercial paper purchased by the Portfolio may include instruments issued by foreign issuers, such as Canadian Commercial Paper (CCP), which is U.S.-dollar-denominated commercial paper issued by a Canadian corporation or a Canadian counterpart of a U.S. corporation, and in Europaper, which is U.S.-dollar-denominated commercial paper of a foreign issuer, subject to the criteria stated above for other commercial paper issuers.
Eligible Securities. The Portfolio will only purchase eligible securities that present minimal credit risks as determined by the Adviser pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors. Eligible securities generally include: (1) U.S. government securities; (2) securities that (a) are rated (at the time of purchase) by two or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) in the two highest short-term rating categories for such securities ( e.g. , commercial paper rated A-1 or A-2, by Standard & Poors ® Ratings Services (S&P ® ), or rated Prime-1 or Prime-2 by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys), or (b) are rated (at the time of purchase) by the only NRSRO rating the security in one of its two highest rating categories for such securities; (3) short-term obligations and, subject to certain SEC requirements, long-term obligations that have remaining maturities of 397 days or less, provided in each instance that such obligations have no short-term rating and are comparable in priority and security to a class of short-term obligations of the issuer that has been rated in accordance with (2)(a) or (b) above (comparable obligations); (4) securities that are not rated and are issued by an issuer that does not have comparable obligations rated by a NRSRO (Unrated Securities), provided that such securities are determined to be of comparable quality to a security satisfying (2)(a) or (b) above and (5) subject to certain conditions imposed under SEC rules, obligations guaranteed or otherwise supported by persons which meet the requisite rating requirements.
Mortgage-Related Securities. Mortgage-related securities consist of mortgage loans which are assembled into pools, the interests in which are issued and guaranteed by an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. government, though not necessarily by the U.S. government itself.
There are a number of important differences among the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government that issue mortgage-related securities and among the securities that they issue. Mortgage-related securities guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) include GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Ginnie Maes) which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by GNMA and such guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. GNMA is a wholly-owned U.S. government corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. GNMA certificates also are supported by the authority of GNMA to borrow funds from the U.S. Treasury to make payments under its guarantee. Mortgage-related securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) include Fannie Mae guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Fannie Maes) which are solely the obligations of Fannie Mae, are not backed by or entitled to the full faith and credit of the United States and are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored organization owned entirely by private stockholders. Fannie Maes are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by Fannie Mae. Mortgage-related securities issued by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) include Freddie Mac Mortgage Participation Certificates (also known as Freddie Macs or PCs). Freddie Mac is a corporate instrumentality of the United States, created pursuant to an Act of Congress, which is
owned entirely by Federal Home Loan Banks. Freddie Macs are not guaranteed by the United States or by any Federal Home Loan Banks and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the United States or of any Federal Home Loan Bank. Freddie Macs entitle the holder to timely payment of interest, which is guaranteed by Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac guarantees either ultimate collection or timely payment of all principal payments on the underlying mortgage loans. When Freddie Mac does not guarantee timely payment of principal, Freddie Mac may remit the amount due on account of its guarantee of ultimate payment of principal at any time after default on an underlying mortgage, but in no event later than one year after it becomes payable.
The Portfolio may invest in multiple class pass-through securities, including CMOs. These multiple class securities may be issued by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or by trusts formed by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans. In general, CMOs are debt obligations of a legal entity that are collateralized by a pool of residential or commercial mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities (the Mortgage Assets), the payments on which are used to make payments on the CMOs. Investors may purchase beneficial interests in CMOs, which are known as regular interests or residual interests. The residual in a CMO structure generally represents the interest in any excess cash flow remaining after making required payments of principal of and interest on the CMOs, as well as the related administrative expenses of the issuer. Residual interests generally are junior to, and may be significantly more volatile than, regular CMO interests. The Portfolio does not currently intend to purchase CMOs, except as collateral for repurchase agreements.
Each class of CMOs, often referred to as a tranche, is issued at a specific adjustable or fixed interest rate and must be fully retired no later than its final distribution date. Principal prepayments on the Mortgage Assets underlying the CMOs may cause some or all of the classes of CMOs to be retired substantially earlier than their final distribution dates. Generally, interest is paid or accrues on all classes of CMOs on a monthly basis.
The principal of and interest on the Mortgage Assets may be allocated among the several classes of CMOs in various ways. In certain structures (known as sequential pay CMOs), payments of principal, including any principal prepayments, on the Mortgage Assets generally are applied to the classes of CMOs in the order of their respective final distribution dates. Thus, no payment of principal will be made on any class of sequential pay CMOs until all other classes having an earlier final distribution date have been paid in full.
Additional structures of CMOs include, among others, parallel pay CMOs. Parallel pay CMOs are those which are structured to apply principal payments and prepayments of the Mortgage Assets to two or more classes concurrently on a proportionate or disproportionate basis. These simultaneous payments are taken into account in calculating the final distribution date of each class.
The relative payment rights of the various CMO classes may be subject to greater volatility and interest-rate risk than other types of mortgage-backed securities. The average life of asset-backed securities varies with the underlying instruments or assets and market conditions, which in the case of mortgages have maximum maturities of forty years. The average life of a mortgage-backed instrument, in particular, is likely to be substantially less than the original maturity of the mortgages underlying the securities as the result of unscheduled principal payments and mortgage prepayments. The relationship between mortgage prepayment and interest rates may give some high-yielding mortgage-backed securities less potential for growth in value than conventional bonds with comparable maturities. In addition, in periods of falling interest rates, the rate of mortgage prepayments tends to increase. During such periods, the reinvestment of prepayment proceeds by a Portfolio will generally be at lower rates than the rates that were carried by the obligations that have been prepaid. When interest rates rise, the value of an asset-backed security generally will decline; however, when interest rates decline, the value of an asset-backed security with prepayment features may not increase as much as that of other fixed-income securities. Because of these and other reasons, an asset-backed securitys total return may be difficult to predict precisely.
Recently, rating agencies have placed on credit watch or downgraded the ratings previously assigned to a large number of mortgage-related securities (which may include certain of the mortgage-related securities in which the Portfolio may have invested or may in the future be invested), and may continue to do so in the future. In the event that any mortgage-related security held by the Portfolio is placed on credit watch or downgraded, the value of such mortgage-related security may decline and the Portfolio may consequently experience losses in respect of such mortgage-related security.
Municipal Obligations. The Portfolio may invest in short-term Municipal Obligations which are determined by its investment adviser to present minimal credit risks and that meet certain ratings criteria pursuant to guidelines established by the Companys Board of Directors. The Portfolio may also purchase Unrated Securities provided that such securities are determined to be of comparable quality to eligible rated securities. The applicable Municipal Obligations ratings are described in the Appendix to this SAI.
The two principal classifications of Municipal Obligations are general obligation securities and revenue securities. General obligation securities are secured by the issuers pledge of its full faith, credit and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue securities are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise tax or other specific excise tax or other specific revenue source such as the user of the facility being financed. Revenue securities include private activity bonds which are not payable from the unrestricted revenues of the issuer. Consequently, the credit quality of private activity bonds is usually directly related to the credit standing of the corporate user of the facility involved.
Municipal Obligations may also include moral obligation bonds, which are normally issued by special purpose public authorities. If the issuer of moral obligation bonds is unable to meet its debt service obligations from current revenues, it may draw on a reserve fund, the restoration of which is a moral commitment but not a legal obligation of the state or municipality which created the issuer. Therefore, risk exists that the reserve fund will not be restored.
Municipal Obligations may include variable rate demand notes. Such notes are frequently not rated by credit rating agencies, but unrated notes purchased by the Portfolio will have been determined by the Portfolios investment adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of the purchase to rated instruments purchasable by the Portfolio. Where necessary to ensure that a note is of eligible quality, the Portfolio will require that the issuers obligation to pay the principal of the note be backed by an unconditional bank letter or line of credit, guarantee or commitment to lend. While there may be no active secondary market with respect to a particular variable rate demand note purchased by the Portfolio, the Portfolio may, upon the notice specified in the note, demand payment of the principal of the note at any time or during specified periods not exceeding 13 months, depending upon the instrument involved. The absence of such an active secondary market, however, could make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of a variable rate demand note if the issuer defaulted on its payment obligation or during the periods that the Portfolio is not entitled to exercise its demand rights. The Portfolio could, for this or other reasons, suffer a loss to the extent of the default. The Portfolio invests in variable rate demand notes only when the Portfolios investment adviser deems the investment to involve minimal credit risk. The Portfolios investment adviser also monitors the continuing creditworthiness of issuers of such notes to determine whether the Portfolio should continue to hold such notes.
In addition, the Portfolio may, when deemed appropriate by its investment adviser in light of the Portfolios investment objective, invest without limitation in high quality, short-term Municipal Obligations issued by state and local governmental issuers, the interest on which may be taxable or tax-exempt for federal income tax purposes, provided that such obligations carry yields that are competitive with those of other types of money market instruments of comparable quality.
Opinions relating to the validity of Municipal Obligations and to the exemption of interest thereon from federal income tax are rendered by bond counsel to the respective issuers at the time of issuance and relied upon by the Portfolio in purchasing such securities. Neither the Company nor its investment adviser will review the proceedings relating to the issuance of Municipal Obligations or the basis for such opinions.
Repurchase Agreements. The Portfolio may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price (repurchase agreements). The securities held subject to a repurchase agreement may have stated maturities exceeding 397 days, provided the repurchase agreement itself matures in less than 13 months. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose the Portfolio to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
The repurchase price under the repurchase agreements described above generally equals the price paid by the Portfolio plus interest negotiated on the basis of current short-term rates (which may be more or less than the rate on the securities underlying the repurchase agreement). The financial institutions with which the Portfolio may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities that are listed on the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks list of reporting dealers, if such banks and non-bank dealers are deemed creditworthy by the Adviser. The Adviser will continue to monitor creditworthiness of the seller under a repurchase agreement, and will require the seller to maintain during the term of the agreement the value of the securities subject to the agreement to equal at least the repurchase price (including accrued interest). In addition, the Portfolios adviser will require that the value of this collateral, after transaction costs (including loss of interest) reasonably expected to be incurred on a default, be equal to or greater than the repurchase price including either: (i) accrued premium provided in the repurchase agreement; or (ii) the daily amortization of the difference between the purchase price and the repurchase price specified in the repurchase agreement. The Portfolios adviser will mark to market daily the value of the securities. Securities subject to repurchase agreements will be held by the Companys custodian in the Federal Reserve/Treasury book-entry system or by another authorized securities depository. Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans by the Portfolio under the 1940 Act.
Section 4(2) Paper. Section 4(2) paper is commercial paper which is issued in reliance on the private placement exemption from registration which is afforded by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act. Section 4(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws and is generally sold to institutional investors such as the Company which agree that they are purchasing the paper for investment and not with a view to public distribution. Any resale by the purchaser must be in an exempt transaction. Section 4(2) paper normally is resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of investment dealers who make a market in the Section 4(2) paper, thereby providing liquidity. See Illiquid Securities below.
U.S. Government Obligations. The Portfolio may purchase U.S. government agency and instrumentality obligations that are debt securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and federal agencies. Some obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or by U.S. Treasury guarantees, such as securities of the GNMA and the Federal Housing Authority; others, by the ability of the issuer to borrow, provided approval is granted, from the U.S. Treasury, such as securities of Freddie Mac and others, only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation, such as securities of Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Such guarantees of U.S. government securities held by a Fund do not, however, guarantee the market value of the shares of the Fund. There is no guarantee that the U.S. government will continue to provide support to its agencies or instrumentalities in the future. U.S. government obligations that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are subject to greater risks than those that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. All U.S. government obligations are subject to interest rate risk.
The Portfolios net assets may be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government. The maturities of U.S. government securities usually range from three months to thirty years. Examples of types of U.S. government obligations include U.S. Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes and Treasury Bonds and the obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Maritime Administration, the Asian-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. U.S. government securities may include inflation-indexed fixed income securities, such as U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). The interest rate of TIPS, which is set at auction, remains fixed throughout the term of the security and the principal amount of the security is adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted principal is not paid until maturity.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. A Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
Variable Rate Demand Instruments. The Portfolio may purchase variable rate demand notes, which are unsecured instruments that permit the indebtedness thereunder to vary and provide for periodic adjustment in the interest rate. Although the notes are not normally traded and there may be no active secondary market in the notes, the Portfolio will be able to demand payment of the principal of a note. The notes are not typically rated by credit rating agencies, but issuers of variable rate demand notes must satisfy the same criteria as issuers of commercial paper. If an issuer of a variable rate demand note defaulted on its payment obligation, the Portfolio might be unable to dispose of the note because of the absence of an active secondary market. For this or other reasons, the Portfolio might suffer a loss to the extent of the default. The Portfolio invests in variable rate demand notes only when the Portfolios investment adviser deems the investment to involve minimal credit risk. The Portfolios investment adviser also monitors the continuing creditworthiness of issuers of such notes to determine whether the Portfolio should continue to hold such notes.
Variable rate demand instruments held by the Portfolio may have maturities of more than 397 calendar days, provided: (i) the Portfolio is entitled to the payment of principal at any time, or during specified intervals not exceeding 397 calendar days, upon giving the prescribed notice (which may not exceed 30 days); and (ii) the rate of interest on such instruments is adjusted at periodic intervals which may extend up to 397 calendar days. In determining the average weighted maturity of the Portfolio and whether a variable rate demand instrument has a remaining maturity of 397 calendar days or less, each long-term instrument will be deemed by the Portfolio to have a maturity equal to the longer of the period remaining until its next interest rate adjustment or the period remaining until the principal amount can be recovered through demand. The absence of an active secondary market with respect to particular variable and floating rate instruments could make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of variable or floating rate notes if the issuer defaulted on its payment obligations or during periods that the Portfolio is not entitled to exercise its demand right, and the Portfolio could, for these or other reasons, suffer a loss with respect to such instruments.
When-Issued or Delayed Delivery Securities. The Portfolio may purchase when-issued and delayed delivery securities purchased for delivery beyond the normal settlement date at a stated price and yield. The Portfolio will generally not pay for such securities or start earning interest on them until they are received. Securities purchased on a when-issued basis are recorded as an asset at the time the commitment is entered into and are subject to changes in value prior to delivery based upon changes in the general level of interest rates.
While the Portfolio has such commitments outstanding, the Portfolio will maintain in a segregated account with the Companys custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the purchase price of the securities to be purchased. Normally, the custodian for the Portfolio will set aside portfolio securities to satisfy a purchase commitment and, in such a case, the Portfolio may be required subsequently to place additional assets in the separate account in order to ensure that the value of the account remains equal to the amount of the Portfolios commitment. It may be expected that the Portfolios net assets will fluctuate to a greater degree when it sets aside portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments than when it sets aside cash. Because the Portfolios liquidity and ability to manage its portfolio might be affected when it sets aside cash or portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments, it is expected that commitments to purchase when-issued securities will not exceed 25% of the value of the Portfolios total assets absent unusual market conditions. When the Portfolio engages in when-issued transactions, it relies on the seller to consummate the trade. Failure of the seller to do so may result in the Portfolios incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price considered to be advantageous. The Portfolio does not intend to purchase when-issued securities for speculative purposes but only in furtherance of its investment objective.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 Portfolios 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 Portfolio invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are
unforeseeable. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude the Portfolios ability to achieve their investment objectives.
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 Portfolios holdings.
Non-Principal Investment Policies and Risks
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Guaranteed Investment Contracts. The Portfolio may make investments in obligations, such as guaranteed investment contracts and similar funding agreements (collectively, GICs), issued by highly rated U.S. insurance companies. A GIC is a general obligation of the issuing insurance company and not a separate account. The Portfolios investments in GICs are not expected to exceed 5% of its total assets at the time of purchase absent unusual market conditions. GICs are considered illiquid securities and will be subject to the Portfolios 5% limitation on illiquid investments, unless there is an active and substantial secondary market for the particular instrument and market quotations are readily available.
Illiquid Securities. The Portfolio may not invest more than 5% of its net assets in illiquid securities including repurchase agreements that have a maturity of longer than seven days, and including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Other securities considered illiquid are time deposits with maturities in excess of seven days, variable rate demand notes with demand periods in excess of seven days unless the Portfolios investment adviser determines that such notes are readily marketable and could be sold promptly at the prices at which they are valued and GICs. Repurchase agreements subject to demand are deemed to have a maturity equal to the notice period. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation. The Portfolios investment adviser will monitor the liquidity of such restricted securities under the supervision of the Board of Directors.
Historically, illiquid securities have included securities subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale because they have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), securities which are otherwise not readily marketable and repurchase agreements having a maturity of longer than seven days. Securities which have not been registered under the Securities Act are referred to as private placements or restricted securities and are purchased directly from the issuer or in the secondary market. Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them, resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities. Illiquid securities would be more difficult to dispose of than liquid securities to satisfy redemption requests.
The Portfolio may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act. These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the Portfolio during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The Portfolios Adviser will monitor the liquidity of restricted securities in the Portfolio under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors. In reaching liquidity decisions, the investment adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades ( e.g. , the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Portfolio may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities. A reverse repurchase agreement involves a sale by the Portfolio of securities that it holds concurrently with an agreement by the Portfolio to repurchase them at an agreed upon time, price and rate of interest. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Portfolio may decline below the price at which the Portfolio is obligated to repurchase them and the return on the cash exchanged for the securities. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act and may be entered into only for temporary or emergency purposes. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Portfolio will maintain in a segregated account with the Companys custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or other liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement.
Stand-By Commitments. The Portfolio may enter into stand-by commitments with respect to obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories, and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, and their political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities and authorities (collectively, Municipal Obligations) held in its portfolio. Under a stand-by commitment, a dealer would agree to purchase at the Portfolios option a specified Municipal Obligation at its amortized cost value to the Portfolio plus accrued interest, if any. Stand-by commitments may be exercisable by the Portfolio at any time before the maturity of the underlying Municipal Obligations and may be sold, transferred or assigned only with the instruments involved.
The Portfolio expects that stand-by commitments will generally be available without the payment of any direct or indirect consideration. However, if necessary or advisable, the Portfolio may pay for a stand-by commitment either in cash or by paying a higher price for portfolio securities which are acquired subject to the commitment (thus reducing the yield to maturity otherwise available for the same securities). The total amount paid in either manner for outstanding stand-by commitments held by the Portfolio will not exceed 1/2 of 1% of the value of the Portfolios total assets calculated immediately after each stand-by commitment is acquired.
The Portfolio intends to enter into stand-by commitments only with dealers, banks and broker-dealers which, in the investment advisers opinion, present minimal credit risks. The Portfolios reliance upon the credit of these dealers, banks and broker-dealers will be secured by the value of the underlying Municipal Obligations that are subject to the commitment. The acquisition of a stand-by commitment may increase the cost, and thereby reduce the yield, of the Municipal Obligation to which such commitment relates.
The Portfolio will acquire stand-by commitments solely to facilitate portfolio liquidity and does not intend to exercise its rights thereunder for trading purposes. The acquisition of a stand-by commitment will not affect the valuation or assumed maturity of the underlying Municipal Obligation which will continue to be valued in accordance with the amortized cost method. The actual stand-by commitment will be valued at zero in determining net asset value (NAV). Accordingly, where the Portfolio pays directly or indirectly for a stand-by commitment, its cost will be reflected as an unrealized loss for the period during which the commitment is held by the Portfolio and will be reflected in realized gain or loss when the commitment is exercised or expires.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
Fundamental Investment Limitations and Policies
A fundamental limitation or policy of the Portfolio may not be changed with respect to the Portfolio without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Portfolios outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of: (1) 67% of the shares of the Portfolio represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio are present in person or by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio.
The Companys Board of Directors can change the investment objective of the Portfolio without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be given notice before any such change is made.
The Portfolio may not:
1. borrow money, except from banks for temporary purposes and for reverse repurchase agreements and then in amounts not in excess of 10% of the value of the Portfolios total assets at the time of such borrowing, and only if after such borrowing there is asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings of the Portfolio; or mortgage, pledge, or hypothecate any of its assets except in connection with such borrowings and then in amounts not in excess of 10% of the value of the Portfolios total assets at the time of such borrowing or purchase portfolio securities while borrowings are in excess of 5% of the Portfolios net assets. (This borrowing provision is not for investment leverage, but solely to facilitate management of the Portfolios securities by enabling the Portfolio to meet redemption requests where the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed to be disadvantageous or inconvenient.);
2. purchase securities on margin, except for short-term credit necessary for clearance of portfolio transactions;
3. underwrite securities of other issuers, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities, the Portfolio may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities laws and except to the extent that the purchase of Municipal Obligations directly from the issuer thereof in accordance with the Portfolios investment objective, policies and limitations may be deemed to be an underwriting;
4. make short sales of securities or maintain a short position or write or sell puts, calls, straddles, spreads or combinations thereof;
5. purchase or sell real estate, provided that the Portfolio may invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein;
6. purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts;
7. invest in oil, gas or mineral exploration or development programs;
8. make loans except that the Portfolio may purchase or hold debt obligations in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations and may enter into repurchase agreements;
9. purchase any securities issued by any other investment company except in connection with the merger, consolidation, acquisition or reorganization of all the securities or assets of such an issuer;
10. make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management;
11. purchase securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase more than 5% of the Portfolios total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Portfolio, except that up to 25% of the value of the Portfolios assets may be invested without regard to this 5% limitation;
12. purchase any securities other than money market instruments, some of which may be subject to repurchase agreements, but the Portfolio may make interest-bearing savings deposits in amounts not in excess of 5% of the value of the Portfolios assets and may make time deposits;
13. * purchase any securities which would cause, at the time of purchase, less than 25% of the value of the total assets of the Portfolio to be invested in the obligations of issuers in the banking industry, or in obligations, such as repurchase agreements, secured by such obligations (unless the Portfolio is in a temporary defensive position) or which would cause, at the time of purchase, more than 25% of the value of its total assets to be invested in the obligations of issuers in any other industry;
14. invest more than 5% of its total assets (taken at the time of purchase) in securities of issuers (including their predecessors) with less than three years of continuous operations; and
15. issue any class of senior security or to sell any senior security of which it is the issuer, as defined in Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.
* With respect to this limitation, the Portfolio will consider wholly-owned finance companies to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents, and will divide utility companies according to their services. For example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry. The policy and practices stated in this paragraph may be changed without shareholder approval, however, any change would be subject to any applicable requirements of the SEC and would be disclosed in the Prospectus prior to being made.
Non-Fundamental Investment Limitations and Policies
A non-fundamental investment limitation or policy may be changed by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval. However, shareholders will be notified of any changes to any of the following limitations or policies.
So long as it values its portfolio securities on the basis of the amortized cost method of valuation pursuant to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, the Portfolio will, subject to certain exceptions, limit its purchases of:
1. The securities of any one issuer, other than issuers of U.S. government securities, to 5% of its total assets, except that the Portfolio may invest more than 5% of its total assets in First Tier Securities of one issuer for a period of up to three business days. First Tier Securities include eligible securities that:
(i) if rated by more than one NRSRO (as defined in the Prospectus), are rated (at the time of purchase) by two or more NRSROs in the highest rating category for such securities;
(ii) if rated by only one NRSRO, are rated by such NRSRO in its highest rating category for such securities;
(iii) have no short-term rating and are comparable in priority and security to a class of short-term obligations of the issuer of such securities that have been rated in accordance with (i) or (ii) above; or
(iv) are Unrated Securities that are determined to be of comparable quality to such securities.
2. Second Tier Securities (which are eligible securities other than First Tier Securities) to 3% of its total assets; and
3. Second Tier Securities of one issuer to one-half of one percent.
In addition, so long as it values its portfolio securities on the basis of the amortized cost method of valuation pursuant to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, the Portfolio will not purchase any Guarantees or Demand Features (as defined in Rule 2a-7) if, after the acquisition of the Guarantees or Demand Features, the Portfolio has more than 10% of its total assets invested in instruments issued by or subject to Guarantees or Demand Features from the same institution, except that the foregoing condition shall only be applicable with respect to 75% of the Portfolios total assets.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Portfolio, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Portfolios securities holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Portfolio shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Portfolios securities holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Portfolios operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Portfolio. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Portfolios holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Portfolios holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR, Form N-Q and Form N-MFP or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require. Month-end schedules of investments are available at www.rbbfund.com as required by Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers on an ongoing basis to the extent and at such times as are necessary for such entities to provide services to the Company. The Companys third party service providers include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; Merrill Corporation, the financial printer; and RiskMetrics Group, (formerly known as Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.) the Funds proxy voting service. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Portfolio. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship ( e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles ( e.g. , custody services provided by financial institutions). Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Portfolio.
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, (i) to certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) to financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of the Portfolio as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Portfolio shareholders. With respect to the Portfolio, the Company discloses information as to (i) percentage allocation of portfolio holdings by security type to iMoneyNet on a weekly basis with no lag-time and (ii) the dollar value allocation of portfolio holdings by security type to the Investment Company Institute monthly with no lag-time. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15-day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Portfolio.
In addition to the permitted disclosures of portfolio holdings described in this SAI, portfolio holdings of the Portfolio may be disclosed in such other limited circumstances as the Companys Board of Directors or a committee thereof deems appropriate, subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. In this way, the Board endeavors to ensure that disclosure of portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the Portfolios shareholders and that any conflicts of interest are avoided.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky
|
|
Director |
|
1988 to present |
|
From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
|
23 |
|
AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall
|
|
Director |
|
2002 to present |
|
Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler
|
|
Director |
|
2012 to present |
|
Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
|
23 |
|
Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano
|
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
|
23 |
|
Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman
|
|
Chairman
|
|
2005 to present
|
|
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lifebooker, LLC. |
|
23 |
|
None |
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw
|
|
Assistant
|
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy
|
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved a waiver of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and also serves on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs, Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the company. The contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Giordano, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Nusblatt, Reichman, Sablowsky and Straniere and. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Nusblatt, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk,
operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Portfolio and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013.
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
Jay F. Nuslbatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of
Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services. From February 2, 2010 to December 31, 2011, The Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $12,000 per year for his services in this capacity.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Portfolio in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
3,972.08 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
3,818.64 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
4,231.11 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
4,200.76 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
4,813.37 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
3,568.43 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
4,051.15 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officers: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA, Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
20,233.71 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or
distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Portfolio to the Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Portfolio. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Portfolios investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser votes proxies according to proxy voting guidelines it has adopted in a manner most likely to protect and promote the economic value of the securities held by the Portfolio. The Advisers focus is on the board of directors, as the agents of shareholders, who should set the companys strategic aims within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enable risk to be assessed and managed. The Adviser manages most conflict situations (i.e., proxies from vendors and clients) through the structural separation of a separately-established internal committee that handles corporate governance issues. For proxies issued by affiliates of the Adviser or proxies of companies where an employee of the Adviser or one of its affiliates is on the Board of Directors of the issuer, the Adviser manages such conflicts by out-sourcing the voting of such proxies to an independent fiduciary.
Information regarding how the Portfolio voted proxies relating to underlying portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-888-9723 and by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014, to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of each Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Bedford Class |
|
Capital One Sharebuilder Inc.
|
|
557,323,535 |
|
98.3 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, the Directors and officers as a group owned 2.70% of the Schneider Value Fund, 2.04% of the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each other portfolio and class within the Company.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Investment Advisory and Administration Agreement
The Advisory and Administration Agreement provides for a maximum fee paid to BALLC, computed daily and payable monthly, at the annual rate of 0.45% of the first $250 million of average daily net assets, 0.40% of the next $250 million of average daily net assets and 0.35% of average daily net assets in excess of $500 million. As described in the Prospectus, the Adviser has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit the Portfolios Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding certain Portfolio expenses) to 0.25%. The following expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation: (i) interest, taxes, dividends tied to short sales, brokerage commissions, and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) expenses incurred directly or indirectly by the Portfolio as a result of investments in other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles; (iii) other expenses attributable to, and incurred as a result of, the Portfolios investments; (iv) Distribution and Servicing (12b-1) Fees; and (v) other extraordinary expenses (including litigation expenses) not incurred in the ordinary course of the Portfolios business, if any) of the Bedford Shares of the Portfolio. The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. Because distribution and service (12b-1) fees and certain other Portfolio expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are expected to exceed the contractual limitation. This contractual limitation is in effect through December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015.
For the past three fiscal years, the Company on behalf of the Portfolio paid advisory fees to BALLC and/or BIMC (excluding fees for administrative services) as follows:
Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
366,394 |
|
$ |
2,062,868 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
394,805 |
|
$ |
1,882,695 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
431,217 |
|
$ |
1,936,524 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
The Portfolio bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by BALLC. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by a portfolio include, but are not limited to the expenses listed in the prospectus and the following (or a portfolios share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by a portfolio and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of a portfolio by BALLC; (c) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or a portfolio for violation of any law; (d) any extraordinary expenses; (e) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (f) the cost of investment company literature and other publications provided by the
Company to its directors and officers; (g) organizational costs; (h) fees paid to the investment adviser and BNY Mellon; (i) fees and expenses of officers and directors who are not affiliated with the Portfolios investment adviser or underwriter; (j) taxes; (k) interest; (l) legal fees; (m) custodian fees; (n) auditing fees; (o) brokerage fees and commissions; (p) certain of the fees and expenses of registering and qualifying the portfolio and its shares for distribution under federal and state securities laws; (q) expenses of preparing prospectuses and statements of additional information and distributing annually to existing shareholders that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (r) the expense of reports to shareholders, shareholders meetings and proxy solicitations that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (s) fidelity bond and directors and officers liability insurance premiums; (t) the expense of using independent pricing services; and (u) other expenses which are not expressly assumed by the portfolios investment adviser under its advisory agreement with the portfolio. The Bedford Class of the Company pays its own distribution fees, and may pay a different share than other classes of the Company (excluding advisory and custodial fees) if those expenses are actually incurred in a different amount by the Bedford Class or if it receives different services.
Under the Advisory Agreement, BALLC will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Company or the Portfolio in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of BALLC in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its duties and obligations thereunder.
The Advisory Agreement provides that: (i) to the extent permitted by applicable law, BALLC may enter into contracts with one or more sub-advisers, including without limitation, affiliates of BALLC, to perform investment sub-advisory services with respect to the Portfolio, subject to approval by the Companys Board of Directors but not the approval by a vote of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio; (ii) to the extent permitted by applicable law, BALLC may reallocate all or a portion of its investment advisory responsibilities under the Advisory Agreement to any of its affiliates; (iii) BALLC is required to supervise and oversee the activities of each sub-adviser under its sub-advisory contract; and (iv) to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to approval by the Companys Board of Directors, BALLC may terminate any or all sub-advisers in its sole discretion at any time.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Portfolios Advisory Agreement may be reviewed in the Portfolios annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (800) 888-9723 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
Administration Agreement
Under the Advisory Agreement, BALLC is obligated to render administrative services to the Portfolio. BALLC, pursuant to the terms of a Delegation Agreement with BNY Mellon, dated December 15, 2006, has delegated to BNY Mellon its administrative responsibilities with respect to the Portfolio.
For the past three fiscal years, BNY Mellon was paid administration fees as follows:
Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
125,286 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
400,541 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
522,695 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Companys registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014,
BNY Mellon received $45,128, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013, BNY Mellon received $51,349, and for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012, BNY Mellon received $61,101, in fees from the Portfolio for these services.
Custodian and Transfer Agency Agreements
The Bank of New York Mellon, One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286 (the Custodian), is custodian of the Companys assets pursuant to a custodian agreement dated July 18, 2011, (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian : (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Portfolio; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of the Portfolio; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Portfolio; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Portfolios portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Portfolios operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Company, provided that the Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Company harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Portfolio has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Portfolio under the Custodian Agreement, BNY Mellon receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Portfolios average gross assets; exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Portfolio.
BNY Mellon, whose corporate offices are located at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Companys Bedford Class pursuant to a Transfer Agency Agreement dated August 16, 1988 (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Bedford Class of the Portfolio; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Portfolio to record owners of shares of such Class, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Bedford Class. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any other affiliate of The Bank of New York Mellon. For its services to the Portfolio under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Portfolio, subject to a minimum fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company will pay an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Portfolios Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Portfolio will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
BNY Mellon has entered and in the future may enter into additional shareholder servicing agreements (Shareholder Servicing Agreements) with various dealers (Authorized Dealers) for the provision of certain support services to customers of such Authorized Dealers who are shareholders of the Portfolio. Pursuant to the Shareholder Servicing Agreements, the Authorized Dealers have agreed to prepare monthly account statements, process dividend payments from the Company on behalf of their customers and to provide sweep processing for uninvested cash balances for customers participating in a cash management account. In addition to the shareholder records maintained by BNY Mellon, Authorized Dealers may maintain duplicate records for their customers who are shareholders of the Portfolio for purposes of responding to customer inquiries and brokerage instructions. In consideration for providing such services, Authorized Dealers may receive fees from BNY Mellon. Such fees will have no effect upon the fees paid by the Company to BNY Mellon.
Distribution and Servicing Agreement
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Portfolio pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement, (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Portfolio.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Portfolio, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Portfolio. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Portfolio on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Portfolio shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Portfolio. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Portfolio and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Portfolio.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Portfolio through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Portfolio for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Portfolios outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Portfolio on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Plan of Distribution
The Company has adopted a Plan of Distribution, as amended for the Bedford Class (the Plan), which was adopted by the Company in the manner prescribed by Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.
The Plan was approved by the Companys Board of Directors, including the Directors who are not interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any agreements related to the Plan (12b-1 Directors).
Among other things, the Plan provides that: (1) the Distributor shall be required to submit quarterly reports to the Directors of the Company regarding all amounts expended under the Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made, including commissions, advertising, printing, interest, carrying charges and any allocated overhead expenses; (2) the Plan will continue in effect only so long as it is approved at least annually, and any material amendment thereto is approved, by the Companys Directors, including a majority of those Directors who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any agreements related to the Plan, acting in person at a meeting called for said purpose; (3) the aggregate amount to be spent by the Company on the distribution of the Companys shares of the Bedford Class under the Plan shall not be materially increased without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Companys shares in the Bedford Class; and (4) while the Plan remains in effect, the selection and nomination of the Companys Directors who are not interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) shall be committed to the discretion of such Directors who are not interested persons of the Company.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Funds Plan expenses were spent for the following purposes:
Compensation to broker/dealers |
|
$ |
63,637 |
|
Compensation to sales personnel |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Advertising |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Printing and mailing of prospectuses to other than current shareholders |
|
$ |
661 |
|
Compensation to underwriters |
|
$ |
63,959 |
|
Interest, financing charges |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Other |
|
$ |
1,010 |
|
For the past three fiscal years, the Portfolio paid the Distributor fees as follows:
Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Distribution Fees Paid
|
|
Fees Paid to
|
|
Fees Received
|
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
124,444 |
|
$ |
63,637 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
144,279 |
|
$ |
68,236 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
143,260 |
|
$ |
72,150 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
(1) There were no waivers or reimbursements for the periods stated.
The Company believes that the Plan may benefit the Company by increasing sales of shares. Mr. Sablowsky, a Director of the Company, had an indirect interest in the operation of the Plan by virtue of his position with Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS
The Portfolio intends to purchase securities with remaining maturities of 13 months or less, except for securities that are subject to repurchase agreements (which in turn may have maturities of 13 months or less). However, the Portfolio may purchase variable rate securities with remaining maturities of 13 months or more so long as such securities comply with conditions established by the SEC under which they may be considered to have remaining maturities of 13 months or less. Because the Portfolio intends to purchase only securities with remaining maturities of 13 months or less, its portfolio turnover rate will be relatively high. However, because brokerage commissions will not normally be paid with respect to investments made by the Portfolio, the turnover rate should not adversely affect the Portfolios NAV or net income. The Portfolio does not intend to seek profits through short term trading.
Purchases of portfolio securities by the Portfolio are made from dealers, underwriters and issuers; sales are made to dealers and issuers. The Portfolio does not currently expect to incur any brokerage commission expense on such transactions because money market instruments are generally traded on a net basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission. The price of the security, however, usually includes a profit to the dealer. Securities purchased in underwritten offerings include a fixed amount of compensation to the underwriter, generally referred to as the underwriters concession or discount. When securities are purchased directly from or sold directly to an issuer, no commissions or discounts are paid. It is the policy of the Portfolio to give primary consideration to obtaining the most favorable price and efficient execution of transactions. In seeking to implement the policies of the Portfolio, BALLC will effect transactions with those dealers it believes provide the most favorable prices and are capable of providing efficient executions. In no instance will portfolio securities be purchased from or sold to Foreside Distributors or BALLC or any affiliated person of the foregoing entities except to the extent permitted by SEC exemptive order or by applicable law.
BALLC may seek to obtain an undertaking from issuers of commercial paper or dealers selling commercial paper to consider the repurchase of such securities from the Portfolio prior to their maturity at their original cost plus interest (sometimes adjusted to reflect the actual maturity of the securities), if it believes that the Portfolios anticipated need for liquidity makes such action desirable. Any such repurchase prior to maturity reduces the possibility that the Portfolio would incur a capital loss in liquidating commercial paper (for which there is no established market), especially if interest rates have risen since acquisition of the particular commercial paper.
Investment decisions for the Portfolio and for other investment accounts managed by BALLC are made independently of each other in light of differing conditions. However, the same investment decision may be made
for two or more of such accounts. In such cases, simultaneous transactions are inevitable. Purchases or sales are then averaged as to price and allocated as to amount according to a formula deemed equitable to each such account. While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the security as far as the Portfolio is concerned, in other cases it is believed to be beneficial to the Portfolio. The Portfolio will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such security of which BALLC or any affiliated person (as defined in the 1940 Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Companys Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act. Among other things, these procedures require that the commission paid in connection with such a purchase be reasonable and fair, that the purchase be at not more than the public offering price prior to the end of the first business day after the date of the public offer, and that BALLC not participate in or benefit from the sale to the Portfolio.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Portfolio has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Portfolio with each other share that represents an interest in such Portfolio, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Portfolio. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least 10% of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Holders of shares of each class of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by class on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under the Rule the approval of an investment advisory agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants, the approval of underwriting contracts and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to portfolio. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of Common Stock of the Company may elect all directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Portfolios shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Portfolios NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Portfolio is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which trading on the NYSE is restricted, or during which (as determined by the SEC by rule or regulation) an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Portfolio may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions.)
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Portfolio from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Internal Revenue Code); or (3) if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
VALUATION OF SHARES
The Company intends to use its best efforts to maintain the NAV of each class of the Portfolio at $1.00 per share. The NAV per share, the value of an individual share in the Portfolio, is computed by adding the value of the proportionate interest of the class in the Portfolios securities, cash and other assets, subtracting the actual and accrued liabilities of the class and dividing the result by the number of outstanding shares of such class. The NAV of each class of the Company is determined independently of the other classes. The Portfolios net assets equal the value of the Portfolios investments and other securities less its liabilities.
The Company calculates the value of the portfolio securities of the Portfolio by using the amortized cost method of valuation. Under this method the market value of an instrument is approximated by amortizing the difference between the acquisition cost and value at maturity of the instrument over the remaining life of the instrument. The effect of changes in the market value of a security as a result of fluctuating interest rates is not taken into account. The market value of debt securities usually reflects yields generally available on securities of similar quality. When such yields decline, market values can be expected to increase, and when yields increase, market values can be expected to decline. In addition, if a large number of redemptions take place at a time when interest rates have increased, the Portfolio may have to sell portfolio securities prior to maturity and at a price which might not be as desirable.
The amortized cost method of valuation may result in the value of a security being higher or lower than its market price, the price the Portfolio would receive if the security were sold prior to maturity. The Companys Board of Directors has established procedures for the purpose of maintaining a constant NAV of $1.00 per share for the Portfolio, which includes a review of the extent of any deviation of NAV per share, based on available market
quotations, from the $1.00 amortized cost per share. Should that deviation exceed 1/2 of 1% for the Portfolio, the Board of Directors will promptly consider whether any action should be initiated to eliminate or reduce material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders. Such action may include redeeming shares in kind, selling portfolio securities prior to maturity, reducing or withholding dividends, and utilizing an NAV per share as determined by using available market quotations.
The Portfolio will maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of 60 days or less, will not purchase any instrument with a deemed maturity under Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act greater than 397 calendar days, will limit portfolio investments, including repurchase agreements (where permitted), to those U.S.-dollar-denominated instruments that BALLC determines present minimal credit risks pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors, and BALLC will comply with certain reporting and recordkeeping procedures concerning such credit determination. There is no assurance that constant NAV will be maintained. In the event amortized cost ceases to represent fair value in the judgment of the Companys Board of Directors, the Board will take such actions as it deems appropriate.
In determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments, the Company may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables and current payables are carried on the Companys books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Portfolio and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Portfolio or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and any such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Portfolio qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Portfolio generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Portfolio must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Portfolios business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Portfolios taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Portfolios assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers as to which the Portfolio has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Portfolio does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Portfolios total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Portfolio controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Portfolio must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Portfolio intends to comply with these requirements. If the Portfolio were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Portfolio could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Portfolio were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Portfolios current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
A 4% nondeductible excise tax is imposed on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute with respect to each calendar year at least 98% of their ordinary taxable income for the calendar year and 98.2% of their capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses) for the one year period ending October 31 of such calendar year and 100% of any such amounts that were not distributed in the prior year. The Portfolio intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions of its ordinary taxable income and any capital gain net income prior to the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
Although the Portfolio expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Portfolio may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Portfolios Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, whose report therein also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued.
Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
Appendix B
BLACKROCK
GLOBAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & ENGAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
Introduction to BlackRock
BlackRock is the worlds preeminent asset management firm and a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional and individual clients around the world. BlackRock offers a wide range of investment strategies and product structures to meet clients needs, including individual and institutional separate accounts, mutual funds, closed-end funds, and other pooled investment vehicles and the industry-leading iShares exchange traded funds. Through BlackRock Solutions®, we offer risk management, strategic advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of clients.
Philosophy on corporate governance
BlackRocks corporate governance program is focused on protecting and enhancing the economic value of the companies in which it invests on behalf of clients. We do this through engagement with boards and management of investee companies and, for those clients who have given us authority, through voting at shareholder meetings.
We believe that there are certain fundamental rights attached to share ownership. Companies and their boards should be accountable to shareholders and structured with appropriate checks and balances to ensure that they operate in shareholders interests. Effective voting rights are central to the rights of ownership and there should be one vote for one share. Shareholders should have the right to elect, remove and nominate directors, approve the appointment of the auditor and to amend the corporate charter or by-laws. Shareholders should be able to vote on matters that are material to the protection of their investment including but not limited to changes to the purpose of the business, dilution levels and pre-emptive rights, the distribution of income and the capital structure. In order to exercise these rights effectively, we believe shareholders have the right to sufficient and timely information to be able to take an informed view of the proposals, and of the performance of the company and management.
Our focus is on the board of directors, as the agent of shareholders, which should set the companys strategic aims within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enables risk to be assessed and managed. The board should provide direction and leadership to the management and oversee managements performance. Our starting position is to be supportive of boards in their oversight efforts on our behalf and we would generally expect to support the items of business they put to a vote at shareholder meetings. Votes cast against or withheld from resolutions proposed by the board are a signal that we are concerned that the directors or management have either not acted in the interests of shareholders or have not responded adequately to shareholder concerns regarding strategy or performance.
These principles set out our approach to engaging with companies, provide guidance on our position on corporate governance and outline how our views might be reflected in our voting decisions. Corporate governance practices vary internationally and our expectations in relation to individual companies are based on the legal and regulatory framework of each market. However, as noted above, we do believe that there are some overarching principles of corporate governance that apply globally. We assess voting matters on a case-by-case basis and in light of each companys unique circumstances. We are interested to understand from the companys reporting its approach to corporate governance, particularly where it is different from the usual market practice, and how it benefits shareholders.
BlackRock also believes that shareholders have responsibilities in relation to monitoring and providing feedback to companies, sometimes known as stewardship. These ownership responsibilities include, in our view, engaging with management or board members on corporate governance matters, voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of shareholders and engaging with regulatory bodies to ensure a sound policy framework consistent with promoting long-term shareholder value creation. Institutional shareholders also have responsibilities to their clients to have appropriate resources and oversight structures. Our own approach to oversight in relation to our corporate governance activities is set out in the section below titled BlackRocks oversight of its corporate governance activities.
Corporate governance, engagement and voting
We recognize that accepted standards of corporate governance differ between markets but we believe that there are sufficient common threads globally to identify an overarching set of principles. The primary objective of our corporate governance activities is the protection and enhancement of the value of our clients investments in public corporations. Thus, these principles focus on practices and structures that we consider to be supportive of long-term value creation. We discuss below the principles under six key themes. In our regional and market-specific voting guidelines we explain how these principles inform our voting decisions in relation to specific resolutions that may appear on the agenda of a shareholder meeting in the relevant market.
The six key themes are:
· Boards and directors
· Auditors and audit-related issues
· Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions
· Remuneration and benefits
· Social, ethical and environmental issues
· General corporate governance matters
At a minimum we would expect companies to observe the accepted corporate governance standard in their domestic market or to explain why doing so is not in the interests of shareholders. Where company reporting and disclosure is inadequate or the approach taken is inconsistent with our view of what is in the best interests of shareholders, we will engage with the company and/or use our vote to encourage a change in practice. In making voting decisions, we take into account research from proxy advisors, other internal and external research, information published by the company or provided through engagement and the views of our equity portfolio managers.
BlackRock views engagement as an important activity; engagement provides BlackRock with the opportunity to improve our understanding of investee companies and their governance structures, so that our voting decisions may be better informed. Engagement also allows us to share our philosophy and approach to investment and corporate governance with companies to enhance their understanding of our objectives. There are a range of approaches we may take in engaging companies depending on the nature of the issue under consideration, the company and the market.
Boards and directors
The performance of the board is critical to the economic success of the company and to the protection of shareholders interests. Board members serve as agents of shareholders in overseeing the strategic direction and operation of the company. For this reason, BlackRock focuses on directors in many of its engagements and sees the election of directors as one of its most important responsibilities in the proxy voting context.
We expect the board of directors to promote and protect shareholder interests by:
· establishing an appropriate corporate governance structure;
· supporting and overseeing management in setting strategy;
· ensuring the integrity of financial statements;
· making decisions regarding mergers, acquisitions and disposals;
· establishing appropriate executive compensation structures; and
· addressing business issues including social, ethical and environmental issues when they have the potential to materially impact company reputation and performance.
There should be clear definitions of the role of the board, the sub-committees of the board and the senior management such that the responsibilities of each are well understood and accepted. Companies should report publicly the approach taken to governance (including in relation to board structure) and why this approach is in the interest of shareholders. We will engage with the appropriate directors where we have concerns about the performance of the board or the company, the broad strategy of the company or the performance of individual board members. Concerns about directors may include their role on the board of a different company where that board has performed poorly and failed to protect shareholder interests.
BlackRock believes that directors should stand for re-election on a regular basis. We assess directors nominated for election or re-election in the context of the composition of the board as a whole. There should be detailed disclosure of the relevant credentials of the individual directors in order that shareholders can assess the caliber of an individual nominee. We expect there to be a sufficient number of independent directors on the board to ensure the protection of the interests of all shareholders. Common impediments to independence may include but are not limited to:
· current employment at the company or a subsidiary;
· former employment within the past several years as an executive of the company;
· providing substantial professional services to the company and/or members of the companys management;
· having had a substantial business relationship in the past three years;
· having, or representing a shareholder with, a substantial shareholding in the company;
· being an immediate family member of any of the aforementioned; and
· interlocking directorships.
BlackRock believes that the operation of the board is enhanced when there is a clearly independent, senior non-executive director to lead it. Where the chairman is also the CEO or is otherwise not independent the company should have an independent lead director. The role of this director is to enhance the effectiveness of the independent members of the board through shaping the agenda, ensuring adequate information is provided to the board and encouraging independent participation in board deliberations. The lead independent board director should be available to shareholders if they have concerns that they wish to discuss.
To ensure that the board remains effective, regular reviews of board performance should be carried out and assessments made of gaps in skills or experience amongst the members. BlackRock believes it is beneficial for new directors to be brought onto the board periodically to refresh the groups thinking and to ensure both continuity and adequate succession planning. In identifying potential candidates, boards should take into consideration the diversity of experience and expertise of the current directors and how that might be augmented by incoming directors. We believe that directors are in the best position to assess the optimal size for the board, but we would be concerned if a board seemed too small to have an appropriate balance of directors or too large to be effective.
There are matters for which the board has responsibility that may involve a conflict of interest for executives or for affiliated directors. BlackRock believes that shareholders interests are best served when the independent members of the board form a sub-committee to deal with such matters. In many markets, these sub-committees of the board specialize in audit, director nominations and compensation matters. An ad hoc committee might also be formed to decide on a special transaction, particularly one with a related party.
Auditors and audit-related issues
BlackRock recognizes the critical importance of financial statements which should provide a complete and accurate picture of a companys financial condition. We will hold the members of the audit committee or equivalent responsible for overseeing the management of the audit function. We take particular note of cases involving significant financial restatements or ad hoc notifications of material financial weakness.
The integrity of financial statements depends on the auditor being free of any impediments to being an effective check on management. To that end, we believe it is important that auditors are, and are seen to be, independent. Where the audit firm provides services to the company in addition to the audit, the fees earned should be disclosed and explained. Audit committees should also have in place a procedure for assuring annually the independence of the auditor.
Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions
The capital structure of a company is critical to its owners, the shareholders, as it impacts the value of their investment and the priority of their interest in the company relative to that of other equity or debt investors. Pre-emption rights are a key protection for shareholders against the dilution of their interests.
In assessing mergers, asset sales or other special transactions, BlackRocks primary consideration is the long-term economic interests of shareholders. Boards proposing a transaction need to clearly explain the economic and strategic rationale behind it. We will review a proposed transaction to determine the degree to which it enhances long-term shareholder value. We would prefer that proposed transactions have the unanimous support of the board and have been negotiated at arms length. We may seek reassurance from the board that executive and/or board members financial interests in a given transaction have not affected their ability to place shareholders interests before their own. Where the transaction involves related parties, we would expect the recommendation to support it to come from the independent directors and would prefer only non-conflicted shareholders to vote on the proposal.
BlackRock believes that shareholders have a right to dispose of company shares in the open market without unnecessary restriction. In our view, corporate mechanisms designed to limit shareholders ability to sell their shares are contrary to basic property rights. Such mechanisms can serve to protect and entrench interests other than those of the shareholders. We believe that shareholders are broadly capable of making decisions in their own best interests. We would expect any so-called shareholder rights plans being proposed by a board to be subject to shareholder approval on introduction and periodically thereafter for continuation.
Remuneration and benefits
BlackRock expects a companys board of directors to put in place a compensation structure that incentivizes and rewards executives appropriately and is aligned with shareholder interests, particularly long-term shareholder returns. We would expect the compensation committee to take into account the specific circumstances of the company and the key individuals the board is trying to incentivize. We encourage companies to ensure that their compensation packages incorporate appropriate and challenging performance conditions consistent with corporate strategy and market practice. We use third party research, in addition to our own analysis, to evaluate existing and proposed compensation structures. We hold members of the compensation committee or equivalent accountable for poor compensation practices or structures.
BlackRock believes that there should be a clear link between variable pay and company performance as reflected in returns to shareholders. We are not supportive of one-off or special bonuses unrelated to company or individual performance. We support incentive plans that pay out rewards earned over multiple and extended time periods. We believe consideration should be given to building claw back provisions into incentive plans such that executives would be required to repay rewards where they were not justified by actual performance. Compensation committees should guard against contractual arrangements that would entitle executives to material compensation for early termination of their contract. Finally, pension contributions should be reasonable in light of market practice.
Outside directors should be compensated in a manner that does not risk compromising their independence or aligning their interests too closely with those of the management, whom they are charged with overseeing.
Social, ethical, and environmental issues
Our fiduciary duty to clients is to protect and enhance their economic interest in the companies in which we invest on their behalf. It is within this context that we undertake our corporate governance activities. We believe that well-managed companies will deal effectively with the social, ethical and environmental (SEE) aspects of their businesses.
BlackRock expects companies to identify and report on the material, business-specific SEE risks and opportunities and to explain how these are managed. This explanation should make clear how the approach taken by the company best serves the interests of shareholders and protects and enhances the long-term economic value of the company. The key performance indicators in relation to SEE matters should also be disclosed and performance against them discussed, along with any peer group benchmarking and verification processes in place. This helps shareholders assess how well management is dealing with the SEE aspects of the business. Any global standards adopted should also be disclosed and discussed in this context.
We may vote against the election of directors where we have concerns that a company might not be dealing with SEE issues appropriately. Sometimes we may reflect such concerns by supporting a shareholder proposal on the issue, where there seems to be either a significant potential threat or realized harm to shareholders interests caused by poor management of SEE matters. In deciding our course of action, we will assess whether the company has already taken sufficient steps to address the concern and whether there is a clear and material economic disadvantage to the company if the issue is not addressed.
More commonly, given that these are often not voting issues, we will engage directly with the board or management. The trigger for engagement on a particular SEE concern is our assessment that there is potential for material economic ramifications for shareholders.
We do not see it as our role to make social, ethical or political judgments on behalf of clients. We expect investee companies to comply, at a minimum, with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which they operate. They should explain how they manage situations where such laws or regulations are contradictory or ambiguous.
General corporate governance matters
BlackRock believes that shareholders have a right to timely and detailed information on the financial performance and viability of the companies in which they invest. In addition, companies should also publish information on the governance structures in place and the rights of shareholders to influence these. The reporting and disclosure provided by companies helps shareholders assess whether the economic interests of shareholders have been protected and the quality of the boards oversight of management. BlackRock believes shareholders should have the right to vote on key corporate governance matters, including on changes to governance mechanisms, to submit proposals to the shareholders meeting and to call special meetings of shareholders.
BlackRocks oversight of its corporate governance activities
BlackRock holds itself to a very high standard in its corporate governance activities, including in relation to executing proxy votes. This function is executed by a team of dedicated BlackRock employees without sales responsibilities (the Corporate Governance Group), and which is considered an investment function. BlackRock maintains three regional oversight committees (Corporate Governance Committees) for the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific, consisting of senior BlackRock investment professionals. All of the regional Corporate Governance Committees report to a Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee, which is a risk-focused committee composed of senior representatives of the active and index equity investment businesses, the Deputy General Counsel, the Global Executive Committee member to whom the Corporate Governance Group reports and the head of the Corporate Governance Group. The Corporate Governance Committees review and approve amendments to their respective proxy voting guidelines (Guidelines) and grant authority to the Global Head of Corporate Governance (Global Head), a dedicated BlackRock employee without sales responsibilities, to vote in accordance with the Guidelines. The Global Head leads the Corporate Governance Group to carry out engagement, voting and vote operations in a manner consistent with the relevant Corporate Governance Committees mandate. The Corporate Governance Group engages companies in conjunction with the portfolio managers in discussions of significant governance issues, conducts research on corporate governance issues and participates in industry discussions to keep abreast of the field of corporate governance. The Corporate Governance Group, or vendors overseen by the Corporate Governance Group, also monitor upcoming proxy votes, execute proxy votes and maintain records of votes cast. The Corporate Governance Group may refer complicated or particularly controversial matters or discussions to the appropriate investors and/or regional Corporate Governance Committees for their review, discussion and guidance prior to making a voting decision. BlackRocks Equity Policy Oversight Committee (EPOC) is informed of certain aspects of the work of the Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee and the Corporate Governance Group.
Vote execution
BlackRock carefully considers proxies submitted to funds and other fiduciary accounts (Funds) for which it has voting authority. BlackRock votes (or refrains from voting) proxies for each Fund for which it has voting authority based on BlackRocks evaluation of the best long-term economic interests of shareholders, in the exercise of its independent business judgment, and without regard to the relationship of the issuer of the proxy (or any dissident shareholder) to the Fund, the Funds affiliates (if any), BlackRock or BlackRocks affiliates.
When exercising voting rights, BlackRock will normally vote on specific proxy issues in accordance with its Guidelines for the relevant market. The Guidelines are reviewed regularly and are amended consistent with changes in the local market practice, as developments in corporate governance occur, or as otherwise deemed advisable by BlackRocks Corporate Governance Committees. The Corporate Governance Committees may, in the exercise of their business judgment, conclude that the Guidelines do not cover the specific matter upon which a proxy vote is requested or that an exception to the Guidelines would be in the best long-term economic interests of BlackRocks clients.
In the uncommon circumstance of there being a vote with respect to fixed income securities or the securities of privately held issuers the decision generally will be made by a Funds portfolio managers and/or the Corporate Governance Group based on their assessment of the particular transactions or other matters at issue.
In certain markets, proxy voting involves logistical issues which can affect BlackRocks ability to vote such proxies, as well as the desirability of voting such proxies. These issues include but are not limited to: (i) untimely notice of shareholder meetings; (ii) restrictions on a foreigners ability to exercise votes; (iii) requirements to vote proxies in person; (iv) share-blocking (requirements that investors who exercise their voting rights surrender the right to dispose of their holdings for some specified period in proximity to the shareholder meeting); (v) potential difficulties in translating the proxy; and (vi) requirements to provide local agents with unrestricted powers of attorney to facilitate voting instructions. We are not supportive of impediments to the exercise of voting rights such as shareblocking or overly burdensome administrative requirements.
As a consequence, BlackRock votes proxies in these markets only on a best-efforts basis. In addition, the Corporate Governance Committees may determine that it is generally in the best interests of BlackRock clients not to vote proxies of companies in certain countries if the committee determines that the costs (including but not limited to opportunity costs associated with shareblocking constraints) associated with exercising a vote are expected to outweigh the benefit the client would derive by voting on the issuers proposal.
While it is expected that BlackRock, as a fiduciary, will generally seek to vote proxies over which BlackRock exercises voting authority in a uniform manner for all BlackRock clients, the relevant Corporate Governance Committee, in conjunction with the portfolio manager of an account, may determine that the specific circumstances of such an account require that such accounts proxies be voted differently due to such accounts investment objective or other factors that differentiate it from other accounts. In addition, BlackRock believes portfolio managers may from time to time legitimately reach differing but equally valid views, as fiduciaries for their funds and the client assets in those Funds, on how best to maximize economic value in respect of a particular investment. Accordingly, portfolio managers retain full discretion to vote the shares in the Funds they manage based on their analysis of the economic impact of a particular ballot item.
Conflicts management
BlackRock maintains policies and procedures that are designed to prevent undue influence on BlackRocks proxy voting activity that might stem from any relationship between the issuer of a proxy (or any dissident shareholder) and BlackRock, BlackRocks affiliates, a Fund or a Funds affiliates. Some of the steps BlackRock has taken to prevent conflicts include, but are not limited to:
· BlackRock has adopted a proxy voting oversight structure whereby the Corporate Governance Committees oversee the voting decisions and other activities of the Corporate Governance Group, and particularly its activities with respect to voting in the relevant region of each Corporate Governance Committees jurisdiction.
· The Corporate Governance Committees have adopted Guidelines for each region, which set forth the firms views with respect to certain corporate governance and other issues that typically arise in the proxy voting context. The Corporate Governance Committees receive periodic reports regarding the specific votes cast by the Corporate Governance Group and regular updates on material process issues, procedural changes and other matters of concern to the Corporate Governance Committees.
· BlackRocks Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee oversees the Global Head, the Corporate Governance Group and the Corporate Governance Committees. The Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee conducts a review, at least annually, of the proxy voting process to ensure compliance with BlackRocks risk policies and procedures.
· BlackRock maintains a reporting structure that separates the Global Head and Corporate Governance Group from employees with sales responsibilities. In addition, BlackRock maintains procedures intended to ensure that all engagements with corporate issuers or dissident shareholders are managed consistently and without regard to BlackRocks relationship with the issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder. Within the normal course of business, the Global Head or Corporate Governance Group may engage directly with BlackRock clients, and with employees with sales responsibilities, in discussions regarding general corporate governance policy matters, and to otherwise ensure that proxy-related client service levels are met. The Global Head or Corporate Governance Group does not discuss any specific voting matter with a client prior to the disclosure of the vote decision to all applicable clients after the shareholder meeting has taken place, except if the client is acting in the capacity as issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder and is engaging through the established procedures independent of the client relationship.
· In certain instances, BlackRock may determine to engage an independent fiduciary to vote proxies as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest or as otherwise required by applicable law. The independent fiduciary may either vote such proxies or provide BlackRock with instructions as to how to vote such proxies. In the latter case, BlackRock votes the proxy in accordance with the independent fiduciarys determination. Use of an independent fiduciary has been adopted for voting the proxies related to any company that is affiliated with BlackRock or any company that includes BlackRock employees on its board of directors.
With regard to the relationship between securities lending and proxy voting, BlackRocks approach is driven by our clients economic interests. The evaluation of the economic desirability of recalling loans involves balancing the revenue producing value of loans against the likely economic value of casting votes. Based on our evaluation of this relationship, we believe that generally the likely economic value of casting most votes is less than the securities lending income, either because the votes will not have significant economic consequences or because the outcome of the vote would not be affected by BlackRock recalling loaned securities in order to ensure they are voted. Periodically, BlackRock analyzes the process and benefits of voting proxies for securities on loan, and will consider whether any modification of its proxy voting policies or procedures is necessary in light of future conditions. In addition, BlackRock may in its discretion determine that the value of voting outweighs the cost of recalling shares, and thus recall shares to vote in that instance.
Voting guidelines
The issue-specific voting Guidelines published for each region/country in which we vote are intended to summarize BlackRocks general philosophy and approach to issues that may commonly arise in the proxy voting context in each market where we invest. These Guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. BlackRock applies the Guidelines on a case-by-case basis, in the context of the individual circumstances of each company and the specific issue under review. As such, these Guidelines do not provide a guide to how BlackRock will vote in every instance. Rather, they share our view about corporate governance issues generally, and provide insight into how we typically approach issues that commonly arise on corporate ballots.
Reporting
We report our proxy voting activity directly to clients and publically as required. In addition, we publish for clients a more detailed discussion of our corporate governance activities, including engagement with companies and with other relevant parties.
BLACKROCK
PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES FOR U.S. SECURITIES
These guidelines should be read in conjunction with BlackRocks Global Corporate Governance and Engagement Principles June 2014.
Introduction
BlackRock, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, BlackRock) seek to make proxy voting decisions in the manner most likely to protect and promote the economic value of the securities held in client accounts. The following issue-specific proxy voting guidelines (the Guidelines) are intended to summarize BlackRocks general philosophy and approach to issues that may commonly arise in the proxy voting context for U.S. Securities. These Guidelines are not intended to limit the analysis of individual issues at specific companies and are not intended to provide a guide to how BlackRock will vote in every instance. Rather, they share our view about corporate governance issues generally, and provide insight into how we typically approach issues that commonly arise on corporate ballots. They are applied with discretion, taking into consideration the range of issues and facts specific to the company and the individual ballot item.
Voting guidelines
These guidelines are divided into six key themes which group together the issues that frequently appear on the agenda of annual and extraordinary meetings of shareholders.
The six key themes are:
· Boards and directors
· Auditors and audit-related issues
· Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions
· Remuneration and benefits
· Social, ethical and environmental issues
· General corporate governance matters
Boards and directors
Director elections
BlackRock generally supports board nominees in most uncontested elections. BlackRock may withhold votes from certain directors on the board or members of particular board committees (or prior members, as the case may be) in certain situations, including, but not limited to:
· The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board fails to implement shareholder proposals that receive a majority of votes cast at a prior shareholder meeting, and the proposals, in our view, have a direct and substantial impact on shareholders fundamental rights or long-term economic interests.
· The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board implements or renews a poison pill without seeking shareholder approval beforehand or within a reasonable period of time after implementation.
· The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board amends the charter/articles/by-laws such that the effect may be to entrench directors or to significantly reduce shareholder rights. In such cases, in determining whether to withhold support from directors, we will consider in part the companys publicly stated rationale for the changes and whether the board has determined to seek shareholder approval beforehand or within a reasonable period of time after implementation.
· An insider or affiliated outsider who sits on the boards audit, compensation, nominating or governance committees, which we believe generally should be entirely independent. However, BlackRock will examine a boards complete profile when questions of independence arise prior to casting a withhold vote for any director. For controlled companies, as defined by the U.S. stock exchanges, we will only vote against insiders or affiliates who sit on the audit committee, but not other key committees.
· Members of the audit committee during a period when the board failed to facilitate quality, independent auditing, for example, if substantial accounting irregularities suggest insufficient oversight by that committee.
· Members of the audit committee during a period in which we believe the company has aggressively accounted for its equity compensation plans.
· Members of the compensation committee during a period in which executive compensation appears excessive relative to performance and peers, and where we believe the compensation committee has not already substantially addressed this issue.
· Members of the compensation committee where the company has repriced options without contemporaneous shareholder approval.
· The chair of the nominating committee, or where no chair exists, the nominating committee member with the longest tenure, where board member(s) at the most recent election of directors have received withhold votes from more than 30% of shares voting and the board has not taken appropriate action to respond to shareholder concerns. This may not apply in cases where BlackRock did not support the initial withhold vote.
· The chair of the nominating committee, or where no chair exists, the nominating committee member with the longest tenure, where the board is not composed of a majority of independent directors. However, this would not apply in the case of a controlled company.
· Where BlackRock obtains evidence that casts significant doubt on a directors qualifications or ability to represent shareholders.
· Where it appears the director has acted (at the company or at other companies) in a manner that compromises his or her reliability in representing the best long-term economic interests of shareholders.
· Where a director has a pattern over a period of years of attending less than 75% of combined board and applicable key committee meetings.
· Where a director has committed himself or herself to service on a large number of boards, such that we deem it unlikely that the director will be able to commit sufficient focus and time to a particular company (commonly referred to as over-boarding). While each situation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, BlackRock is most likely to withhold votes for over-boarding where a director is: 1) serving on more than four public company boards; or 2) is a chief executive officer at a public company and is serving on more than two public company boards in addition to the board of the company where they serve as chief executive officer.
If a board maintains a classified structure, it is possible that the director(s) with whom we have a particular concern may not be subject to election in the year that the concern arises. In such situations, if we have a concern regarding a committee or committee chair, we generally register our concern by withholding votes from all members of the relevant committee who are subject to election that year.
Director independence
We expect that a board should be majority independent. We believe that an independent board faces fewer conflicts and is best prepared to protect shareholder interests. Common impediments to independence in the U.S. include but are not limited to:
· Employment by the company or a subsidiary as a senior executive within the previous five years
· Status as a founder of the company
· Substantial business or personal relationships with the company or the companys senior executives
· Family relationships with senior executives or founders of the company
· An equity ownership in the company in excess of 20%
Age limits / term limits
We encourage boards to routinely refresh their membership to ensure that new viewpoints are included in the boardroom. We believe that the nominating committee of the board has the ability to implement such refreshment. As a result, we typically oppose shareholder proposals imposing arbitrary limits on the pool of directors from which shareholders can choose their representatives . However, where boards find that age limits or term limits are the most efficient mechanism for ensuring routine board refreshment, we generally defer to the boards determine in setting such limits.
Board size
We generally defer to the board in setting the appropriate size. We believe directors are generally in the best position to assess what size is optimal to ensure a boards effectiveness. However, we may oppose boards that appear too small to allow for effective shareholder representation or too large to function efficiently.
Classified board of directors/staggered terms
A classified board of directors is one that is divided into classes (generally three), each of which is elected on a staggered schedule (generally for three years). At each annual meeting, only a single class of directors is subject to reelection (generally one-third of the entire board).
We believe that classification of the board dilutes shareholders right to evaluate promptly a boards performance and limits shareholder selection of their representatives. By not having the mechanism to immediately address concerns we may have with any specific director, we may be required to register our concerns through our vote on the directors who are subject to election that year (see Director elections for additional detail). Furthermore, where boards are classified, director entrenchment is more likely, because review of board service generally only occurs every three years. Therefore, we typically vote against classification and for proposals to eliminate board classification.
Contested director elections
Most director elections are not competitive, but shareholders are sometimes presented with competing slates of director candidates. Generally, such proxy contests are the result of a shareholder (or group of shareholders) seeking to change the companys strategy or address failures in the boards oversight of management. The details of proxy contests are assessed on a case-by-case basis. We evaluate a number of factors, which may include, but are not limited to: the qualifications of the dissident and management candidates; the validity of the concerns identified by the dissident; the viability of both the dissidents and managements plans; the likelihood that the dissidents solutions will produce the desired change; and whether the dissidents represent the best option for enhancing long term shareholder value.
Cumulative voting for directors
Cumulative voting allocates one vote for each share of stock held, times the number of directors subject to election. A shareholder may cumulate his/her votes and cast all of them in favor of a single candidate, or split them among any combination of candidates. By making it possible to use their cumulated votes to elect at least one board member, cumulative voting is typically a mechanism through which minority shareholders attempt to secure board representation.
We typically oppose proposals that further the candidacy of minority shareholders whose interests do not coincide with our fiduciary responsibility. We may support cumulative voting proposals at companies where the board is not majority independent. We may support cumulative voting at companies that have a controlling shareholder. A cumulative voting structure is not consistent with a majority voting requirement, as it may interfere with the capacity of director candidates to achieve the required level of support. We may not support a cumulative voting proposal at a company that has adopted a majority voting standard.
Director compensation and equity programs
We believe that compensation for independent directors should be structured to align the interests of the directors with those of shareholders, whom the directors have been elected to represent. We believe that independent director compensation packages based on the companys long-term performance and that include some form of long-term equity compensation are more likely to meet this goal; therefore, we typically support proposals to provide such compensation packages. However, we will generally oppose shareholder proposals requiring directors to own a minimum amount of company stock, as we believe that companies should maintain flexibility in administering compensation and equity programs for independent directors, given each companys and directors unique circumstances. As discussed in further detail under the heading Equity compensation plans below, we believe that companies should prohibit directors from engaging in transactions with respect to their long term compensation that might disrupt the intended economic alignment between equity plan beneficiaries and shareholders.
Indemnification of directors and officers
We generally support reasonable but balanced protection of directors and officers. We believe that failure to provide protection to directors and officers might severely limit a companys ability to attract and retain competent leadership. We generally support proposals to provide indemnification that is limited to coverage of legal expenses. However, we may oppose proposals that provide indemnity for: breaches of the duty of loyalty; transactions from which a director derives an improper personal benefit; and actions or omissions not in good faith or those that involve intentional misconduct.
Majority vote requirements
BlackRock generally supports proposals seeking to require director election by majority vote. Majority voting standards assist in ensuring that directors who are not broadly supported by shareholders are not elected to serve as their representatives. We note that majority voting is not appropriate in all circumstances, for example, in the context of a contested election. We also recognize that some companies with a plurality voting standard have
adopted a resignation policy for directors who do not receive support from at least a majority of votes cast. Where we believe that the company already has a sufficiently robust majority voting process in place, we may not support a shareholder proposal seeking an alternative mechanism.
Separation of chairman and CEO positions
We believe that independent leadership is important in the board room. In the US there are two commonly accepted structures for independent board leadership: 1) an independent chairman; or 2) a lead independent director. We generally consider the designation of a lead independent director as an acceptable alternative to an independent chair if the lead independent director has a term of at least one year and has powers to: 1) set board meeting agendas; 2) call meetings of the independent directors; and 3) preside at meetings of independent directors. Where a company does not have a lead independent director that meets these criteria, we generally support the separation of chairman and CEO.
Shareholder access to the proxy
We believe that long-term shareholders should have the opportunity, when necessary and under reasonable conditions, to nominate individuals to stand for election to the boards of the companies they own and to have those nominees included on the companys proxy card. This right is commonly referred to as proxy access. In our view, securing a right of shareholders to nominate directors without engaging in a control contest can enhance shareholders ability to participate meaningfully in the director election process, stimulate board attention to shareholder interests, and provide shareholders an effective means of directing that attention where it is lacking. Given the complexity of structuring an appropriate proxy access mechanism and the brevity required of shareholder proposals, we generally expect that a shareholder proposal to adopt proxy access will describe general parameters for the mechanism, while providing the board with flexibility to design a process that is appropriate in light of the companys specific circumstances. Proxy access mechanisms should provide shareholders with assurances that the mechanism will not be subject to abuse by short term investors, investors without a substantial investment in the company, or investors seeking to take control of the board. We will review proposals regarding the adoption of proxy access on a case-by-case basis.
Auditors and audit-related issues
BlackRock recognizes the critical importance of financial statements that provide a complete and accurate portrayal of a companys financial condition. Consistent with our approach to voting on boards of directors, we seek to hold the audit committee of the board responsible for overseeing the management of the audit function at a company, and may withhold votes from the audit committees members where the board has failed to facilitate quality, independent auditing. We take particular note of cases involving significant financial restatements or material weakness disclosures.
The integrity of financial statements depends on the auditor effectively fulfilling its role. To that end, we favor an independent auditor. In addition, to the extent that an auditor fails to reasonably identify and address issues that eventually lead to a significant financial restatement, or the audit firm has violated standards of practice that protect the interests of shareholders, we may also vote against ratification.
From time to time, shareholder proposals may be presented to promote auditor independence or the rotation of audit firms. We may support these proposals when they are consistent with our views as described above.
Capital structure proposals
Blank check preferred
We frequently oppose proposals requesting authorization of a class of preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend distribution and other rights (blank check preferred stock) because they may serve as a transfer of authority from shareholders to the board and a possible entrenchment device. We generally view the
boards discretion to establish voting rights on a when-issued basis as a potential anti-takeover device, as it affords the board the ability to place a block of stock with an investor sympathetic to management, thereby foiling a takeover bid without a shareholder vote. Nonetheless, where the company appears to have a legitimate financing motive for requesting blank check authority, has committed publicly that blank check preferred shares will not be used for anti-takeover purposes, has a history of using blank check preferred stock for financings, or has blank check preferred stock previously outstanding such that an increase would not necessarily provide further anti-takeover protection but may provide greater financing flexibility, we may support the proposal.
Equal voting rights
BlackRock supports the concept of equal voting rights for all shareholders. Some management proposals request authorization to allow a class of common stock to have superior voting rights over the existing common or to allow a class of common to elect a majority of the board. We oppose such differential voting power as it may have the effect of denying shareholders the opportunity to vote on matters of critical economic importance to them.
However, when a management or shareholder proposal requests to eliminate an existing dual-class voting structure, we seek to determine whether this action is warranted at that company at that time, and whether the cost of restructuring will have a clear economic benefit to shareholders. We evaluate these proposals on a case-by-case basis, and we consider the level and nature of control associated with the dual-class voting structure as well as the companys history of responsiveness to shareholders in determining whether support of such a measure is appropriate.
Increase in authorized common shares
BlackRock considers industry specific norms in our analysis of these proposals, as well as a companys history with respect to the use of its common shares. Generally, we are predisposed to support a company if the board believes additional common shares are necessary to carry out the firms business. The most substantial concern we might have with an increase is the possibility of use of common shares to fund a poison pill plan that is not in the economic interests of shareholders.
Increase or issuance of preferred stock
These proposals generally request either authorization of a class of preferred stock or an increase in previously authorized preferred stock. Preferred stock may be used to provide management with the flexibility to consummate beneficial acquisitions, combinations or financings on terms not necessarily available via other means of financing. We generally support these proposals in cases where the company specifies the voting, dividend, conversion and other rights of such stock where the terms of the preferred stock appear reasonable.
Stock splits and reverse stock splits
We generally support stock splits that are not likely to negatively affect the ability to trade shares or the economic value of a share. We generally support reverse splits that are designed to avoid delisting or to facilitate trading in the stock, where the reverse split will not have a negative impact on share value ( e.g. one class is reduced while others remain at pre-split levels). In the event of a proposal to reverse split that would not also proportionately reduce the companys authorized stock, we apply the same analysis we would use for a proposal to increase authorized stock.
Mergers, asset sales, and other special transactions
In reviewing merger and asset sale proposals, BlackRocks primary concern is the best long-term economic interests of shareholders. While these proposals vary widely in scope and substance, we closely examine certain salient features in our analyses. The varied nature of these proposals ensures that the following list will be incomplete. However, the key factors that we typically evaluate in considering these proposals include:
· For mergers and asset sales, we assess the degree to which the proposed transaction represents a premium to the companys trading price. In order to filter out the effects of pre-merger news leaks on the parties share prices, we consider a share price from multiple time periods prior to the date of the merger announcement. In most cases, business combinations should provide a premium. We may consider comparable transaction analyses provided by the parties financial advisors and our own valuation assessments. For companies facing insolvency or bankruptcy, a premium may not apply.
· There should be a favorable business reason for the combination.
· Unanimous board approval and arms-length negotiations are preferred. We will consider whether the transaction involves a dissenting board or does not appear to be the result of an arms-length bidding process. We may also consider whether executive and/or board members financial interests in a given transaction appear likely to affect their ability to place shareholders interests before their own.
· We prefer transaction proposals that include the fairness opinion of a reputable financial advisor assessing the value of the transaction to shareholders in comparison to recent similar transactions.
Poison pill plans
Also known as Shareholder Rights Plans, these plans generally involve issuance of call options to purchase securities in a target firm on favorable terms. The options are exercisable only under certain circumstances, usually accumulation of a specified percentage of shares in a relevant company or launch of a hostile tender offer. These plans are often adopted by the board without being subject to shareholder vote.
Poison pill proposals generally appear on the proxy as shareholder proposals requesting that existing plans be put to a vote. This vote is typically advisory and therefore non-binding. We generally vote in favor of shareholder proposals to rescind poison pills.
Where a poison pill is put to a shareholder vote, our policy is to examine these plans individually. Although we oppose most plans, we may support plans that include a reasonable qualifying offer clause. Such clauses typically require shareholder ratification of the pill, and stipulate a sunset provision whereby the pill expires unless it is renewed. These clauses also tend to specify that an all cash bid for all shares that includes a fairness opinion and evidence of financing does not trigger the pill, but forces either a special meeting at which the offer is put to a shareholder vote, or the board to seek the written consent of shareholders where shareholders could rescind the pill in their discretion. We may also support a pill where it is the only effective method for protecting tax or other economic benefits that may be associated with limiting the ownership changes of individual shareholders.
Reimbursement of expenses for successful shareholder campaigns
Proxy contests and other public campaigns can be valuable mechanisms for holding boards of underperforming companies accountable to their shareholders. However, these campaigns can also lead to unwarranted cost and distraction for boards and management teams, and may be imposed by investors whose interests are not aligned with other investors. Therefore, we generally do not support proposals seeking the reimbursement of proxy contest expenses, even in situations where we support the shareholder campaign, as we believe that introducing the possibility of such reimbursement may incentivize disruptive and unnecessary shareholder campaigns.
Remuneration and benefits
We note that there are both management and shareholder proposals related to executive compensation that appear on corporate ballots. We generally vote on these proposals as described below, except that we typically oppose shareholder proposals on issues where the company already has a reasonable policy in place that we believe is sufficient to address the issue. We may also oppose a shareholder proposal regarding executive compensation if the companys history suggests that the issue raised is not likely to present a problem for that company.
Advisory resolutions on executive compensation (Say on Pay)
In cases where there is a Say on Pay vote, BlackRock will respond to the proposal as informed by our evaluation of compensation practices at that particular company, and in a manner that appropriately addresses the specific question posed to shareholders. We believe that compensation committees are in the best position to make compensation decisions and should maintain significant flexibility in administering compensation programs, given their knowledge of the wealth profiles of the executives they seek to incentivize, the appropriate performance measures for the company, and other issues internal and/or unique to the company. We understand that compensation committees are undertaking their analysis in the context of a competitive marketplace for executive talent. We also believe that shareholders can express concern regarding executive compensation practices through their vote on directors, and our preferred approach to managing pay-for-performance disconnects is via a withhold vote for the compensation committee. As a result, our Say on Pay vote is likely to correspond with our vote on the directors who are compensation committee members responsible for making compensation decisions.
Advisory votes on the frequency of Say on Pay resolutions (Say When on Pay)
BlackRock will generally opt for a triennial vote on Say on Pay. We believe that shareholders should undertake an annual review of executive compensation and express their concerns through their vote on the members of the compensation committee. As a result, it is generally not necessary to hold a Say on Pay vote on an annual basis, as the Say on Pay vote merely supplements the shareholders vote on Compensation Committee members. However, we may support annual Say on Pay votes in some situations, for example, where we conclude that a company has failed to align pay with performance.
Claw back proposals
Claw back proposals are generally shareholder sponsored and seek recoupment of bonuses paid to senior executives if those bonuses were based on financial results that are later restated or were otherwise awarded as a result of deceptive business practices. We generally favor recoupment from any senior executive whose compensation was based on faulty financial reporting or deceptive business practices, regardless of that particular executives role in the faulty reporting. We typically support these proposals unless the company already has a robust claw back policy that sufficiently addresses our concerns.
Employee stock purchase plans
An employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) gives the issuers employees the opportunity to purchase stock in the issuer, typically at a discount to market value. We believe these plans can provide performance incentives and help align employees interests with those of shareholders. The most common form of ESPP qualifies for favorable tax treatment under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 423 plans must permit all full-time employees to participate, carry restrictions on the maximum number of shares that can be purchased, carry an exercise price of at least 85 percent of fair market value on grant date with offering periods of 27 months or less, and be approved by shareholders. We will typically support qualified ESPP proposals.
Equity compensation plans
BlackRock supports equity plans that align the economic interests of directors, managers and other employees with those of shareholders. We believe that boards should establish policies prohibiting use of equity awards in a manner that could disrupt the intended alignment with shareholder interests, for example: use of the stock as collateral for a loan; use of the stock in a margin account; use of the stock (or an unvested award) in hedging or derivative transactions. We may support shareholder proposals requesting the board to establish such policies.
Our evaluation of equity compensation plans is based on a companys executive pay and performance relative to peers and whether the plan plays a significant role in a pay-for-performance disconnect. We generally oppose plans that contain evergreen provisions allowing for the unlimited increase of shares reserved without requiring further shareholder approval after a reasonable time period. We also generally oppose plans that allow for repricing without
shareholder approval. We may also oppose plans that provide for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even in situations where an actual change of control may not occur. We encourage companies to structure their change of control provisions to require the termination of the covered employee before acceleration or special payments are triggered. Finally, we may oppose plans where we believe that the company is aggressively accounting for the equity delivered through their stock plans.
Golden parachutes
Golden parachutes provide for compensation to management in the event of a change in control. We generally view golden parachutes as encouragement to management to consider transactions that might be beneficial to shareholders. However, a large potential payout under a golden parachute arrangement also presents the risk of motivating a management team to support a sub-optimal sale price for a company.
We may support shareholder proposals requesting that implementation of such arrangements require shareholder approval. We generally support proposals requiring shareholder approval of plans that exceed 2.99 times an executives current salary and bonus, including equity compensation.
When determining whether to support or oppose an advisory vote on a golden parachute plan (Say on Golden Parachutes), we normally support the plan unless it appears to result in payments that are excessive or detrimental to shareholders. In evaluating golden parachute plans, BlackRock may consider several factors, including:
· whether we believe that the triggering event is in the best interest of shareholders;
· an evaluation of whether management attempted to maximize shareholder value in the triggering event;
· the percentage of total transaction value that will be transferred to the management team, rather than shareholders, as a result of the golden parachute payment;
· whether excessively large excise tax gross up payments are part of the payout;
· whether the pay package that serves as the basis for calculating the golden parachute payment was reasonable in light of performance and peers; and/or
· whether the golden parachute payment will have the effect of rewarding a management team that has failed to effectively manage the company.
It may be difficult to anticipate the results of a plan until after it has been triggered; as a result, BlackRock may vote against a Say on Golden Parachute proposal even if the golden parachute plan under review was approved by shareholders when it was implemented.
Option exchanges
BlackRock may support a request to exchange underwater options under the following circumstances: the company has experienced significant stock price decline as a result of macroeconomic trends, not individual company performance; directors and executive officers are excluded; the exchange is value neutral or value creative to shareholders; and there is clear evidence that absent repricing the company will suffer serious employee incentive or retention and recruiting problems. BlackRock may also support a request to exchange underwater options in other circumstances, if we determine that the exchange is in the best interest of shareholders.
Pay-for-Performance plans
In order for executive compensation exceeding $1 million to qualify for federal tax deductions, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) requires companies to link that compensation, for the Companys top five executives, to disclosed performance goals and submit the plans for shareholder approval. The law further requires that a compensation committee comprised solely of outside directors administer these plans. Because the primary
objective of these proposals is to preserve the deductibility of such compensation, we generally favor approval in order to preserve net income.
Pay-for-Superior-Performance
These are typically shareholder proposals requesting that compensation committees adopt policies under which a portion of equity compensation requires the achievement of performance goals as a prerequisite to vesting. We generally believe these matters are best left to the compensation committee of the board and that shareholders should not set executive compensation or dictate the terms thereof. We may support these proposals if we have a substantial concern regarding the companys compensation practices over a significant period of time, the proposals are not overly prescriptive, and we believe the proposed approach is likely to lead to substantial improvement.
Supplemental executive retirement plans
BlackRock may support shareholder proposals requesting to put extraordinary benefits contained in Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERP) agreements to a shareholder vote unless the companys executive pension plans do not contain excessive benefits beyond what is offered under employee-wide plans.
Social, ethical and environmental issues
See Global Corporate Governance and Engagement Principles.
General corporate governance matters
Adjourn meeting to solicit additional votes
We generally support such proposals unless the agenda contains items that we judge to be detrimental to shareholders best long-term economic interests.
Bundled proposals
We believe that shareholders should have the opportunity to review substantial governance changes individually without having to accept bundled proposals. Where several measures are grouped into one proposal, BlackRock may reject certain positive changes when linked with proposals that generally contradict or impede the rights and economic interests of shareholders.
Corporate political activities
Portfolio companies may engage in certain political activities, within legal and regulatory limits, in order to influence public policy consistent with the companies values and strategies, and thus serve shareholders best long-term economic interests. These activities can create risks, including: the potential for allegations of corruption; the potential for reputational issues associated with a candidate, party or issue; and risks that arise from the complex legal, regulatory and compliance considerations associated with corporate political activity. We believe that companies which choose to engage in political activities should develop and maintain robust processes to guide these activities and to mitigate risks, including a level of board oversight.
When presented with shareholder proposals requesting increased disclosure on corporate political activities, we may consider the political activities of that company and its peers, the existing level of disclosure, and our view regarding the associated risks. We generally believe that it is the duty of boards and management to determine the appropriate level of disclosure of all types of corporate activity, and we are generally not supportive of proposals that are overly prescriptive in nature. We may determine to support a shareholder proposal requesting additional reporting of corporate political activities where there seems to be either a significant potential threat or actual harm to shareholders interests and where we believe the company has not already provided shareholders with sufficient information to assess the companys management of the risk.
Finally, we believe that it is not the role of shareholders to suggest or approve corporate political activities; therefore we generally do not support proposals requesting a shareholder vote on political activities or expenditures.
Other business
We oppose giving companies our proxy to vote on matters where we are not given the opportunity to review and understand those measures and carry out an appropriate level of shareholder oversight.
Reincorporation
Proposals to reincorporate from one state or country to another are most frequently motivated by considerations of anti-takeover protections or cost savings. Where cost savings are the sole issue, we will typically favor reincorporating. In all instances, we will evaluate the changes to shareholder protection under the new charter/articles/by-laws to assess whether the move increases or decreases shareholder protections. Where we find that shareholder protections are diminished, we will support reincorporation if we determine that the overall benefits outweigh the diminished rights.
Shareholders right to act by written consent
In exceptional circumstances and with sufficiently broad support, shareholders should have the opportunity to raise issues of substantial importance without having to wait for management to schedule a meeting. We therefore believe that shareholders should have the right to solicit votes by written consent provided that: 1) there are reasonable requirements to initiate the consent solicitation process in order to avoid the waste of corporate resources in addressing narrowly supported interests; and 2) support from a minimum of 50% of outstanding shares is required to effectuate the action by written consent. We may oppose shareholder proposals requesting the right to act by written consent in cases where the proposal is structured for the benefit of a dominant shareholder to the exclusion of others, or if the proposal is written to discourage the board from incorporating appropriate mechanisms to avoid the waste of corporate resources when establishing a right to act by written consent. Additionally, we may oppose shareholder proposals requesting the right to act by written consent if the company already provides a shareholder right to call a special meeting that we believe offers shareholders a reasonable opportunity to raise issues of substantial importance without having to wait for management to schedule a meeting.
Shareholders right to call a special meeting
In exceptional circumstances and with sufficiently broad support, shareholders should have the opportunity to raise issues of substantial importance without having to wait for management to schedule a meeting. We therefore believe that shareholders should have the right to call a special meeting in cases where a reasonably high proportion of shareholders (typically a minimum of 15% but no higher than 25%) are required to agree to such a meeting before it is called, in order to avoid the waste of corporate resources in addressing narrowly supported interests. However, we may oppose this right in cases where the proposal is structured for the benefit of a dominant shareholder to the exclusion of others. We generally believe that a right to act via written consent is not a sufficient alternative to the right to call a special meeting.
Simple majority voting
We generally favor a simple majority voting requirement to pass proposals. Therefore, we will support the reduction or the elimination of supermajority voting requirements to the extent that we determine shareholders ability to protect their economic interests is improved. Nonetheless, in situations where there is a substantial or dominant shareholder, supermajority voting may be protective of public shareholder interests and we may support supermajority requirements in those situations.
SANSOM STREET SHARES OF THE MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
OF
THE RBB FUND, INC.
Ticker: SANXX
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 31, 2014
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides information about the Companys Sansom Street Class of the Money Market Portfolio (the Portfolio) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This information is in addition to the information that is contained in the Sansom Street Money Market Portfolio Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus).
This SAI is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and the Portfolios Annual Report dated August 31, 2014. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. Copies of the Portfolios Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by telephoning (800) 430-9618. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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GENERAL INFORMATION |
1 |
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INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND POLICIES |
1 |
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
9 |
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
11 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
12 |
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CODE OF ETHICS |
19 |
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PROXY VOTING |
19 |
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
19 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
20 |
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PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS |
24 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
25 |
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
25 |
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VALUATION OF SHARES |
26 |
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TAXES |
27 |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
28 |
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
28 |
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APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
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APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the Sansom Street Class shares representing interests in one diversified investment portfolio of the Company, which is offered by a Prospectus. Since June 30, 2011, BlackRock Advisors, LLC (BALLC or the Adviser) has served as the investment adviser to the Portfolio. Prior thereto, BlackRock Institutional Management Corporation (BIMC), an affiliate of BALLC, served as the investment adviser to the Portfolio.
INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Portfolio. The Portfolio seeks to generate current income to provide you with liquidity and to protect your investment. The Adviser may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Portfolios Prospectus and this SAI or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Portfolios investment policies and limitations.
Principal Investment Policies and Risks
Asset-Backed Securities. The Portfolio may invest in asset-backed securities which are backed by mortgages, installment sales contracts, credit card receivables or other assets and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities. It may also invest in asset-backed securities issued by private companies. Asset-backed securities also include adjustable rate securities. The estimated life of an asset-backed security varies with the prepayment experience with respect to the underlying debt instruments. For this and other reasons, an asset-backed securitys stated maturity may be shortened, and the securitys total return may be difficult to predict precisely. Such difficulties are not expected, however, to have a significant effect on the Portfolio since the remaining maturity of any asset-backed security acquired will be 397 days or less. Asset-backed securities are considered for industry concentration purposes (see Fundamental Investment Limitations and Policies). In periods of falling interest rates, the rate of mortgage prepayments tends to increase. During these periods, the reinvestment of proceeds by the Portfolio will generally be at lower rates than the rates on the prepaid obligations.
Asset-backed securities are generally issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in an underlying pool of assets, or as debt instruments, which are also known as collateralized obligations, and are generally issued as the debt of a special purpose entity organized solely for the purpose of owning such assets and issuing such debt. Asset-backed securities are often backed by a pool of assets representing the obligations of a number of different parties.
In general, the collateral supporting non-mortgage asset-backed securities is of shorter maturity than mortgage-related securities. Like other fixed-income securities, when interest rates rise the value of an asset-backed security generally will decline; however, when interest rates decline, the value of an asset-backed security with prepayment features may not increase as much as that of other fixed-income securities.
Bank Obligations. The Portfolio will invest at least 25% of its total assets in obligations of issuers in the banking industry, such as short-term obligations of bank holding companies, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and time deposits, including U.S. dollar-denominated instruments issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion. The Portfolio may invest substantially in obligations of foreign banks or foreign branches of U.S. banks where the investment adviser deems the instrument to present minimal credit risks. Such investments may nevertheless entail risks in addition to those of domestic issuers, including higher transaction costs, less complete financial information, less stringent regulatory requirements, less market liquidity, future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions which might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held in the Portfolio. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. The Portfolio will invest in obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks
and foreign branches of domestic banks only when its investment adviser believes that the risks associated with such investment are minimal. The Portfolio may also make interest-bearing savings deposits in commercial and savings banks in amounts not in excess of 5% of its total assets.
The activities of banks are subject to extensive regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans that may be made and the interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and costs 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 play an important part in the operation of this industry.
Commercial Paper. The Portfolio may purchase commercial paper rated (i) (at the time of purchase) in the two highest rating categories of at least two nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) or, by the only NRSRO providing a rating; or (ii) issued by issuers (or, in certain cases guaranteed by persons) with short-term debt having such ratings. These rating categories are described in Appendix A to this SAI. The Portfolio may also purchase unrated commercial paper provided that such paper is determined to be of comparable quality by the Portfolios investment adviser in accordance with guidelines approved by the Companys Board of Directors.
Commercial paper purchased by the Portfolio may include instruments issued by foreign issuers, such as Canadian Commercial Paper (CCP), which is U.S.-dollar-denominated commercial paper issued by a Canadian corporation or a Canadian counterpart of a U.S. corporation, and in Europaper, which is U.S.-dollar-denominated commercial paper of a foreign issuer, subject to the criteria stated above for other commercial paper issuers.
Eligible Securities. The Portfolio will only purchase eligible securities that present minimal credit risks as determined by the Adviser pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors. Eligible securities generally include: (1) U.S. government securities; (2) securities that (a) are rated (at the time of purchase) by two or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) in the two highest short-term rating categories for such securities ( e.g., commercial paper rated A-1 or A-2, by Standard & Poors ® Ratings Services (S&P ® ), or rated Prime-1 or Prime-2 by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys), or (b) are rated (at the time of purchase) by the only NRSRO rating the security in one of its two highest rating categories for such securities; (3) short-term obligations and, subject to certain SEC requirements, long-term obligations that have remaining maturities of 397 days or less, provided in each instance that such obligations have no short-term rating and are comparable in priority and security to a class of short-term obligations of the issuer that has been rated in accordance with (2)(a) or (b) above (comparable obligations); (4) securities that are not rated and are issued by an issuer that does not have comparable obligations rated by a NRSRO (Unrated Securities), provided that such securities are determined to be of comparable quality to a security satisfying (2)(a) or (b) above and (5) subject to certain conditions imposed under SEC rules, obligations guaranteed or otherwise supported by persons which meet the requisite rating requirements.
Mortgage-Related Securities. Mortgage-related securities consist of mortgage loans which are assembled into pools, the interests in which are issued and guaranteed by an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. government, though not necessarily by the U.S. government itself.
There are a number of important differences among the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government that issue mortgage-related securities and among the securities that they issue. Mortgage-related securities guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) include GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Ginnie Maes) which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by GNMA and such guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. GNMA is a wholly-owned U.S. government corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. GNMA certificates also are supported by the authority of GNMA to borrow funds from the U.S. Treasury to make payments under its guarantee. Mortgage-related securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) include Fannie Mae guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Fannie Maes) which are solely the obligations of Fannie Mae, are not backed by or entitled to the full faith and credit of the United States and are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored organization owned entirely by private stockholders. Fannie Maes are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by Fannie Mae. Mortgage-related securities issued by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) include Freddie Mac Mortgage Participation Certificates (also known as Freddie Macs or PCs). Freddie Mac is a corporate instrumentality of the United States, created pursuant to an Act of Congress, which is
owned entirely by Federal Home Loan Banks. Freddie Macs are not guaranteed by the United States or by any Federal Home Loan Banks and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the United States or of any Federal Home Loan Bank. Freddie Macs entitle the holder to timely payment of interest, which is guaranteed by Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac guarantees either ultimate collection or timely payment of all principal payments on the underlying mortgage loans. When Freddie Mac does not guarantee timely payment of principal, Freddie Mac may remit the amount due on account of its guarantee of ultimate payment of principal at any time after default on an underlying mortgage, but in no event later than one year after it becomes payable.
The Portfolio may invest in multiple class pass-through securities, including CMOs. These multiple class securities may be issued by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or by trusts formed by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans. In general, CMOs are debt obligations of a legal entity that are collateralized by a pool of residential or commercial mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities (the Mortgage Assets), the payments on which are used to make payments on the CMOs. Investors may purchase beneficial interests in CMOs, which are known as regular interests or residual interests. The residual in a CMO structure generally represents the interest in any excess cash flow remaining after making required payments of principal of and interest on the CMOs, as well as the related administrative expenses of the issuer. Residual interests generally are junior to, and may be significantly more volatile than, regular CMO interests. The Portfolio does not currently intend to purchase CMOs, except as collateral for repurchase agreements.
Each class of CMOs, often referred to as a tranche, is issued at a specific adjustable or fixed interest rate and must be fully retired no later than its final distribution date. Principal prepayments on the Mortgage Assets underlying the CMOs may cause some or all of the classes of CMOs to be retired substantially earlier than their final distribution dates. Generally, interest is paid or accrues on all classes of CMOs on a monthly basis.
The principal of and interest on the Mortgage Assets may be allocated among the several classes of CMOs in various ways. In certain structures (known as sequential pay CMOs), payments of principal, including any principal prepayments, on the Mortgage Assets generally are applied to the classes of CMOs in the order of their respective final distribution dates. Thus, no payment of principal will be made on any class of sequential pay CMOs until all other classes having an earlier final distribution date have been paid in full.
Additional structures of CMOs include, among others, parallel pay CMOs. Parallel pay CMOs are those which are structured to apply principal payments and prepayments of the Mortgage Assets to two or more classes concurrently on a proportionate or disproportionate basis. These simultaneous payments are taken into account in calculating the final distribution date of each class.
The relative payment rights of the various CMO classes may be subject to greater volatility and interest-rate risk than other types of mortgage-backed securities. The average life of asset-backed securities varies with the underlying instruments or assets and market conditions, which in the case of mortgages have maximum maturities of forty years. The average life of a mortgage-backed instrument, in particular, is likely to be substantially less than the original maturity of the mortgages underlying the securities as the result of unscheduled principal payments and mortgage prepayments. The relationship between mortgage prepayment and interest rates may give some high-yielding mortgage-backed securities less potential for growth in value than conventional bonds with comparable maturities. In addition, in periods of falling interest rates, the rate of mortgage prepayments tends to increase. During such periods, the reinvestment of prepayment proceeds by a Portfolio will generally be at lower rates than the rates that were carried by the obligations that have been prepaid. When interest rates rise, the value of an asset-backed security generally will decline; however, when interest rates decline, the value of an asset-backed security with prepayment features may not increase as much as that of other fixed-income securities. Because of these and other reasons, an asset-backed securitys total return may be difficult to predict precisely.
Recently, rating agencies have placed on credit watch or downgraded the ratings previously assigned to a large number of mortgage-related securities (which may include certain of the mortgage-related securities in which the Portfolio may have invested or may in the future be invested), and may continue to do so in the future. In the event that any mortgage-related security held by the Portfolio is placed on credit watch or downgraded, the value of such mortgage-related security may decline and the Portfolio may consequently experience losses in respect of such mortgage-related security.
Municipal Obligations. The Portfolio may invest in short-term Municipal Obligations which are determined by its investment adviser to present minimal credit risks and that meet certain ratings criteria pursuant to guidelines established by the Companys Board of Directors. The Portfolio may also purchase Unrated Securities provided that such securities are determined to be of comparable quality to eligible rated securities. The applicable Municipal Obligations ratings are described in the Appendix to this SAI.
The two principal classifications of Municipal Obligations are general obligation securities and revenue securities. General obligation securities are secured by the issuers pledge of its full faith, credit and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue securities are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise tax or other specific excise tax or other specific revenue source such as the user of the facility being financed. Revenue securities include private activity bonds which are not payable from the unrestricted revenues of the issuer. Consequently, the credit quality of private activity bonds is usually directly related to the credit standing of the corporate user of the facility involved.
Municipal Obligations may also include moral obligation bonds, which are normally issued by special purpose public authorities. If the issuer of moral obligation bonds is unable to meet its debt service obligations from current revenues, it may draw on a reserve fund, the restoration of which is a moral commitment but not a legal obligation of the state or municipality which created the issuer. Therefore, risk exists that the reserve fund will not be restored.
Municipal Obligations may include variable rate demand notes. Such notes are frequently not rated by credit rating agencies, but unrated notes purchased by the Portfolio will have been determined by the Portfolios investment adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of the purchase to rated instruments purchasable by the Portfolio. Where necessary to ensure that a note is of eligible quality, the Portfolio will require that the issuers obligation to pay the principal of the note be backed by an unconditional bank letter or line of credit, guarantee or commitment to lend. While there may be no active secondary market with respect to a particular variable rate demand note purchased by the Portfolio, the Portfolio may, upon the notice specified in the note, demand payment of the principal of the note at any time or during specified periods not exceeding 13 months, depending upon the instrument involved. The absence of such an active secondary market, however, could make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of a variable rate demand note if the issuer defaulted on its payment obligation or during the periods that the Portfolio is not entitled to exercise its demand rights. The Portfolio could, for this or other reasons, suffer a loss to the extent of the default. The Portfolio invests in variable rate demand notes only when the Portfolios investment adviser deems the investment to involve minimal credit risk. The Portfolios investment adviser also monitors the continuing creditworthiness of issuers of such notes to determine whether the Portfolio should continue to hold such notes.
In addition, the Portfolio may, when deemed appropriate by its investment adviser in light of the Portfolios investment objective, invest without limitation in high quality, short-term Municipal Obligations issued by state and local governmental issuers, the interest on which may be taxable or tax-exempt for federal income tax purposes, provided that such obligations carry yields that are competitive with those of other types of money market instruments of comparable quality.
Opinions relating to the validity of Municipal Obligations and to the exemption of interest thereon from federal income tax are rendered by bond counsel to the respective issuers at the time of issuance and relied upon by the Portfolio in purchasing such securities. Neither the Company nor its investment adviser will review the proceedings relating to the issuance of Municipal Obligations or the basis for such opinions.
Repurchase Agreements. The Portfolio may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price (repurchase agreements). The securities held subject to a repurchase agreement may have stated maturities exceeding 397 days, provided the repurchase agreement itself matures in less than 13 months. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose the Portfolio to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
The repurchase price under the repurchase agreements described above generally equals the price paid by the Portfolio plus interest negotiated on the basis of current short-term rates (which may be more or less than the rate on the securities underlying the repurchase agreement). The financial institutions with which the Portfolio may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities that are listed on the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks list of reporting dealers, if such banks and non-bank dealers are deemed creditworthy by the Adviser. The Adviser will continue to monitor creditworthiness of the seller under a repurchase agreement, and will require the seller to maintain during the term of the agreement the value of the securities subject to the agreement to equal at least the repurchase price (including accrued interest). In addition, the Portfolios adviser will require that the value of this collateral, after transaction costs (including loss of interest) reasonably expected to be incurred on a default, be equal to or greater than the repurchase price including either: (i) accrued premium provided in the repurchase agreement; or (ii) the daily amortization of the difference between the purchase price and the repurchase price specified in the repurchase agreement. The Portfolios adviser will mark to market daily the value of the securities. Securities subject to repurchase agreements will be held by the Companys custodian in the Federal Reserve/Treasury book-entry system or by another authorized securities depository. Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans by the Portfolio under the 1940 Act.
Section 4(2) Paper. Section 4(2) paper is commercial paper which is issued in reliance on the private placement exemption from registration which is afforded by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act. Section 4(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws and is generally sold to institutional investors such as the Company which agree that they are purchasing the paper for investment and not with a view to public distribution. Any resale by the purchaser must be in an exempt transaction. Section 4(2) paper normally is resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of investment dealers who make a market in the Section 4(2) paper, thereby providing liquidity. See Illiquid Securities below.
U.S. Government Obligations. The Portfolio may purchase U.S. government agency and instrumentality obligations that are debt securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and federal agencies. Some obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or by U.S. Treasury guarantees, such as securities of the GNMA and the Federal Housing Authority; others, by the ability of the issuer to borrow, provided approval is granted, from the U.S. Treasury, such as securities of Freddie Mac and others, only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation, such as securities of Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Such guarantees of U.S. government securities held by a Fund do not, however, guarantee the market value of the shares of the Fund. There is no guarantee that the U.S. government will continue to provide support to its agencies or instrumentalities in the future. U.S. government obligations that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are subject to greater risks than those that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. All U.S. government obligations are subject to interest rate risk.
The Portfolios net assets may be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government. The maturities of U.S. government securities usually range from three months to thirty years. Examples of types of U.S. government obligations include U.S. Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes and Treasury Bonds and the obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Maritime Administration, the Asian-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. U.S. government securities may include inflation-indexed fixed income securities, such as U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). The interest rate of TIPS, which is set at auction, remains fixed throughout the term of the security and the principal amount of the security is adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted principal is not paid until maturity.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. A Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
Variable Rate Demand Instruments. The Portfolio may purchase variable rate demand notes, which are unsecured instruments that permit the indebtedness thereunder to vary and provide for periodic adjustment in the interest rate. Although the notes are not normally traded and there may be no active secondary market in the notes, the Portfolio will be able to demand payment of the principal of a note. The notes are not typically rated by credit rating agencies, but issuers of variable rate demand notes must satisfy the same criteria as issuers of commercial paper. If an issuer of a variable rate demand note defaulted on its payment obligation, the Portfolio might be unable to dispose of the note because of the absence of an active secondary market. For this or other reasons, the Portfolio might suffer a loss to the extent of the default. The Portfolio invests in variable rate demand notes only when the Portfolios investment adviser deems the investment to involve minimal credit risk. The Portfolios investment adviser also monitors the continuing creditworthiness of issuers of such notes to determine whether the Portfolio should continue to hold such notes.
Variable rate demand instruments held by the Portfolio may have maturities of more than 397 calendar days, provided: (i) the Portfolio is entitled to the payment of principal at any time, or during specified intervals not exceeding 397 calendar days, upon giving the prescribed notice (which may not exceed 30 days); and (ii) the rate of interest on such instruments is adjusted at periodic intervals which may extend up to 397 calendar days. In determining the average weighted maturity of the Portfolio and whether a variable rate demand instrument has a remaining maturity of 397 calendar days or less, each long-term instrument will be deemed by the Portfolio to have a maturity equal to the longer of the period remaining until its next interest rate adjustment or the period remaining until the principal amount can be recovered through demand. The absence of an active secondary market with respect to particular variable and floating rate instruments could make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of variable or floating rate notes if the issuer defaulted on its payment obligations or during periods that the Portfolio is not entitled to exercise its demand right, and the Portfolio could, for these or other reasons, suffer a loss with respect to such instruments.
When-Issued or Delayed Delivery Securities. The Portfolio may purchase when-issued and delayed delivery securities purchased for delivery beyond the normal settlement date at a stated price and yield. The Portfolio will generally not pay for such securities or start earning interest on them until they are received. Securities purchased on a when-issued basis are recorded as an asset at the time the commitment is entered into and are subject to changes in value prior to delivery based upon changes in the general level of interest rates.
While the Portfolio has such commitments outstanding, the Portfolio will maintain in a segregated account with the Companys custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the purchase price of the securities to be purchased. Normally, the custodian for the Portfolio will set aside portfolio securities to satisfy a purchase commitment and, in such a case, the Portfolio may be required subsequently to place additional assets in the separate account in order to ensure that the value of the account remains equal to the amount of the Portfolios commitment. It may be expected that the Portfolios net assets will fluctuate to a greater degree when it sets aside portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments than when it sets aside cash. Because the Portfolios liquidity and ability to manage its portfolio might be affected when it sets aside cash or portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments, it is expected that commitments to purchase when-issued securities will not exceed 25% of the value of the Portfolios total assets absent unusual market conditions. When the Portfolio engages in when-issued transactions, it relies on the seller to consummate the trade. Failure of the seller to do so may result in the Portfolios incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price considered to be advantageous. The Portfolio does not intend to purchase when-issued securities for speculative purposes but only in furtherance of its investment objective.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 Portfolios 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 Portfolio invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude the Portfolios ability to achieve their investment objectives.
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 Portfolios holdings.
Non-Principal Investment Policies and Risks
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Guaranteed Investment Contracts. The Portfolio may make investments in obligations, such as guaranteed investment contracts and similar funding agreements (collectively, GICs), issued by highly rated U.S. insurance companies. A GIC is a general obligation of the issuing insurance company and not a separate account. The Portfolios investments in GICs are not expected to exceed 5% of its total assets at the time of purchase absent unusual market conditions. GICs are considered illiquid securities and will be subject to the Portfolios 5% limitation on illiquid investments, unless there is an active and substantial secondary market for the particular instrument and market quotations are readily available.
Illiquid Securities. The Portfolio may not invest more than 5% of its net assets in illiquid securities including repurchase agreements that have a maturity of longer than seven days, and including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Other securities considered illiquid are time deposits with maturities in excess of seven days, variable rate demand notes with demand periods in excess of seven days unless the Portfolios investment adviser determines that such notes are readily marketable and could be sold promptly at the prices at which they are valued and GICs. Repurchase agreements subject to demand are deemed to have a maturity equal to the notice period. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation. The Portfolios investment adviser will monitor the liquidity of such restricted securities under the supervision of the Board of Directors.
Historically, illiquid securities have included securities subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale because they have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (Securities Act), securities which are otherwise not readily marketable and repurchase agreements having a maturity of longer than seven days. Securities which have not been registered under the Securities Act are referred to as private placements or restricted securities and are purchased directly from the issuer or in the secondary market. Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might
thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them, resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities. Illiquid securities would be more difficult to dispose of than liquid securities to satisfy redemption requests.
The Portfolio may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act. These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the Portfolio during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The Portfolios Adviser will monitor the liquidity of restricted securities in the Portfolio under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors. In reaching liquidity decisions, the investment adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades ( e.g. , the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Portfolio may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities. A reverse repurchase agreement involves a sale by the Portfolio of securities that it holds concurrently with an agreement by the Portfolio to repurchase them at an agreed upon time, price and rate of interest. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Portfolio may decline below the price at which the Portfolio is obligated to repurchase them and the return on the cash exchanged for the securities. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act and may be entered into only for temporary or emergency purposes. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Portfolio will maintain in a segregated account with the Companys custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or other liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement.
Stand-By Commitments. The Portfolio may enter into stand-by commitments with respect to obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories, and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, and their political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities and authorities (collectively, Municipal Obligations) held in its portfolio. Under a stand-by commitment, a dealer would agree to purchase at the Portfolios option a specified Municipal Obligation at its amortized cost value to the Portfolio plus accrued interest, if any. Stand-by commitments may be exercisable by the Portfolio at any time before the maturity of the underlying Municipal Obligations and may be sold, transferred or assigned only with the instruments involved.
The Portfolio expects that stand-by commitments will generally be available without the payment of any direct or indirect consideration. However, if necessary or advisable, the Portfolio may pay for a stand-by commitment either in cash or by paying a higher price for portfolio securities which are acquired subject to the commitment (thus reducing the yield to maturity otherwise available for the same securities). The total amount paid in either manner for outstanding stand-by commitments held by the Portfolio will not exceed 1/2 of 1% of the value of the Portfolios total assets calculated immediately after each stand-by commitment is acquired.
The Portfolio intends to enter into stand-by commitments only with dealers, banks and broker-dealers which, in the investment advisers opinion, present minimal credit risks. The Portfolios reliance upon the credit of these dealers, banks and broker-dealers will be secured by the value of the underlying Municipal Obligations that are subject to the commitment. The acquisition of a stand-by commitment may increase the cost, and thereby reduce the yield, of the Municipal Obligation to which such commitment relates.
The Portfolio will acquire stand-by commitments solely to facilitate portfolio liquidity and does not intend to exercise its rights thereunder for trading purposes. The acquisition of a stand-by commitment will not affect the valuation or assumed maturity of the underlying Municipal Obligation which will continue to be valued in accordance with the amortized cost method. The actual stand-by commitment will be valued at zero in determining net asset value (NAV). Accordingly, where the Portfolio pays directly or indirectly for a stand-by commitment, its cost will be reflected as an unrealized loss for the period during which the commitment is held by the Portfolio and will be reflected in realized gain or loss when the commitment is exercised or expires.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
Fundamental Investment Limitations and Policies
A fundamental limitation or policy of the Portfolio may not be changed with respect to the Portfolio without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Portfolios outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of: (1) 67% of the shares of the Portfolio represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio are present in person or by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio.
The Companys Board of Directors can change the investment objective of the Portfolio without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be given notice before any such change is made.
The Portfolio may not:
1. borrow money, except from banks for temporary purposes and for reverse repurchase agreements and then in amounts not in excess of 10% of the value of the Portfolios total assets at the time of such borrowing, and only if after such borrowing there is asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings of the Portfolio; or mortgage, pledge, or hypothecate any of its assets except in connection with such borrowings and then in amounts not in excess of 10% of the value of the Portfolios total assets at the time of such borrowing or purchase portfolio securities while borrowings are in excess of 5% of the Portfolios net assets. (This borrowing provision is not for investment leverage, but solely to facilitate management of the Portfolios securities by enabling the Portfolio to meet redemption requests where the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed to be disadvantageous or inconvenient.);
2. purchase securities on margin, except for short-term credit necessary for clearance of portfolio transactions;
3. underwrite securities of other issuers, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities, the Portfolio may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities laws and except to the extent that the purchase of Municipal Obligations directly from the issuer thereof in accordance with the Portfolios investment objective, policies and limitations may be deemed to be an underwriting;
4. make short sales of securities or maintain a short position or write or sell puts, calls, straddles, spreads or combinations thereof;
5. purchase or sell real estate, provided that the Portfolio may invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein;
6. purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts;
7. invest in oil, gas or mineral exploration or development programs;
8. make loans except that the Portfolio may purchase or hold debt obligations in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations and may enter into repurchase agreements;
9. purchase any securities issued by any other investment company except in connection with the merger, consolidation, acquisition or reorganization of all the securities or assets of such an issuer;
10. make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management;
11. purchase securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase more than 5% of the Portfolios total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Portfolio, except that up to 25% of the value of the Portfolios assets may be invested without regard to this 5% limitation;
12. purchase any securities other than money market instruments, some of which may be subject to repurchase agreements, but the Portfolio may make interest-bearing savings deposits in amounts not in excess of 5% of the value of the Portfolios assets and may make time deposits;
13.* purchase any securities which would cause, at the time of purchase, less than 25% of the value of the total assets of the Portfolio to be invested in the obligations of issuers in the banking industry, or in obligations, such as repurchase agreements, secured by such obligations (unless the Portfolio is in a temporary defensive position) or which would cause, at the time of purchase, more than 25% of the value of its total assets to be invested in the obligations of issuers in any other industry;
14. invest more than 5% of its total assets (taken at the time of purchase) in securities of issuers (including their predecessors) with less than three years of continuous operations; and
15. issue any class of senior security or to sell any senior security of which it is the issuer, as defined in Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.
* With respect to this limitation, the Portfolio will consider wholly-owned finance companies to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents, and will divide utility companies according to their services. For example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry. The policy and practices stated in this paragraph may be changed without shareholder approval, however, any change would be subject to any applicable requirements of the SEC and would be disclosed in the Prospectus prior to being made.
Non-Fundamental Investment Limitations and Policies
A non-fundamental investment limitation or policy may be changed by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval. However, shareholders will be notified of any changes to any of the following limitations or policies.
So long as it values its portfolio securities on the basis of the amortized cost method of valuation pursuant to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, the Portfolio will, subject to certain exceptions, limit its purchases of:
1. The securities of any one issuer, other than issuers of U.S. government securities, to 5% of its total assets, except that the Portfolio may invest more than 5% of its total assets in First Tier Securities of one issuer for a period of up to three business days. First Tier Securities include eligible securities that:
(i) if rated by more than one NRSRO (as defined in the Prospectus), are rated (at the time of purchase) by two or more NRSROs in the highest rating category for such securities;
(ii) if rated by only one NRSRO, are rated by such NRSRO in its highest rating category for such securities;
(iii) have no short-term rating and are comparable in priority and security to a class of short-term obligations of the issuer of such securities that have been rated in accordance with (i) or (ii) above; or
(iv) are Unrated Securities that are determined to be of comparable quality to such securities.
2. Second Tier Securities (which are eligible securities other than First Tier Securities) to 3% of its total assets; and
3. Second Tier Securities of one issuer to one-half of one percent.
In addition, so long as it values its portfolio securities on the basis of the amortized cost method of valuation pursuant to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, the Portfolio will not purchase any Guarantees or Demand Features (as defined in Rule 2a-7) if, after the acquisition of the Guarantees or Demand Features, the Portfolio has more than 10% of its total assets invested in instruments issued by or subject to Guarantees or Demand Features from the same institution, except that the foregoing condition shall only be applicable with respect to 75% of the Portfolios total assets.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Portfolio, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Portfolios securities holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Portfolio shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Portfolios securities holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Portfolios operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Portfolio. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Portfolios holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Portfolios holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR, Form N-Q and Form N-MFP or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require. Month-end schedules of investments are available at www.rbbfund.com as required by Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers on an ongoing basis to the extent and at such times as are necessary for such entities to provide services to the Company. The Companys third party service providers include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; Merrill Corporation, the financial printer; and RiskMetrics Group, (formerly known as Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.) the Funds proxy voting service. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Portfolio. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship ( e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles ( e.g. , custody services provided by financial institutions). Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Portfolio.
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser to, (i) certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of the Portfolio as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Portfolio shareholders. With respect to the Portfolio, the Company discloses information as to (i) percentage allocation of portfolio holdings by security type to iMoneyNet on a weekly basis with no lag-time and (ii) the dollar value allocation of portfolio holdings by security type to the Investment Company Institute monthly with no lag-time. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15-day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Portfolio.
In addition to the permitted disclosures of portfolio holdings described in this SAI, portfolio holdings of the Portfolio may be disclosed in such other limited circumstances as the Companys Board of Directors or a committee thereof deems appropriate, subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. In this way, the Board endeavors to ensure that disclosure of portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the Portfolios shareholders and that any conflicts of interest are avoided.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
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Position(s)
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Term of Office
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships
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INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
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Julian A. Brodsky
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Director |
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1988 to present |
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From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
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23 |
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AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies) |
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J. Richard Carnall
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Director |
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2002 to present |
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Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
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23 |
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None |
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Gregory P. Chandler
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Director |
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2012 to present |
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Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
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23 |
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Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
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Nicholas A. Giordano
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Director |
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2006 to present |
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Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
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23 |
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Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices) |
Name, Address, and
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Position(s)
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Term of Office
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships
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Diane Drake
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Secretary |
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2014 to present |
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Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008 - 2010Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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James G. Shaw
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Assistant
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2005 to present |
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Since 1995, Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Michael P. Malloy
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Assistant Secretary |
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1999 to present |
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Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved a waiver of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and also serves on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the
financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs, Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the company. The contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Giordano, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Nusblatt, Reichman, Sablowsky and Straniere. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Nusblatt, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Portfolio and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013.
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
Jay F. Nuslbatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services. From February 2, 2010 to December 31, 2011, The Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $12,000 per year for his services in this capacity.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Portfolio in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
3,972.08 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
3,818.64 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
4,231.11 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
4,200.76 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
4,813.37 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
3,568.43 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
4,051.15 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officers: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA, Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
20,233.71 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Portfolio to the Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Portfolio. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Portfolios investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser votes proxies according to proxy voting guidelines it has adopted in a manner most likely to protect and promote the economic value of the securities held by the Portfolio. The Advisers focus is on the board of directors, as the agents of shareholders, who should set the companys strategic aims within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enable risk to be assessed and managed. The Adviser manages most conflict situations (i.e., proxies from vendors and clients) through the structural separation of a separately-established internal committee that handles corporate governance issues. For proxies issued by affiliates of the Adviser or proxies of companies where an employee of the Adviser or one of its affiliates is on the Board of Directors of the issuer, the Adviser manages such conflicts by out-sourcing the voting of such proxies to an independent fiduciary.
Information regarding how the Portfolio voted proxies relating to underlying portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-888-9723 and by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014, to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the classes of the Portfolio indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Sansom Street Class |
|
Painewebber
|
|
130,212 |
|
27.2 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sansom Street Class |
|
BNY IS Trust Co
|
|
83,159 |
|
17.37 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sansom Street Class |
|
Lillian Heilpern
|
|
28,175 |
|
5.89 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sansom Street Class |
|
Wells Fargo NA TTEE
|
|
24,947 |
|
5.21 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, the Directors and officers as a group owned 2.70% of the Schneider Value Fund, 2.04% of the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each other portfolio and class within the Company.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Investment Advisory and Administration Agreement
The Advisory and Administration Agreement provides for a maximum fee paid to BALLC, computed daily and payable monthly, at the annual rate of 0.45% of the first $250 million of average daily net assets, 0.40% of the next $250 million of average daily net assets and 0.35% of average daily net assets in excess of $500 million. As described in the Prospectus, the Adviser has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit the Portfolios Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements (excluding certain Portfolio expenses) to 0.25%. The following expenses are excluded from the contractual limitation: (i) interest, taxes, dividends tied to short sales, brokerage commissions, and other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) expenses incurred directly or indirectly by the Portfolio as a result of investments in other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles; (iii) other expenses attributable to, and incurred as a result of, the Portfolios investments; (iv) Distribution and Servicing (12b-1) Fees; and (v) other extraordinary expenses (including litigation expenses) not incurred in the ordinary course of the Portfolios business, if any) of the Sansom Street Shares of the Portfolio. The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. In determining the Advisers obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the expenses excluded from the contractual limitation are not taken into account and could cause net Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses to exceed 0.25%.This contractual limitation is in effect through December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors of The RBB Fund, Inc. The Adviser may terminate this arrangement at any time after December 31, 2015.
For the past three fiscal years, the Company, on behalf of the Portfolio, paid advisory fees to BALLC and/or BIMC (excluding fees for administrative services) as follows:
Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
366,394 |
|
$ |
2,062,868 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
394,805 |
|
$ |
1,882,695 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
431,217 |
|
$ |
1,936,524 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
The Portfolio bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by BALLC. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by a portfolio include, but are not limited to the expenses listed in the prospectus and the following (or a portfolios share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by a portfolio and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of a portfolio by BALLC; (c) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or a portfolio for violation of any law; (d) any extraordinary expenses; (e) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (f) the cost of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its directors and officers; (g) organizational costs; (h) fees paid to the investment adviser and BNY Mellon; (i) fees and expenses of officers and directors who are not affiliated with the Portfolios investment adviser or underwriter; (j) taxes; (k) interest; (l) legal fees; (m) custodian fees; (n) auditing fees; (o) brokerage fees and commissions; (p) certain of the fees and expenses of registering and qualifying the portfolio and its shares for distribution under federal and state securities laws; (q) expenses of preparing prospectuses and statements of additional information and distributing annually to existing shareholders that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (r) the expense of reports to shareholders, shareholders meetings and proxy solicitations that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (s) fidelity bond and directors and officers liability insurance premiums; (t) the expense of using independent pricing services; and (u) other expenses which are not expressly assumed by the portfolios investment adviser under its advisory agreement with the portfolio. The Sansom Street Class of the Company pays its own distribution fees, and may pay a different share than other classes of the Company (excluding advisory and custodial fees) if those expenses are actually incurred in a different amount by the Sansom Street Class or if it receives different services.
Under the Advisory Agreement, BALLC will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Company or the Portfolio in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of BALLC in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its duties and obligations thereunder.
The Advisory Agreement provides that: (i) to the extent permitted by applicable law, BALLC may enter into contracts with one or more sub-advisers, including without limitation, affiliates of BALLC, to perform investment sub-advisory services with respect to the Portfolio, subject to approval by the Companys Board of Directors but not the approval by a vote of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio; (ii) to the extent permitted by applicable law, BALLC may reallocate all or a portion of its investment advisory responsibilities under the Advisory Agreement to any of its affiliates; (iii) BALLC is required to supervise and oversee the activities of each sub-adviser under its sub-advisory contract; and (iv) to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to approval by the Companys Board of Directors, BALLC may terminate any or all sub-advisers in its sole discretion at any time.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Portfolios Advisory Agreement, may be reviewed in the Portfolios annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (800) 430-9618 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
Administration Agreement
Under the Advisory Agreement, BALLC is obligated to render administrative services to the Portfolio. BALLC, pursuant to the terms of a Delegation Agreement with BNY Mellon, dated December 15, 2006, has delegated to BNY Mellon its administrative responsibilities with respect to the Portfolio.
For the past three fiscal years, BNY Mellon was paid administration fees as follows:
Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
125,286 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
400,541 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
522,695 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Companys registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, BNY Mellon received $ 45,128, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013, BNY Mellon received $51,349, and for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012, BNY Mellon received $61,101, in fees from the Portfolio for these services.
Custodian and Transfer Agency Agreements
The Bank of New York Mellon, One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286 (the Custodian), is custodian of the Companys assets pursuant to a custodian agreement dated July 18, 2011, as amended (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Portfolio; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of the Portfolio; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Portfolio; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Portfolios portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Portfolios operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Company, provided that the Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Company harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Portfolio has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Portfolio under the Custodian Agreement, BNY Mellon receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Portfolios average gross assets; exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Portfolio.
BNY Mellon, whose corporate offices are located at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Companys Sansom Street Class pursuant to a Transfer Agency Agreement dated August 16, 1988 (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Sansom Street Class of the Portfolio; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Portfolio to record owners of shares of such Class, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Sansom Street Class. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any other affiliate of The Bank of New York Mellon. For its services to the Portfolio under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Portfolio, subject to a minimum fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company will pay an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Portfolios Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Portfolio will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
BNY Mellon has entered and in the future may enter into additional shareholder servicing agreements (Shareholder Servicing Agreements) with various dealers (Authorized Dealers) for the provision of certain support services to customers of such Authorized Dealers who are shareholders of the Portfolio. Pursuant to the Shareholder Servicing Agreements, the Authorized Dealers have agreed to prepare monthly account statements, process dividend payments from the Company on behalf of their customers and to provide sweep processing for uninvested cash balances for customers participating in a cash management account. In addition to the shareholder records maintained by BNY Mellon, Authorized Dealers may maintain duplicate records for their customers who are shareholders of the Portfolio for purposes of responding to customer inquiries and brokerage instructions. In consideration for providing such services, Authorized Dealers may receive fees from BNY Mellon. Such fees will have no effect upon the fees paid by the Company to BNY Mellon.
Distribution and Servicing Agreement
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Portfolio pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Portfolio.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Portfolio, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Portfolio. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Portfolio on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Portfolio shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Portfolio. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Portfolio and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Portfolio.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Portfolio through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Portfolio for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Portfolios outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without
penalty by the Company on behalf of the Portfolio on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS
The Portfolio intends to purchase securities with remaining maturities of 13 months or less, except for securities that are subject to repurchase agreements (which in turn may have maturities of 13 months or less). However, the Portfolio may purchase variable rate securities with remaining maturities of 13 months or more so long as such securities comply with conditions established by the SEC under which they may be considered to have remaining maturities of 13 months or less. Because the Portfolio intends to purchase only securities with remaining maturities of 13 months or less, its portfolio turnover rate will be relatively high. However, because brokerage commissions will not normally be paid with respect to investments made by the Portfolio, the turnover rate should not adversely affect the Portfolios NAV or net income. The Portfolio does not intend to seek profits through short term trading.
Purchases of portfolio securities by the Portfolio are made from dealers, underwriters and issuers; sales are made to dealers and issuers. The Portfolio does not currently expect to incur any brokerage commission expense on such transactions because money market instruments are generally traded on a net basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission. The price of the security, however, usually includes a profit to the dealer. Securities purchased in underwritten offerings include a fixed amount of compensation to the underwriter, generally referred to as the underwriters concession or discount. When securities are purchased directly from or sold directly to an issuer, no commissions or discounts are paid. It is the policy of the Portfolio to give primary consideration to obtaining the most favorable price and efficient execution of transactions. In seeking to implement the policies of the Portfolio, BALLC will effect transactions with those dealers it believes provide the most favorable prices and are capable of providing efficient executions. In no instance will portfolio securities be purchased from or sold to Foreside Distributors or BALLC or any affiliated person of the foregoing entities except to the extent permitted by SEC exemptive order or by applicable law.
BALLC may seek to obtain an undertaking from issuers of commercial paper or dealers selling commercial paper to consider the repurchase of such securities from the Portfolio prior to their maturity at their original cost plus interest (sometimes adjusted to reflect the actual maturity of the securities), if it believes that the Portfolios anticipated need for liquidity makes such action desirable. Any such repurchase prior to maturity reduces the possibility that the Portfolio would incur a capital loss in liquidating commercial paper (for which there is no established market), especially if interest rates have risen since acquisition of the particular commercial paper.
Investment decisions for the Portfolio and for other investment accounts managed by BALLC are made independently of each other in light of differing conditions. However, the same investment decision may be made for two or more of such accounts. In such cases, simultaneous transactions are inevitable. Purchases or sales are then averaged as to price and allocated as to amount according to a formula deemed equitable to each such account. While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the security as far as the Portfolio is concerned, in other cases it is believed to be beneficial to the Portfolio. The Portfolio will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such security of which BALLC or any affiliated person (as defined in the 1940 Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Companys Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act. Among other things, these procedures require that the commission paid in connection with such a purchase be reasonable and fair, that the purchase be at not more than the public offering price prior to the end of the first business day after the date of the public offer, and that BALLC not participate in or benefit from the sale to the Portfolio.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Portfolio has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Portfolio with each other share that represents an interest in such Portfolio, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Portfolio. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least 10% of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Holders of shares of each class of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by class on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under the Rule the approval of an investment advisory agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants, the approval of underwriting contracts and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to portfolio. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of Common Stock of the Company may elect all directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Portfolios shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Portfolios NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Portfolio is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which trading on the NYSE is restricted, or during which (as determined by the SEC by rule or regulation) an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Portfolio may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Portfolio from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Internal Revenue Code); or (3) if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent, that such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
VALUATION OF SHARES
The Company intends to use its best efforts to maintain the NAV of each class of the Portfolio at $1.00 per share. The NAV per share, the value of an individual share in the Portfolio, is computed by adding the value of the proportionate interest of the class in the Portfolios securities, cash and other assets, subtracting the actual and accrued liabilities of the class and dividing the result by the number of outstanding shares of such class. The NAV of each class of the Company is determined independently of the other classes. The Portfolios net assets equal the value of the Portfolios investments and other securities less its liabilities.
The Company calculates the value of the portfolio securities of the Portfolio by using the amortized cost method of valuation. Under this method, the market value of an instrument is approximated by amortizing the difference between the acquisition cost and value at maturity of the instrument over the remaining life of the instrument. The effect of changes in the market value of a security as a result of fluctuating interest rates is not taken into account. The market value of debt securities usually reflects yields generally available on securities of similar quality. When such yields decline, market values can be expected to increase, and when yields increase, market values can be expected to decline. In addition, if a large number of redemptions take place at a time when interest rates have increased, the Portfolio may have to sell portfolio securities prior to maturity and at a price which might not be as desirable.
The amortized cost method of valuation may result in the value of a security being higher or lower than its market price, the price the Portfolio would receive if the security were sold prior to maturity. The Companys Board of Directors has established procedures for the purpose of maintaining a constant NAV of $1.00 per share for the Portfolio, which includes a review of the extent of any deviation of NAV per share, based on available market quotations, from the $1.00 amortized cost per share. Should that deviation exceed 1/2 of 1% for the Portfolio, the Board of Directors will promptly consider whether any action should be initiated to eliminate or reduce material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders. Such action may include redeeming shares in kind, selling portfolio securities prior to maturity, reducing or withholding dividends, and utilizing an NAV per share as determined by using available market quotations.
The Portfolio will maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of 60 days or less, will not purchase any instrument with a deemed maturity under Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act greater than 397 calendar days, will limit portfolio investments, including repurchase agreements (where permitted), to those U.S.-dollar-denominated instruments that BALLC determines present minimal credit risks pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors, and BALLC will comply with certain reporting and recordkeeping procedures concerning such credit determination. There is no assurance that constant NAV will be maintained. In the event amortized cost ceases to represent fair value in the judgment of the Companys Board of Directors, the Board will take such actions as it deems appropriate.
In determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments, the Company may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables and current payables are carried on the Companys books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Portfolio and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Portfolio or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes may be retroactive.
The Portfolio qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Portfolio generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Portfolio must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Portfolios business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Portfolios taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Portfolios assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies and securities of other issuers as to which the Portfolio has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Portfolio does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Portfolios total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Portfolio controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Portfolio must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Portfolio intends to comply with these requirements. If the Portfolio were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Portfolio could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Portfolio were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Portfolios current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
A 4% nondeductible excise tax is imposed on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute with respect to each calendar year at least 98% of their ordinary taxable income for the calendar year and 98.2% of their capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses) for the one year period ending October 31 of such calendar year and 100% of any such amounts that were not distributed in the prior year. The Portfolio intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions of its ordinary taxable income and any capital gain net income prior to the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
Although the Portfolio expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Portfolio may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Portfolios Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, whose report therein also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued.
Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
Appendix B
BLACKROCK
GLOBAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & ENGAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
Introduction to BlackRock
BlackRock is the worlds preeminent asset management firm and a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional and individual clients around the world. BlackRock offers a wide range of investment strategies and product structures to meet clients needs, including individual and institutional separate accounts, mutual funds, closed-end funds, and other pooled investment vehicles and the industry-leading iShares exchange traded funds. Through BlackRock Solutions®, we offer risk management, strategic advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of clients.
Philosophy on corporate governance
BlackRocks corporate governance program is focused on protecting and enhancing the economic value of the companies in which it invests on behalf of clients. We do this through engagement with boards and management of investee companies and, for those clients who have given us authority, through voting at shareholder meetings.
We believe that there are certain fundamental rights attached to share ownership. Companies and their boards should be accountable to shareholders and structured with appropriate checks and balances to ensure that they operate in shareholders interests. Effective voting rights are central to the rights of ownership and there should be one vote for one share. Shareholders should have the right to elect, remove and nominate directors, approve the appointment of the auditor and to amend the corporate charter or by-laws. Shareholders should be able to vote on matters that are material to the protection of their investment including but not limited to changes to the purpose of the business, dilution levels and pre-emptive rights, the distribution of income and the capital structure. In order to exercise these rights effectively, we believe shareholders have the right to sufficient and timely information to be able to take an informed view of the proposals, and of the performance of the company and management.
Our focus is on the board of directors, as the agent of shareholders, which should set the companys strategic aims within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enables risk to be assessed and managed. The board should provide direction and leadership to the management and oversee managements performance. Our starting position is to be supportive of boards in their oversight efforts on our behalf and we would generally expect to support the items of business they put to a vote at shareholder meetings. Votes cast against or withheld from resolutions proposed by the board are a signal that we are concerned that the directors or management have either not acted in the interests of shareholders or have not responded adequately to shareholder concerns regarding strategy or performance.
These principles set out our approach to engaging with companies, provide guidance on our position on corporate governance and outline how our views might be reflected in our voting decisions. Corporate governance practices vary internationally and our expectations in relation to individual companies are based on the legal and regulatory framework of each market. However, as noted above, we do believe that there are some overarching principles of corporate governance that apply globally. We assess voting matters on a case-by-case basis and in light of each companys unique circumstances. We are interested to understand from the companys reporting its approach to corporate governance, particularly where it is different from the usual market practice, and how it benefits shareholders.
BlackRock also believes that shareholders have responsibilities in relation to monitoring and providing feedback to companies, sometimes known as stewardship. These ownership responsibilities include, in our view, engaging with management or board members on corporate governance matters, voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of shareholders and engaging with regulatory bodies to ensure a sound policy framework consistent with promoting long-term shareholder value creation. Institutional shareholders also have responsibilities to their clients to have appropriate resources and oversight structures. Our own approach to oversight in relation to our corporate governance activities is set out in the section below titled BlackRocks oversight of its corporate governance activities.
Corporate governance, engagement and voting
We recognize that accepted standards of corporate governance differ between markets but we believe that there are sufficient common threads globally to identify an overarching set of principles. The primary objective of our corporate governance activities is the protection and enhancement of the value of our clients investments in public corporations. Thus, these principles focus on practices and structures that we consider to be supportive of long-term value creation. We discuss below the principles under six key themes. In our regional and market-specific voting guidelines we explain how these principles inform our voting decisions in relation to specific resolutions that may appear on the agenda of a shareholder meeting in the relevant market.
The six key themes are:
· Boards and directors
· Auditors and audit-related issues
· Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions
· Remuneration and benefits
· Social, ethical and environmental issues
· General corporate governance matters
At a minimum we would expect companies to observe the accepted corporate governance standard in their domestic market or to explain why doing so is not in the interests of shareholders. Where company reporting and disclosure is inadequate or the approach taken is inconsistent with our view of what is in the best interests of shareholders, we will engage with the company and/or use our vote to encourage a change in practice. In making voting decisions, we take into account research from proxy advisors, other internal and external research, information published by the company or provided through engagement and the views of our equity portfolio managers.
BlackRock views engagement as an important activity; engagement provides BlackRock with the opportunity to improve our understanding of investee companies and their governance structures, so that our voting decisions may be better informed. Engagement also allows us to share our philosophy and approach to investment and corporate governance with companies to enhance their understanding of our objectives. There are a range of approaches we may take in engaging companies depending on the nature of the issue under consideration, the company and the market.
Boards and directors
The performance of the board is critical to the economic success of the company and to the protection of shareholders interests. Board members serve as agents of shareholders in overseeing the strategic direction and operation of the company. For this reason, BlackRock focuses on directors in many of its engagements and sees the election of directors as one of its most important responsibilities in the proxy voting context.
We expect the board of directors to promote and protect shareholder interests by:
· establishing an appropriate corporate governance structure;
· supporting and overseeing management in setting strategy;
· ensuring the integrity of financial statements;
· making decisions regarding mergers, acquisitions and disposals;
· establishing appropriate executive compensation structures; and
· addressing business issues including social, ethical and environmental issues when they have the potential to materially impact company reputation and performance.
There should be clear definitions of the role of the board, the sub-committees of the board and the senior management such that the responsibilities of each are well understood and accepted. Companies should report publicly the approach taken to governance (including in relation to board structure) and why this approach is in the interest of shareholders. We will engage with the appropriate directors where we have concerns about the performance of the board or the company, the broad strategy of the company or the performance of individual board members. Concerns about directors may include their role on the board of a different company where that board has performed poorly and failed to protect shareholder interests.
BlackRock believes that directors should stand for re-election on a regular basis. We assess directors nominated for election or re-election in the context of the composition of the board as a whole. There should be detailed disclosure of the relevant credentials of the individual directors in order that shareholders can assess the caliber of an individual nominee. We expect there to be a sufficient number of independent directors on the board to ensure the protection of the interests of all shareholders. Common impediments to independence may include but are not limited to:
· current employment at the company or a subsidiary;
· former employment within the past several years as an executive of the company;
· providing substantial professional services to the company and/or members of the companys management;
· having had a substantial business relationship in the past three years;
· having, or representing a shareholder with, a substantial shareholding in the company;
· being an immediate family member of any of the aforementioned; and
· interlocking directorships.
BlackRock believes that the operation of the board is enhanced when there is a clearly independent, senior non-executive director to lead it. Where the chairman is also the CEO or is otherwise not independent the company should have an independent lead director. The role of this director is to enhance the effectiveness of the independent members of the board through shaping the agenda, ensuring adequate information is provided to the board and encouraging independent participation in board deliberations. The lead independent board director should be available to shareholders if they have concerns that they wish to discuss.
To ensure that the board remains effective, regular reviews of board performance should be carried out and assessments made of gaps in skills or experience amongst the members. BlackRock believes it is beneficial for new directors to be brought onto the board periodically to refresh the groups thinking and to ensure both continuity and adequate succession planning. In identifying potential candidates, boards should take into consideration the diversity of experience and expertise of the current directors and how that might be augmented by incoming directors. We believe that directors are in the best position to assess the optimal size for the board, but we would be concerned if a board seemed too small to have an appropriate balance of directors or too large to be effective.
There are matters for which the board has responsibility that may involve a conflict of interest for executives or for affiliated directors. BlackRock believes that shareholders interests are best served when the independent members of the board form a sub-committee to deal with such matters. In many markets, these sub-committees of the board specialize in audit, director nominations and compensation matters. An ad hoc committee might also be formed to decide on a special transaction, particularly one with a related party.
Auditors and audit-related issues
BlackRock recognizes the critical importance of financial statements which should provide a complete and accurate picture of a companys financial condition. We will hold the members of the audit committee or equivalent responsible for overseeing the management of the audit function. We take particular note of cases involving significant financial restatements or ad hoc notifications of material financial weakness.
The integrity of financial statements depends on the auditor being free of any impediments to being an effective check on management. To that end, we believe it is important that auditors are, and are seen to be, independent. Where the audit firm provides services to the company in addition to the audit, the fees earned should be disclosed and explained. Audit committees should also have in place a procedure for assuring annually the independence of the auditor.
Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions
The capital structure of a company is critical to its owners, the shareholders, as it impacts the value of their investment and the priority of their interest in the company relative to that of other equity or debt investors. Pre-emption rights are a key protection for shareholders against the dilution of their interests.
In assessing mergers, asset sales or other special transactions, BlackRocks primary consideration is the long-term economic interests of shareholders. Boards proposing a transaction need to clearly explain the economic and strategic rationale behind it. We will review a proposed transaction to determine the degree to which it enhances long-term shareholder value. We would prefer that proposed transactions have the unanimous support of the board and have been negotiated at arms length. We may seek reassurance from the board that executive and/or board members financial interests in a given transaction have not affected their ability to place shareholders interests before their own. Where the transaction involves related parties, we would expect the recommendation to support it to come from the independent directors and would prefer only non-conflicted shareholders to vote on the proposal.
BlackRock believes that shareholders have a right to dispose of company shares in the open market without unnecessary restriction. In our view, corporate mechanisms designed to limit shareholders ability to sell their shares are contrary to basic property rights. Such mechanisms can serve to protect and entrench interests other than those of the shareholders. We believe that shareholders are broadly capable of making decisions in their own best interests. We would expect any so-called shareholder rights plans being proposed by a board to be subject to shareholder approval on introduction and periodically thereafter for continuation.
Remuneration and benefits
BlackRock expects a companys board of directors to put in place a compensation structure that incentivizes and rewards executives appropriately and is aligned with shareholder interests, particularly long-term shareholder returns. We would expect the compensation committee to take into account the specific circumstances of the company and the key individuals the board is trying to incentivize. We encourage companies to ensure that their compensation packages incorporate appropriate and challenging performance conditions consistent with corporate strategy and market practice. We use third party research, in addition to our own analysis, to evaluate existing and proposed compensation structures. We hold members of the compensation committee or equivalent accountable for poor compensation practices or structures.
BlackRock believes that there should be a clear link between variable pay and company performance as reflected in returns to shareholders. We are not supportive of one-off or special bonuses unrelated to company or individual performance. We support incentive plans that pay out rewards earned over multiple and extended time periods. We believe consideration should be given to building claw back provisions into incentive plans such that executives would be required to repay rewards where they were not justified by actual performance. Compensation committees should guard against contractual arrangements that would entitle executives to material compensation for early termination of their contract. Finally, pension contributions should be reasonable in light of market practice.
Outside directors should be compensated in a manner that does not risk compromising their independence or aligning their interests too closely with those of the management, whom they are charged with overseeing.
Social, ethical, and environmental issues
Our fiduciary duty to clients is to protect and enhance their economic interest in the companies in which we invest on their behalf. It is within this context that we undertake our corporate governance activities. We believe that well-managed companies will deal effectively with the social, ethical and environmental (SEE) aspects of their businesses.
BlackRock expects companies to identify and report on the material, business-specific SEE risks and opportunities and to explain how these are managed. This explanation should make clear how the approach taken by the company best serves the interests of shareholders and protects and enhances the long-term economic value of the company. The key performance indicators in relation to SEE matters should also be disclosed and performance against them discussed, along with any peer group benchmarking and verification processes in place. This helps shareholders assess how well management is dealing with the SEE aspects of the business. Any global standards adopted should also be disclosed and discussed in this context.
We may vote against the election of directors where we have concerns that a company might not be dealing with SEE issues appropriately. Sometimes we may reflect such concerns by supporting a shareholder proposal on the issue, where there seems to be either a significant potential threat or realized harm to shareholders interests caused by poor management of SEE matters. In deciding our course of action, we will assess whether the company has already taken sufficient steps to address the concern and whether there is a clear and material economic disadvantage to the company if the issue is not addressed.
More commonly, given that these are often not voting issues, we will engage directly with the board or management. The trigger for engagement on a particular SEE concern is our assessment that there is potential for material economic ramifications for shareholders.
We do not see it as our role to make social, ethical or political judgments on behalf of clients. We expect investee companies to comply, at a minimum, with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which they operate. They should explain how they manage situations where such laws or regulations are contradictory or ambiguous.
General corporate governance matters
BlackRock believes that shareholders have a right to timely and detailed information on the financial performance and viability of the companies in which they invest. In addition, companies should also publish information on the governance structures in place and the rights of shareholders to influence these. The reporting and disclosure provided by companies helps shareholders assess whether the economic interests of shareholders have been protected and the quality of the boards oversight of management. BlackRock believes shareholders should have the right to vote on key corporate governance matters, including on changes to governance mechanisms, to submit proposals to the shareholders meeting and to call special meetings of shareholders.
BlackRocks oversight of its corporate governance activities
BlackRock holds itself to a very high standard in its corporate governance activities, including in relation to executing proxy votes. This function is executed by a team of dedicated BlackRock employees without sales responsibilities (the Corporate Governance Group), and which is considered an investment function. BlackRock maintains three regional oversight committees (Corporate Governance Committees) for the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific, consisting of senior BlackRock investment professionals. All of the regional Corporate Governance Committees report to a Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee, which is a risk-focused committee composed of senior representatives of the active and index equity investment businesses, the Deputy General Counsel, the Global Executive Committee member to whom the Corporate Governance Group reports and the head of the Corporate Governance Group. The Corporate Governance Committees review and approve amendments to their respective proxy voting guidelines (Guidelines) and grant authority to the Global Head of Corporate Governance (Global Head), a dedicated BlackRock employee without sales responsibilities, to vote in accordance with the Guidelines. The Global Head leads the Corporate Governance Group to carry out engagement, voting and vote operations in a manner consistent with the relevant Corporate Governance Committees mandate. The Corporate Governance Group engages companies in conjunction with the portfolio managers in discussions of significant governance issues, conducts research on corporate governance issues and participates in industry discussions to keep abreast of the field of corporate governance. The Corporate Governance Group, or vendors overseen by the Corporate Governance Group, also monitor upcoming proxy votes, execute proxy votes and maintain records of votes cast. The Corporate Governance Group may refer complicated or particularly controversial matters or discussions to the appropriate investors and/or regional Corporate Governance Committees for their review, discussion and guidance prior to making a voting decision. BlackRocks Equity Policy Oversight Committee (EPOC) is informed of certain aspects of the work of the Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee and the Corporate Governance Group.
Vote execution
BlackRock carefully considers proxies submitted to funds and other fiduciary accounts (Funds) for which it has voting authority. BlackRock votes (or refrains from voting) proxies for each Fund for which it has voting authority based on BlackRocks evaluation of the best long-term economic interests of shareholders, in the exercise of its independent business judgment, and without regard to the relationship of the issuer of the proxy (or any dissident shareholder) to the Fund, the Funds affiliates (if any), BlackRock or BlackRocks affiliates.
When exercising voting rights, BlackRock will normally vote on specific proxy issues in accordance with its Guidelines for the relevant market. The Guidelines are reviewed regularly and are amended consistent with changes in the local market practice, as developments in corporate governance occur, or as otherwise deemed advisable by BlackRocks Corporate Governance Committees. The Corporate Governance Committees may, in the exercise of their business judgment, conclude that the Guidelines do not cover the specific matter upon which a proxy vote is requested or that an exception to the Guidelines would be in the best long-term economic interests of BlackRocks clients.
In the uncommon circumstance of there being a vote with respect to fixed income securities or the securities of privately held issuers the decision generally will be made by a Funds portfolio managers and/or the Corporate Governance Group based on their assessment of the particular transactions or other matters at issue.
In certain markets, proxy voting involves logistical issues which can affect BlackRocks ability to vote such proxies, as well as the desirability of voting such proxies. These issues include but are not limited to: (i) untimely notice of shareholder meetings; (ii) restrictions on a foreigners ability to exercise votes; (iii) requirements to vote proxies in person; (iv) share-blocking (requirements that investors who exercise their voting rights surrender the right to dispose of their holdings for some specified period in proximity to the shareholder meeting); (v) potential difficulties in translating the proxy; and (vi) requirements to provide local agents with unrestricted powers of attorney to facilitate voting instructions. We are not supportive of impediments to the exercise of voting rights such as shareblocking or overly burdensome administrative requirements.
As a consequence, BlackRock votes proxies in these markets only on a best-efforts basis. In addition, the Corporate Governance Committees may determine that it is generally in the best interests of BlackRock clients not to vote proxies of companies in certain countries if the committee determines that the costs (including but not limited to opportunity costs associated with shareblocking constraints) associated with exercising a vote are expected to outweigh the benefit the client would derive by voting on the issuers proposal.
While it is expected that BlackRock, as a fiduciary, will generally seek to vote proxies over which BlackRock exercises voting authority in a uniform manner for all BlackRock clients, the relevant Corporate Governance Committee, in conjunction with the portfolio manager of an account, may determine that the specific circumstances of such an account require that such accounts proxies be voted differently due to such accounts investment objective or other factors that differentiate it from other accounts. In addition, BlackRock believes portfolio managers may from time to time legitimately reach differing but equally valid views, as fiduciaries for their funds and the client assets in those Funds, on how best to maximize economic value in respect of a particular investment. Accordingly, portfolio managers retain full discretion to vote the shares in the Funds they manage based on their analysis of the economic impact of a particular ballot item.
Conflicts management
BlackRock maintains policies and procedures that are designed to prevent undue influence on BlackRocks proxy voting activity that might stem from any relationship between the issuer of a proxy (or any dissident shareholder) and BlackRock, BlackRocks affiliates, a Fund or a Funds affiliates. Some of the steps BlackRock has taken to prevent conflicts include, but are not limited to:
· BlackRock has adopted a proxy voting oversight structure whereby the Corporate Governance Committees oversee the voting decisions and other activities of the Corporate Governance Group, and particularly its activities with respect to voting in the relevant region of each Corporate Governance Committees jurisdiction.
· The Corporate Governance Committees have adopted Guidelines for each region, which set forth the firms views with respect to certain corporate governance and other issues that typically arise in the proxy voting context. The Corporate Governance Committees receive periodic reports regarding the specific votes cast by the Corporate Governance Group and regular updates on material process issues, procedural changes and other matters of concern to the Corporate Governance Committees.
· BlackRocks Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee oversees the Global Head, the Corporate Governance Group and the Corporate Governance Committees. The Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee conducts a review, at least annually, of the proxy voting process to ensure compliance with BlackRocks risk policies and procedures.
· BlackRock maintains a reporting structure that separates the Global Head and Corporate Governance Group from employees with sales responsibilities. In addition, BlackRock maintains procedures intended to ensure that all engagements with corporate issuers or dissident shareholders are managed consistently and without regard to BlackRocks relationship with the issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder. Within the normal course of business, the Global Head or Corporate Governance Group may engage directly with BlackRock clients, and with employees with sales responsibilities, in discussions regarding general corporate governance policy matters, and to otherwise ensure that proxy-related client service levels are met. The Global Head or Corporate Governance Group does not discuss any specific voting matter with a client prior to the disclosure of the vote decision to all applicable clients after the shareholder meeting has taken place, except if the client is acting in the capacity as issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder and is engaging through the established procedures independent of the client relationship.
· In certain instances, BlackRock may determine to engage an independent fiduciary to vote proxies as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest or as otherwise required by applicable law. The independent fiduciary may either vote such proxies or provide BlackRock with instructions as to how to vote such proxies. In the latter case, BlackRock votes the proxy in accordance with the independent fiduciarys determination. Use of an independent fiduciary has been adopted for voting the proxies related to any company that is affiliated with BlackRock or any company that includes BlackRock employees on its board of directors.
With regard to the relationship between securities lending and proxy voting, BlackRocks approach is driven by our clients economic interests. The evaluation of the economic desirability of recalling loans involves balancing the revenue producing value of loans against the likely economic value of casting votes. Based on our evaluation of this relationship, we believe that generally the likely economic value of casting most votes is less than the securities lending income, either because the votes will not have significant economic consequences or because the outcome of the vote would not be affected by BlackRock recalling loaned securities in order to ensure they are voted. Periodically, BlackRock analyzes the process and benefits of voting proxies for securities on loan, and will consider whether any modification of its proxy voting policies or procedures is necessary in light of future conditions. In addition, BlackRock may in its discretion determine that the value of voting outweighs the cost of recalling shares, and thus recall shares to vote in that instance.
Voting guidelines
The issue-specific voting Guidelines published for each region/country in which we vote are intended to summarize BlackRocks general philosophy and approach to issues that may commonly arise in the proxy voting context in each market where we invest. These Guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. BlackRock applies the Guidelines on a case-by-case basis, in the context of the individual circumstances of each company and the specific issue under review. As such, these Guidelines do not provide a guide to how BlackRock will vote in every instance. Rather, they share our view about corporate governance issues generally, and provide insight into how we typically approach issues that commonly arise on corporate ballots.
Reporting
We report our proxy voting activity directly to clients and publically as required. In addition, we publish for clients a more detailed discussion of our corporate governance activities, including engagement with companies and with other relevant parties.
BLACKROCK
PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES FOR U.S. SECURITIES
These guidelines should be read in conjunction with BlackRocks Global Corporate Governance and Engagement Principles June 2014.
Introduction
BlackRock, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, BlackRock) seek to make proxy voting decisions in the manner most likely to protect and promote the economic value of the securities held in client accounts. The following issue-specific proxy voting guidelines (the Guidelines) are intended to summarize BlackRocks general philosophy and approach to issues that may commonly arise in the proxy voting context for U.S. Securities. These Guidelines are not intended to limit the analysis of individual issues at specific companies and are not intended to provide a guide to how BlackRock will vote in every instance. Rather, they share our view about corporate governance issues generally, and provide insight into how we typically approach issues that commonly arise on corporate ballots. They are applied with discretion, taking into consideration the range of issues and facts specific to the company and the individual ballot item.
Voting guidelines
These guidelines are divided into six key themes which group together the issues that frequently appear on the agenda of annual and extraordinary meetings of shareholders.
The six key themes are:
· Boards and directors
· Auditors and audit-related issues
· Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions
· Remuneration and benefits
· Social, ethical and environmental issues
· General corporate governance matters
Boards and directors
Director elections
BlackRock generally supports board nominees in most uncontested elections. BlackRock may withhold votes from certain directors on the board or members of particular board committees (or prior members, as the case may be) in certain situations, including, but not limited to:
· The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board fails to implement shareholder proposals that receive a majority of votes cast at a prior shareholder meeting, and the proposals, in our view, have a direct and substantial impact on shareholders fundamental rights or long-term economic interests.
· The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board implements or renews a poison pill without seeking shareholder approval beforehand or within a reasonable period of time after implementation.
· The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board amends the charter/articles/by-laws such that the effect may be to entrench directors or to significantly reduce shareholder rights. In such cases, in determining whether to withhold support from directors, we will consider in part the companys publicly stated rationale for the changes and whether the board has determined to seek shareholder approval beforehand or within a reasonable period of time after implementation.
· An insider or affiliated outsider who sits on the boards audit, compensation, nominating or governance committees, which we believe generally should be entirely independent. However, BlackRock will examine a boards complete profile when questions of independence arise prior to casting a withhold vote for any director. For controlled companies, as defined by the U.S. stock exchanges, we will only vote against insiders or affiliates who sit on the audit committee, but not other key committees.
· Members of the audit committee during a period when the board failed to facilitate quality, independent auditing, for example, if substantial accounting irregularities suggest insufficient oversight by that committee.
· Members of the audit committee during a period in which we believe the company has aggressively accounted for its equity compensation plans.
· Members of the compensation committee during a period in which executive compensation appears excessive relative to performance and peers, and where we believe the compensation committee has not already substantially addressed this issue.
· Members of the compensation committee where the company has repriced options without contemporaneous shareholder approval.
· The chair of the nominating committee, or where no chair exists, the nominating committee member with the longest tenure, where board member(s) at the most recent election of directors have received withhold votes from more than 30% of shares voting and the board has not taken appropriate action to respond to shareholder concerns. This may not apply in cases where BlackRock did not support the initial withhold vote.
· The chair of the nominating committee, or where no chair exists, the nominating committee member with the longest tenure, where the board is not composed of a majority of independent directors. However, this would not apply in the case of a controlled company.
· Where BlackRock obtains evidence that casts significant doubt on a directors qualifications or ability to represent shareholders.
· Where it appears the director has acted (at the company or at other companies) in a manner that compromises his or her reliability in representing the best long-term economic interests of shareholders.
· Where a director has a pattern over a period of years of attending less than 75% of combined board and applicable key committee meetings.
· Where a director has committed himself or herself to service on a large number of boards, such that we deem it unlikely that the director will be able to commit sufficient focus and time to a particular company (commonly referred to as over-boarding). While each situation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, BlackRock is most likely to withhold votes for over-boarding where a director is: 1) serving on more than four public company boards; or 2) is a chief executive officer at a public company and is serving on more than two public company boards in addition to the board of the company where they serve as chief executive officer.
If a board maintains a classified structure, it is possible that the director(s) with whom we have a particular concern may not be subject to election in the year that the concern arises. In such situations, if we have a concern regarding a committee or committee chair, we generally register our concern by withholding votes from all members of the relevant committee who are subject to election that year.
Director independence
We expect that a board should be majority independent. We believe that an independent board faces fewer conflicts and is best prepared to protect shareholder interests. Common impediments to independence in the U.S. include but are not limited to:
· Employment by the company or a subsidiary as a senior executive within the previous five years
· Status as a founder of the company
· Substantial business or personal relationships with the company or the companys senior executives
· Family relationships with senior executives or founders of the company
· An equity ownership in the company in excess of 20%
Age limits / term limits
We encourage boards to routinely refresh their membership to ensure that new viewpoints are included in the boardroom. We believe that the nominating committee of the board has the ability to implement such refreshment. As a result, we typically oppose shareholder proposals imposing arbitrary limits on the pool of directors from which shareholders can choose their representatives . However, where boards find that age limits or term limits are the most efficient mechanism for ensuring routine board refreshment, we generally defer to the boards determine in setting such limits.
Board size
We generally defer to the board in setting the appropriate size. We believe directors are generally in the best position to assess what size is optimal to ensure a boards effectiveness. However, we may oppose boards that appear too small to allow for effective shareholder representation or too large to function efficiently.
Classified board of directors/staggered terms
A classified board of directors is one that is divided into classes (generally three), each of which is elected on a staggered schedule (generally for three years). At each annual meeting, only a single class of directors is subject to reelection (generally one-third of the entire board).
We believe that classification of the board dilutes shareholders right to evaluate promptly a boards performance and limits shareholder selection of their representatives. By not having the mechanism to immediately address concerns we may have with any specific director, we may be required to register our concerns through our vote on the directors who are subject to election that year (see Director elections for additional detail). Furthermore, where boards are classified, director entrenchment is more likely, because review of board service generally only occurs every three years. Therefore, we typically vote against classification and for proposals to eliminate board classification.
Contested director elections
Most director elections are not competitive, but shareholders are sometimes presented with competing slates of director candidates. Generally, such proxy contests are the result of a shareholder (or group of shareholders) seeking to change the companys strategy or address failures in the boards oversight of management. The details of proxy contests are assessed on a case-by-case basis. We evaluate a number of factors, which may include, but are not limited to: the qualifications of the dissident and management candidates; the validity of the concerns identified by the dissident; the viability of both the dissidents and managements plans; the likelihood that the dissidents solutions will produce the desired change; and whether the dissidents represent the best option for enhancing long term shareholder value.
Cumulative voting for directors
Cumulative voting allocates one vote for each share of stock held, times the number of directors subject to election. A shareholder may cumulate his/her votes and cast all of them in favor of a single candidate, or split them among any combination of candidates. By making it possible to use their cumulated votes to elect at least one board member, cumulative voting is typically a mechanism through which minority shareholders attempt to secure board representation.
We typically oppose proposals that further the candidacy of minority shareholders whose interests do not coincide with our fiduciary responsibility. We may support cumulative voting proposals at companies where the board is not majority independent. We may support cumulative voting at companies that have a controlling shareholder. A cumulative voting structure is not consistent with a majority voting requirement, as it may interfere with the capacity of director candidates to achieve the required level of support. We may not support a cumulative voting proposal at a company that has adopted a majority voting standard.
Director compensation and equity programs
We believe that compensation for independent directors should be structured to align the interests of the directors with those of shareholders, whom the directors have been elected to represent. We believe that independent director compensation packages based on the companys long-term performance and that include some form of long-term equity compensation are more likely to meet this goal; therefore, we typically support proposals to provide such compensation packages. However, we will generally oppose shareholder proposals requiring directors to own a minimum amount of company stock, as we believe that companies should maintain flexibility in administering compensation and equity programs for independent directors, given each companys and directors unique circumstances. As discussed in further detail under the heading Equity compensation plans below, we believe that companies should prohibit directors from engaging in transactions with respect to their long term compensation that might disrupt the intended economic alignment between equity plan beneficiaries and shareholders.
Indemnification of directors and officers
We generally support reasonable but balanced protection of directors and officers. We believe that failure to provide protection to directors and officers might severely limit a companys ability to attract and retain competent leadership. We generally support proposals to provide indemnification that is limited to coverage of legal expenses. However, we may oppose proposals that provide indemnity for: breaches of the duty of loyalty; transactions from which a director derives an improper personal benefit; and actions or omissions not in good faith or those that involve intentional misconduct.
Majority vote requirements
BlackRock generally supports proposals seeking to require director election by majority vote. Majority voting standards assist in ensuring that directors who are not broadly supported by shareholders are not elected to serve as their representatives. We note that majority voting is not appropriate in all circumstances, for example, in the context of a contested election. We also recognize that some companies with a plurality voting standard have
adopted a resignation policy for directors who do not receive support from at least a majority of votes cast. Where we believe that the company already has a sufficiently robust majority voting process in place, we may not support a shareholder proposal seeking an alternative mechanism.
Separation of chairman and CEO positions
We believe that independent leadership is important in the board room. In the US there are two commonly accepted structures for independent board leadership: 1) an independent chairman; or 2) a lead independent director. We generally consider the designation of a lead independent director as an acceptable alternative to an independent chair if the lead independent director has a term of at least one year and has powers to: 1) set board meeting agendas; 2) call meetings of the independent directors; and 3) preside at meetings of independent directors. Where a company does not have a lead independent director that meets these criteria, we generally support the separation of chairman and CEO.
Shareholder access to the proxy
We believe that long-term shareholders should have the opportunity, when necessary and under reasonable conditions, to nominate individuals to stand for election to the boards of the companies they own and to have those nominees included on the companys proxy card. This right is commonly referred to as proxy access. In our view, securing a right of shareholders to nominate directors without engaging in a control contest can enhance shareholders ability to participate meaningfully in the director election process, stimulate board attention to shareholder interests, and provide shareholders an effective means of directing that attention where it is lacking. Given the complexity of structuring an appropriate proxy access mechanism and the brevity required of shareholder proposals, we generally expect that a shareholder proposal to adopt proxy access will describe general parameters for the mechanism, while providing the board with flexibility to design a process that is appropriate in light of the companys specific circumstances. Proxy access mechanisms should provide shareholders with assurances that the mechanism will not be subject to abuse by short term investors, investors without a substantial investment in the company, or investors seeking to take control of the board. We will review proposals regarding the adoption of proxy access on a case-by-case basis.
Auditors and audit-related issues
BlackRock recognizes the critical importance of financial statements that provide a complete and accurate portrayal of a companys financial condition. Consistent with our approach to voting on boards of directors, we seek to hold the audit committee of the board responsible for overseeing the management of the audit function at a company, and may withhold votes from the audit committees members where the board has failed to facilitate quality, independent auditing. We take particular note of cases involving significant financial restatements or material weakness disclosures.
The integrity of financial statements depends on the auditor effectively fulfilling its role. To that end, we favor an independent auditor. In addition, to the extent that an auditor fails to reasonably identify and address issues that eventually lead to a significant financial restatement, or the audit firm has violated standards of practice that protect the interests of shareholders, we may also vote against ratification.
From time to time, shareholder proposals may be presented to promote auditor independence or the rotation of audit firms. We may support these proposals when they are consistent with our views as described above.
Capital structure proposals
Blank check preferred
We frequently oppose proposals requesting authorization of a class of preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend distribution and other rights (blank check preferred stock) because they may serve as a transfer of authority from shareholders to the board and a possible entrenchment device. We generally view the
boards discretion to establish voting rights on a when-issued basis as a potential anti-takeover device, as it affords the board the ability to place a block of stock with an investor sympathetic to management, thereby foiling a takeover bid without a shareholder vote. Nonetheless, where the company appears to have a legitimate financing motive for requesting blank check authority, has committed publicly that blank check preferred shares will not be used for anti-takeover purposes, has a history of using blank check preferred stock for financings, or has blank check preferred stock previously outstanding such that an increase would not necessarily provide further anti-takeover protection but may provide greater financing flexibility, we may support the proposal.
Equal voting rights
BlackRock supports the concept of equal voting rights for all shareholders. Some management proposals request authorization to allow a class of common stock to have superior voting rights over the existing common or to allow a class of common to elect a majority of the board. We oppose such differential voting power as it may have the effect of denying shareholders the opportunity to vote on matters of critical economic importance to them.
However, when a management or shareholder proposal requests to eliminate an existing dual-class voting structure, we seek to determine whether this action is warranted at that company at that time, and whether the cost of restructuring will have a clear economic benefit to shareholders. We evaluate these proposals on a case-by-case basis, and we consider the level and nature of control associated with the dual-class voting structure as well as the companys history of responsiveness to shareholders in determining whether support of such a measure is appropriate.
Increase in authorized common shares
BlackRock considers industry specific norms in our analysis of these proposals, as well as a companys history with respect to the use of its common shares. Generally, we are predisposed to support a company if the board believes additional common shares are necessary to carry out the firms business. The most substantial concern we might have with an increase is the possibility of use of common shares to fund a poison pill plan that is not in the economic interests of shareholders.
Increase or issuance of preferred stock
These proposals generally request either authorization of a class of preferred stock or an increase in previously authorized preferred stock. Preferred stock may be used to provide management with the flexibility to consummate beneficial acquisitions, combinations or financings on terms not necessarily available via other means of financing. We generally support these proposals in cases where the company specifies the voting, dividend, conversion and other rights of such stock where the terms of the preferred stock appear reasonable.
Stock splits and reverse stock splits
We generally support stock splits that are not likely to negatively affect the ability to trade shares or the economic value of a share. We generally support reverse splits that are designed to avoid delisting or to facilitate trading in the stock, where the reverse split will not have a negative impact on share value ( e.g. one class is reduced while others remain at pre-split levels). In the event of a proposal to reverse split that would not also proportionately reduce the companys authorized stock, we apply the same analysis we would use for a proposal to increase authorized stock.
Mergers, asset sales, and other special transactions
In reviewing merger and asset sale proposals, BlackRocks primary concern is the best long-term economic interests of shareholders. While these proposals vary widely in scope and substance, we closely examine certain salient features in our analyses. The varied nature of these proposals ensures that the following list will be incomplete. However, the key factors that we typically evaluate in considering these proposals include:
· For mergers and asset sales, we assess the degree to which the proposed transaction represents a premium to the companys trading price. In order to filter out the effects of pre-merger news leaks on the parties share prices, we consider a share price from multiple time periods prior to the date of the merger announcement. In most cases, business combinations should provide a premium. We may consider comparable transaction analyses provided by the parties financial advisors and our own valuation assessments. For companies facing insolvency or bankruptcy, a premium may not apply.
· There should be a favorable business reason for the combination.
· Unanimous board approval and arms-length negotiations are preferred. We will consider whether the transaction involves a dissenting board or does not appear to be the result of an arms-length bidding process. We may also consider whether executive and/or board members financial interests in a given transaction appear likely to affect their ability to place shareholders interests before their own.
· We prefer transaction proposals that include the fairness opinion of a reputable financial advisor assessing the value of the transaction to shareholders in comparison to recent similar transactions.
Poison pill plans
Also known as Shareholder Rights Plans, these plans generally involve issuance of call options to purchase securities in a target firm on favorable terms. The options are exercisable only under certain circumstances, usually accumulation of a specified percentage of shares in a relevant company or launch of a hostile tender offer. These plans are often adopted by the board without being subject to shareholder vote.
Poison pill proposals generally appear on the proxy as shareholder proposals requesting that existing plans be put to a vote. This vote is typically advisory and therefore non-binding. We generally vote in favor of shareholder proposals to rescind poison pills.
Where a poison pill is put to a shareholder vote, our policy is to examine these plans individually. Although we oppose most plans, we may support plans that include a reasonable qualifying offer clause. Such clauses typically require shareholder ratification of the pill, and stipulate a sunset provision whereby the pill expires unless it is renewed. These clauses also tend to specify that an all cash bid for all shares that includes a fairness opinion and evidence of financing does not trigger the pill, but forces either a special meeting at which the offer is put to a shareholder vote, or the board to seek the written consent of shareholders where shareholders could rescind the pill in their discretion. We may also support a pill where it is the only effective method for protecting tax or other economic benefits that may be associated with limiting the ownership changes of individual shareholders.
Reimbursement of expenses for successful shareholder campaigns
Proxy contests and other public campaigns can be valuable mechanisms for holding boards of underperforming companies accountable to their shareholders. However, these campaigns can also lead to unwarranted cost and distraction for boards and management teams, and may be imposed by investors whose interests are not aligned with other investors. Therefore, we generally do not support proposals seeking the reimbursement of proxy contest expenses, even in situations where we support the shareholder campaign, as we believe that introducing the possibility of such reimbursement may incentivize disruptive and unnecessary shareholder campaigns.
Remuneration and benefits
We note that there are both management and shareholder proposals related to executive compensation that appear on corporate ballots. We generally vote on these proposals as described below, except that we typically oppose shareholder proposals on issues where the company already has a reasonable policy in place that we believe is sufficient to address the issue. We may also oppose a shareholder proposal regarding executive compensation if the companys history suggests that the issue raised is not likely to present a problem for that company.
Advisory resolutions on executive compensation (Say on Pay)
In cases where there is a Say on Pay vote, BlackRock will respond to the proposal as informed by our evaluation of compensation practices at that particular company, and in a manner that appropriately addresses the specific question posed to shareholders. We believe that compensation committees are in the best position to make compensation decisions and should maintain significant flexibility in administering compensation programs, given their knowledge of the wealth profiles of the executives they seek to incentivize, the appropriate performance measures for the company, and other issues internal and/or unique to the company. We understand that compensation committees are undertaking their analysis in the context of a competitive marketplace for executive talent. We also believe that shareholders can express concern regarding executive compensation practices through their vote on directors, and our preferred approach to managing pay-for-performance disconnects is via a withhold vote for the compensation committee. As a result, our Say on Pay vote is likely to correspond with our vote on the directors who are compensation committee members responsible for making compensation decisions.
Advisory votes on the frequency of Say on Pay resolutions (Say When on Pay)
BlackRock will generally opt for a triennial vote on Say on Pay. We believe that shareholders should undertake an annual review of executive compensation and express their concerns through their vote on the members of the compensation committee. As a result, it is generally not necessary to hold a Say on Pay vote on an annual basis, as the Say on Pay vote merely supplements the shareholders vote on Compensation Committee members. However, we may support annual Say on Pay votes in some situations, for example, where we conclude that a company has failed to align pay with performance.
Claw back proposals
Claw back proposals are generally shareholder sponsored and seek recoupment of bonuses paid to senior executives if those bonuses were based on financial results that are later restated or were otherwise awarded as a result of deceptive business practices. We generally favor recoupment from any senior executive whose compensation was based on faulty financial reporting or deceptive business practices, regardless of that particular executives role in the faulty reporting. We typically support these proposals unless the company already has a robust claw back policy that sufficiently addresses our concerns.
Employee stock purchase plans
An employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) gives the issuers employees the opportunity to purchase stock in the issuer, typically at a discount to market value. We believe these plans can provide performance incentives and help align employees interests with those of shareholders. The most common form of ESPP qualifies for favorable tax treatment under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 423 plans must permit all full-time employees to participate, carry restrictions on the maximum number of shares that can be purchased, carry an exercise price of at least 85 percent of fair market value on grant date with offering periods of 27 months or less, and be approved by shareholders. We will typically support qualified ESPP proposals.
Equity compensation plans
BlackRock supports equity plans that align the economic interests of directors, managers and other employees with those of shareholders. We believe that boards should establish policies prohibiting use of equity awards in a manner that could disrupt the intended alignment with shareholder interests, for example: use of the stock as collateral for a loan; use of the stock in a margin account; use of the stock (or an unvested award) in hedging or derivative transactions. We may support shareholder proposals requesting the board to establish such policies.
Our evaluation of equity compensation plans is based on a companys executive pay and performance relative to peers and whether the plan plays a significant role in a pay-for-performance disconnect. We generally oppose plans that contain evergreen provisions allowing for the unlimited increase of shares reserved without requiring further shareholder approval after a reasonable time period. We also generally oppose plans that allow for repricing without
shareholder approval. We may also oppose plans that provide for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even in situations where an actual change of control may not occur. We encourage companies to structure their change of control provisions to require the termination of the covered employee before acceleration or special payments are triggered. Finally, we may oppose plans where we believe that the company is aggressively accounting for the equity delivered through their stock plans.
Golden parachutes
Golden parachutes provide for compensation to management in the event of a change in control. We generally view golden parachutes as encouragement to management to consider transactions that might be beneficial to shareholders. However, a large potential payout under a golden parachute arrangement also presents the risk of motivating a management team to support a sub-optimal sale price for a company.
We may support shareholder proposals requesting that implementation of such arrangements require shareholder approval. We generally support proposals requiring shareholder approval of plans that exceed 2.99 times an executives current salary and bonus, including equity compensation.
When determining whether to support or oppose an advisory vote on a golden parachute plan (Say on Golden Parachutes), we normally support the plan unless it appears to result in payments that are excessive or detrimental to shareholders. In evaluating golden parachute plans, BlackRock may consider several factors, including:
· whether we believe that the triggering event is in the best interest of shareholders;
· an evaluation of whether management attempted to maximize shareholder value in the triggering event;
· the percentage of total transaction value that will be transferred to the management team, rather than shareholders, as a result of the golden parachute payment;
· whether excessively large excise tax gross up payments are part of the payout;
· whether the pay package that serves as the basis for calculating the golden parachute payment was reasonable in light of performance and peers; and/or
· whether the golden parachute payment will have the effect of rewarding a management team that has failed to effectively manage the company.
It may be difficult to anticipate the results of a plan until after it has been triggered; as a result, BlackRock may vote against a Say on Golden Parachute proposal even if the golden parachute plan under review was approved by shareholders when it was implemented.
Option exchanges
BlackRock may support a request to exchange underwater options under the following circumstances: the company has experienced significant stock price decline as a result of macroeconomic trends, not individual company performance; directors and executive officers are excluded; the exchange is value neutral or value creative to shareholders; and there is clear evidence that absent repricing the company will suffer serious employee incentive or retention and recruiting problems. BlackRock may also support a request to exchange underwater options in other circumstances, if we determine that the exchange is in the best interest of shareholders.
Pay-for-Performance plans
In order for executive compensation exceeding $1 million to qualify for federal tax deductions, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) requires companies to link that compensation, for the Companys top five executives, to disclosed performance goals and submit the plans for shareholder approval. The law further requires that a compensation committee comprised solely of outside directors administer these plans. Because the primary
objective of these proposals is to preserve the deductibility of such compensation, we generally favor approval in order to preserve net income.
Pay-for-Superior-Performance
These are typically shareholder proposals requesting that compensation committees adopt policies under which a portion of equity compensation requires the achievement of performance goals as a prerequisite to vesting. We generally believe these matters are best left to the compensation committee of the board and that shareholders should not set executive compensation or dictate the terms thereof. We may support these proposals if we have a substantial concern regarding the companys compensation practices over a significant period of time, the proposals are not overly prescriptive, and we believe the proposed approach is likely to lead to substantial improvement.
Supplemental executive retirement plans
BlackRock may support shareholder proposals requesting to put extraordinary benefits contained in Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERP) agreements to a shareholder vote unless the companys executive pension plans do not contain excessive benefits beyond what is offered under employee-wide plans.
Social, ethical and environmental issues
See Global Corporate Governance and Engagement Principles.
General corporate governance matters
Adjourn meeting to solicit additional votes
We generally support such proposals unless the agenda contains items that we judge to be detrimental to shareholders best long-term economic interests.
Bundled proposals
We believe that shareholders should have the opportunity to review substantial governance changes individually without having to accept bundled proposals. Where several measures are grouped into one proposal, BlackRock may reject certain positive changes when linked with proposals that generally contradict or impede the rights and economic interests of shareholders.
Corporate political activities
Portfolio companies may engage in certain political activities, within legal and regulatory limits, in order to influence public policy consistent with the companies values and strategies, and thus serve shareholders best long-term economic interests. These activities can create risks, including: the potential for allegations of corruption; the potential for reputational issues associated with a candidate, party or issue; and risks that arise from the complex legal, regulatory and compliance considerations associated with corporate political activity. We believe that companies which choose to engage in political activities should develop and maintain robust processes to guide these activities and to mitigate risks, including a level of board oversight.
When presented with shareholder proposals requesting increased disclosure on corporate political activities, we may consider the political activities of that company and its peers, the existing level of disclosure, and our view regarding the associated risks. We generally believe that it is the duty of boards and management to determine the appropriate level of disclosure of all types of corporate activity, and we are generally not supportive of proposals that are overly prescriptive in nature. We may determine to support a shareholder proposal requesting additional reporting of corporate political activities where there seems to be either a significant potential threat or actual harm to shareholders interests and where we believe the company has not already provided shareholders with sufficient information to assess the companys management of the risk.
Finally, we believe that it is not the role of shareholders to suggest or approve corporate political activities; therefore we generally do not support proposals requesting a shareholder vote on political activities or expenditures.
Other business
We oppose giving companies our proxy to vote on matters where we are not given the opportunity to review and understand those measures and carry out an appropriate level of shareholder oversight.
Reincorporation
Proposals to reincorporate from one state or country to another are most frequently motivated by considerations of anti-takeover protections or cost savings. Where cost savings are the sole issue, we will typically favor reincorporating. In all instances, we will evaluate the changes to shareholder protection under the new charter/articles/by-laws to assess whether the move increases or decreases shareholder protections. Where we find that shareholder protections are diminished, we will support reincorporation if we determine that the overall benefits outweigh the diminished rights.
Shareholders right to act by written consent
In exceptional circumstances and with sufficiently broad support, shareholders should have the opportunity to raise issues of substantial importance without having to wait for management to schedule a meeting. We therefore believe that shareholders should have the right to solicit votes by written consent provided that: 1) there are reasonable requirements to initiate the consent solicitation process in order to avoid the waste of corporate resources in addressing narrowly supported interests; and 2) support from a minimum of 50% of outstanding shares is required to effectuate the action by written consent. We may oppose shareholder proposals requesting the right to act by written consent in cases where the proposal is structured for the benefit of a dominant shareholder to the exclusion of others, or if the proposal is written to discourage the board from incorporating appropriate mechanisms to avoid the waste of corporate resources when establishing a right to act by written consent. Additionally, we may oppose shareholder proposals requesting the right to act by written consent if the company already provides a shareholder right to call a special meeting that we believe offers shareholders a reasonable opportunity to raise issues of substantial importance without having to wait for management to schedule a meeting.
Shareholders right to call a special meeting
In exceptional circumstances and with sufficiently broad support, shareholders should have the opportunity to raise issues of substantial importance without having to wait for management to schedule a meeting. We therefore believe that shareholders should have the right to call a special meeting in cases where a reasonably high proportion of shareholders (typically a minimum of 15% but no higher than 25%) are required to agree to such a meeting before it is called, in order to avoid the waste of corporate resources in addressing narrowly supported interests. However, we may oppose this right in cases where the proposal is structured for the benefit of a dominant shareholder to the exclusion of others. We generally believe that a right to act via written consent is not a sufficient alternative to the right to call a special meeting.
Simple majority voting
We generally favor a simple majority voting requirement to pass proposals. Therefore, we will support the reduction or the elimination of supermajority voting requirements to the extent that we determine shareholders ability to protect their economic interests is improved. Nonetheless, in situations where there is a substantial or dominant shareholder, supermajority voting may be protective of public shareholder interests and we may support supermajority requirements in those situations.
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
(an Investment Portfolio of The RBB Fund, Inc.)
Institutional Class: BOGIX
Investor Class: BOGLX
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 31, 2014
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides supplementary information pertaining to shares of two classes, Institutional Class and Investor Class (collectively, the Shares), representing interests in the Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read only in conjunction with the Funds Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus). A copy of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free (877) 264-5346. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION |
2 |
|
|
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES |
2 |
|
|
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
14 |
|
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
15 |
|
|
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
16 |
|
|
CODE OF ETHICS |
23 |
|
|
PROXY VOTING POLICIES |
23 |
|
|
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
24 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
24 |
|
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS |
29 |
|
|
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
31 |
|
|
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
31 |
|
|
VALUATION OF SHARES |
32 |
|
|
TAXES |
32 |
|
|
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
33 |
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS |
34 |
|
|
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
34 |
|
|
APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
|
|
APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating 23 separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the Institutional Class and Investor Class representing interests in one diversified portfolio, the Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund, which is offered by the Prospectus. Bogle Investment Management, L.P. (the Adviser) serves as the investment adviser for the Fund.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Fund.
The Funds investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation.
The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of the net assets of the portfolio (including borrowings for investment purposes) in the stocks of U.S. companies with market capitalizations, at the time of purchase, that are within the trailing twelve-month range of the market capitalizations of those companies that are included in the Russell 2000® Index (Small Cap Stocks). For purposes of this investment policy, stocks of U.S. companies are stocks that are listed on a securities exchange or market inside the United States. Because the Russell 2000® Index (Index) is modified (reconstituted) regularly (usually each year) to replace companies that no longer qualify for inclusion in the Index due to, among other reasons, having market capitalizations that have grown too large, the Adviser uses the trailing average twelve-month range of market capitalizations to mitigate the need to trade stocks in the portfolio due to Index reconstitution. Further, the Adviser will not sell from the portfolio any holdings that the Adviser believes are likely to appreciate more than the Russell 2000® Index solely because the market capitalizations of such holdings cause the portfolio to hold less than 80% of its net assets within this range. As such, the Fund may, from time to time, hold less than 80% of its net assets within this range. The Fund attempts to achieve its objective by taking long positions in Small Cap Stocks that the Adviser believes are undervalued given their future earnings growth prospects. The Adviser will manage the portfolio such that its median market capitalization is under normal circumstances reasonably close to the median capitalization of the Index. As part of its investment strategy, the Adviser will continue to invest in Small Cap Stocks that the Adviser believes will appreciate more than the Index. Shareholders will be notified by the Fund sixty days in advance of any change in this 80% policy.
The Adviser may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectus and this SAI, or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
Principal Investment Policies and Risks.
Equity Securities
Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stock, preferred stock, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments. See Rights Offerings and Purchase Warrants on the following pages for more information.
· Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. See Convertible Securities on the following pages for more information.
Foreign Securities
In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund may invest in the securities of foreign issuers, including through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) or Global or European Depositary Receipts (GDRs and EDRs). During temporary defensive periods, the Fund may also hold short or medium-term interest-bearing instruments or deposits of foreign issuers as described in the Prospectus and in this SAI.
ADRs are receipts typically issued by a United States bank or trust company which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. ADRs may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. GDRs and EDRs are securities that represent ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a non-U.S. or U.S. corporation. The Fund may invest in ADRs through sponsored or unsponsored facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the underlying security and a depositary, whereas a depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by the issuer of the deposited security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of such facilities and the depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through voting rights to the holders of such receipts in respect of the deposited securities. Investment in ADRs does not eliminate all the risks inherent in investing in securities of foreign issuers. The market value of these securities is dependent upon the market value of the underlying securities and fluctuations in the relative value of the currencies in which the ADRs and the underlying securities are quoted. Accordingly, the Fund 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. 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 change 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.
Investing in Small Capitalization Companies
Investments in small 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. Small 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 these 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. Small 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. Transaction costs for these investments are often higher than those of larger capitalization companies. Investments in small capitalization companies may be more difficult to price precisely than other types of securities because of their characteristics and lower trading volumes.
Special Note Regarding Market Events
Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 Funds investments. It is uncertain how long these conditions will continue.
The instability in the financial markets from 2007 to 2009 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 Funds 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 Funds holdings.
Non-Principal Investment Policies and Risks
Borrowing Money
As a fundamental policy, the Fund is permitted to borrow to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act and to mortgage, pledge or hypothecate its assets in connection with such borrowings in amounts not in excess of 125% of the dollar amounts borrowed. The 1940 Act permits an investment company to borrow in an amount up to 33 1 /3% of the value of such companys total assets. However, the Fund currently intends to borrow money only for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, in an amount up to 15% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) at the time the borrowing is made. The Fund will not make any additional investments while borrowings exceed 5% of its total assets. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days.
Convertible Securities
The Fund may invest in convertible securities, such as convertible debentures, bonds and preferred stock, primarily for their equity characteristics. Convertible securities may be converted into common stock at a specified share price or ratio. Because the price of the common stock may fluctuate above or below the specified price or ratio, the Fund may have the opportunity to purchase the common stock at below market price. On the other hand, fluctuations in the price of the common stock could render the right of conversion worthless.
Cyber Security Risk
The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Equity Swaps
The Fund may enter into equity swap contracts to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. Equity swaps may also be used for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. The counterparty to an equity swap contract will typically be a bank, investment banking firm or broker/dealer. Equity swap contracts may be structured in different ways. For example, a counterparty may agree to pay the Fund the amount, if any, by which the notional amount of the equity swap contract would have increased in value had it been invested in the particular stocks (or an index of stocks), plus the dividends that would have been received on those stocks. In these cases, the Fund may agree to pay to the counterparty a floating rate of interest on the notional amount of the equity swap contract plus the amount, if any, by which that notional amount would have decreased in value had it been invested in such stocks. Therefore, the return to the Fund on the equity swap contract should be the gain or loss on the notional amount plus dividends on the stocks less the interest paid by the Fund on the notional amount. In other cases, the counterparty and the Fund may each agree to pay the other the difference between the relative investment performances that would have been achieved if the notional amount of the equity swap contract had been invested in different stocks (or indices of stocks).
The Fund will enter into equity swaps only on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Payments may be made at the conclusion of an equity swap contract or periodically during its term. Equity swaps do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to equity swaps is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to an equity swap defaults, the Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. Inasmuch as these transactions are entered into for hedging purposes or are offset by segregated cash or liquid assets to cover the Funds potential exposure, the Fund and the Adviser believe that transactions do not constitute senior securities under the Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to the Funds borrowing restrictions.
The Fund will not enter into swap transactions unless the unsecured commercial paper, senior debt or claims paying ability of the other party thereto is considered to be investment grade by the Adviser.
Futures
Futures Contracts. The Fund may invest in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including S&P 500 ® Index futures, Russell 2000 ® Index futures, and options on such futures described below). When the Fund purchases a futures contract, it agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. When the Fund sells a futures contract, it agrees to sell the underlying instrument at a specified future date. The price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the Fund enters into the contract. The underlying instrument may be a specified type of security, such as U.S. Treasury bonds or notes.
The majority of futures contracts are closed out by entering into an offsetting purchase or sale transaction in the same contract on the exchange where they are traded, rather than being held for the life of the contract. Futures contracts are closed out at their current prices, which may result in a gain or loss.
If the Fund holds a futures contract until the delivery date, it will be required to complete the purchase and sale contemplated by the contract. In the case of futures contracts on securities, the purchaser generally must deliver the agreed-upon purchase price in cash, and the seller must deliver securities that meet the specified characteristics of the contract.
The Funds intend to limit such investments in commodity futures, commodity options contracts and swaps to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). For this reason, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO, the disclosure and operations of the Funds would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
The Fund may purchase futures contracts as an alternative to purchasing actual securities. For example, if the Fund intended to purchase certain securities but had not yet done so, it could purchase a futures contract in order to lock in current market prices while deciding on particular investments. This strategy is sometimes known as an anticipatory hedge. Alternatively, the Fund could purchase a futures contract if it had cash and short-term securities on hand that it wished to invest in longer-term securities, but at the same time the Fund wished to maintain a highly liquid position in order to be prepared to meet redemption requests or other obligations. In these strategies, the Fund would use futures contracts to attempt to achieve an overall return, whether positive or negative, similar to the return from longer-term securities, while taking advantage of potentially greater liquidity that futures contracts may offer. Although the Fund would hold cash and liquid debt securities in a segregated account with a value sufficient to cover its open futures obligations, the segregated assets would be available to the Fund immediately upon closing out the futures position, while settlement of securities transactions can take several days.
The Fund may sell futures contracts to hedge its other investments against changes in value, or as an alternative to sales of securities. For example, if the Adviser anticipated a decline in the price of a particular security, but did not wish to sell such securities owned by the Fund, it could sell a futures contract in order to lock in a current sale price. If prices subsequently fell, the futures contracts value would be expected to rise and offset all or a portion of the loss in the securities that the Fund had hedged. Of course, if prices subsequently rose, the futures contracts value could be expected to fall and offset all or a portion of the benefit to the Fund.
The risk of loss in trading futures contracts in some strategies can be substantial, due both to the low margin deposits required, and the extremely high degree of leverage involved in futures pricing. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor. Thus, a purchase or sale of a futures contract may result in losses or gains in excess of the amount invested in the contract.
Futures margin payments. The purchaser or seller of a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying instrument unless the contract is held until the delivery date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit initial margin with a futures broker (known as a futures commission merchant, or FCM), when the contract is entered into. Initial margin deposits are equal to a percentage of the contracts value, as set by the
exchange where the contract is traded, and may be maintained in cash or high quality liquid securities. If the value of either partys position declines, that party will be required to make additional variation margin payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. The party that has a gain may be entitled to receive all or a portion of this amount. Initial and variation margin payments are similar to good faith deposits or performance bonds, unlike margin extended by a securities broker, and initial and variation margin payments do not constitute purchasing securities on margin for purposes of the Funds investment limitations. In the event of the bankruptcy of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of the Fund, the Fund may be entitled to a return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCMs other customers. The Adviser will attempt to minimize this risk by careful monitoring of the creditworthiness of the FCMs with which the Fund does business.
Correlation of price changes. The prices of futures contracts depend primarily on the value of their underlying instruments. Because there are a limited number of types of futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized futures contracts available to the Fund will not match the Funds current or anticipated investments. Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match the Funds investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation between the Funds investments and its futures positions may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts. The Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities they wish to hedge or intend to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in historical volatility between the futures contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in the Funds futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, its futures positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by the gains in the Funds other investments.
Liquidity of futures contracts. Because futures contracts are generally settled within a day from the date they are closed out, as compared with a longer settlement period for other types of securities, the futures markets can provide liquidity superior to the securities markets in many cases. Nevertheless, there is no assurance a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. In addition, futures exchanges may establish daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts and may halt trading if a contracts price moves upward or downward more than the limit in a given day. On volatile trading days when the price fluctuation limit is reached, it may be impossible for the Fund to enter into new positions or close out existing positions. If the secondary market for a futures contract is not liquid because of price fluctuation limits or otherwise, it would prevent prompt liquidation of unfavorable futures positions, and potentially could require the Fund to continue to hold a futures position until the delivery date regardless of changes in its value. As a result, the Funds access to other assets held to cover its futures positions could also be impaired.
Index Futures and Related Options. An index futures contract is a contract to buy or sell an integral number of units of a stock index ( i.e ., the Standard & Poors 500 Price ® Index or the Russell 2000 ® Index) at a specified future date at a price agreed upon when the contract is made. A unit is the value of the relevant index from time to time. Entering into a contract to buy units is commonly referred to as buying or purchasing a contract or holding a long position in an index.
Risks of Futures Transactions. The risks related to the use of futures contracts include: (i) the correlation between movements in the market price of the Funds investments (held or intended for purchase) being hedged and in the price of the futures contract may be imperfect; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for closing out futures positions; (iii) the need for additional portfolio management skills and techniques; and (iv) losses due to unanticipated market movements. Successful use of futures by the Fund is subject to the Advisers ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the market.
Illiquid Securities
The Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including repurchase agreements which have a maturity of longer than seven days and securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation. Repurchase agreements subject to demand are deemed to have a maturity equal to the notice period.
Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
The Adviser will monitor the liquidity of restricted securities in the Fund under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors. In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (2) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (3) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (4) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades ( e.g ., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
Investment Company Securities
The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, the Funds investments in such securities currently are limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Funds total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Funds total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. Investments in the securities of other investment companies will involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act permits the Fund to invest an unlimited amount of its uninvested cash in a money market fund, so long as, among other things, said investment is consistent with the Funds investment objectives and policies. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of the investment companys expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
Lending of Fund Securities
The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to financial institutions. Such loans would involve risks of delay in receiving additional collateral in the event the value of the collateral decreases below the value of the securities loaned or of delay in recovering the securities loaned or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, loans will be made only to borrowers which the Adviser deems to be of good standing and only when, in the Advisers judgment, the income to be earned from the loans justifies the attendant risks. The Fund may not make loans in excess of 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets. The Fund does not have the right to vote loaned securities. The Fund may attempt to call loaned securities back to permit the exercise of voting rights if time and jurisdictional restrictions permit. There is no guarantee that all loans can be recalled.
Portfolio Turnover
Those investment strategies that require periodic changes to portfolio holdings with the expectation of outperforming equity indices are typically referred to as active strategies. These strategies contrast with passive (index) strategies that buy and hold only the stocks in the equity indices. Passive strategies tend to trade infrequentlyonly as the stocks in the indices change (largely due to changes in the sizes of the companies in the indices, takeovers or bankruptcies). Most equity mutual funds pursue active strategies, which have higher turnover than passive strategies.
The generally higher portfolio turnover of active investment strategies can adversely affect taxable investors, especially those in higher marginal tax brackets, in two ways. First, short-term capital gains, which often accompany higher turnover investment strategies, are currently taxed at ordinary income rates. Ordinary income tax rates are higher than long-term capital gain tax rates for middle and upper income taxpayers. Thus, the tax liability is often higher for investors in active strategies. Second, the more frequent realization of gains caused by higher turnover investment strategies means that taxes will be paid sooner. Such acceleration of the tax liability is financially more costly to investors. Less frequent realization of capital gains allows the payment of taxes to be deferred until later years, allowing more of the gains to compound before taxes are paid. Consequently, after-tax compound rates of return will generally be higher for taxable investors using investment strategies with very low turnover, compared with high turnover strategies. The difference is particularly large when the general market rates of return are higher than average.
Although tax considerations should not typically drive investment decisions, the Adviser recommends that all of its investors consider their ability to allocate tax-deferred assets (such as Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and other retirement plans) to active strategies, and taxable assets to lower turnover passive strategies, when considering their investment options. Generally, investors will earn better after-tax returns investing tax-advantaged assets in active strategies, while using very low turnover passive strategies for their taxable investments.
The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the Funds annual sales or purchases of portfolio securities (exclusive of purchases or sales of securities with maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less) by the monthly average value of the securities in the portfolio during the year. Under normal market conditions, it is expected that the Funds portfolio turnover will range between 150% to 300%.
Put and Call Options
The Fund may purchase and write (sell) put and call options relating to particular securities or to various indices which may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange or issued by the Options Clearing Corporation.
Purchasing Put Options. By purchasing a put option, the Fund obtains the right (but not the obligation) to sell the options underlying instrument at a fixed strike price. The option may give the Fund the right to sell only on the options expiration date, or may be exercisable at any time up to and including that date. In return for this right, the Fund pays the current market price for the option (known as the option premium). The options underlying instrument may be a security or a futures contract.
The Fund may terminate its position in a put option it has purchased by allowing it to expire or by exercising the option. If the option is allowed to expire, the Fund will lose the entire premium it paid. If the Fund exercises the option, it completes the sale of the underlying instrument at the strike price. If the Fund exercises a put option on a futures contract, it assumes a sellers position in the underlying futures contract. Purchasing an option on a futures contract does not require the Fund to make futures margin payments unless it exercises the option. The Fund may also terminate a put option position by closing it out in the secondary market at its current price, if a liquid secondary market exists.
Put options may be used by the Fund to hedge securities it owns, in a manner similar to selling futures contracts, by locking in a minimum price at which the Fund can sell. If security prices fall, the value of the put option would be expected to rise and offset all or a portion of the Funds resulting losses. The put thus acts as a hedge against a fall in the price of such securities. However, all other things being equal (including securities prices), option premiums tend to decrease over time as the expiration date nears. Therefore, because of the cost of the option in the form of the premium (and transaction costs), the Fund would expect to suffer a loss in the put option if prices do not decline sufficiently to offset the deterioration in the value of the option premium. This potential loss represents the cost of the hedge against a fall in prices. At the same time, because the maximum the Fund has at risk is the cost of the option, purchasing put options does not eliminate the potential for the Fund to profit from an increase in the value of the securities hedged to the same extent as selling a futures contract.
Purchasing Call Options. The features of call options are essentially the same as those of put options, except that the purchaser of a call option obtains the right to purchase, rather than sell, the underlying instrument at the options strike price (call options on futures contracts are settled by purchasing the underlying futures contract). By purchasing a call option, the Fund would attempt to participate in potential price increases of the underlying instrument, with results similar to those obtainable from purchasing a futures contract, but with risk limited to the cost of the option if security prices fall. At the same time, the Fund can expect to suffer a loss if security prices do not rise sufficiently to offset the cost of the option.
The Fund will purchase call options only in connection with closing purchase transactions. The Fund may terminate its position in a call option by entering into a closing purchase transaction. A closing purchase transaction is the purchase of a call option on the same security with the same exercise price and call period as the option previously written by the Fund. If the Fund is unable to enter into a closing purchase transaction, the Fund may be required to hold a security that it might otherwise have sold to protect against depreciation.
Writing Put Options. When the Fund writes a put option, it takes the opposite side of the transaction from the options purchaser. In return for receipt of the premium, the Fund assumes the obligation to pay the strike price for the options underlying instrument if the other party to the option chooses to exercise it. When writing an option on a futures contract, the Fund will be required to make margin payments to an FCM as described above for futures contracts. The Fund may seek to terminate its position in a put option it writes before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for an option the Fund has written, however, the Fund must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes, and must continue to set aside assets to cover its position.
The Fund may write put options as an alternative to purchasing actual securities. If security prices rise, the Fund would expect to profit from a written put option, although its gain would be limited to the amount of the premium it received. If security prices remain the same over time, it is likely that the Fund will also profit, because it should be able to close out the option at a lower price. If security prices fall, the Fund would expect to suffer a loss. This loss should be less than the loss the Fund would have experienced from purchasing the underlying instrument directly, however, because the premium received for writing the option should mitigate the effects of the decline.
Writing Call Options. Writing a call option obligates the Fund to sell or deliver the options underlying instrument, in return for the strike price, upon exercise of the option. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, as described above, except that writing covered call options generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, the Fund would seek to mitigate the effects of a price decline. At the same time, because the Fund would have to be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, the Fund would give up some ability to participate in security price increases when writing call options.
Combined Option Positions. The Fund may purchase and write options in combination with each other to adjust the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. For example, the Fund may purchase a put option and write a call option on the same underlying instrument, in order to construct a combined position whose risk and return characteristics are similar to selling a futures contract. Another possible combined position would involve writing a call option at one strike price and buying a call option at a lower price, in order to reduce the risk of the written call option in the event of a substantial price increase. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.
Options on Indices/Unlisted Over-the-Counter Options . In contrast to an option on a particular security, an option on an index provides the holder with the right to make or receive a cash settlement upon exercise of the option. The amount of this settlement will be equal to the difference between the closing price of the index at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars, times a specified multiple.
The Fund will engage in unlisted over-the-counter options only with broker-dealers deemed creditworthy by the Adviser. Closing transactions in certain options are usually effected directly with the same broker-dealer that effected the original option transaction. The Fund bears the risk that the broker-dealer will fail to meet its obligations. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to close an unlisted option position. Furthermore, unlisted options are not subject to the protections afforded purchasers of listed options by the Options Clearing Corporation, which performs the obligations of its members who fail to do so in connection with the purchase or sale of options.
Risks of Options Transactions. Options trading is a highly specialized activity which entails greater than ordinary investment risk. Options are subject to risks similar to those described above with respect to futures contracts, including the risk of imperfect correlation between the option and the Funds other investments and the risk that there might not be a liquid secondary market for the option. In the case of options on futures contracts, there is also a risk of imperfect correlation between the option and the underlying futures contract. Options are also subject to the risks of an illiquid secondary market, particularly in strategies involving writing options, which the Fund cannot terminate by exercise. In general, options whose strike prices are close to their underlying instruments current value will have the highest trading volume, while options whose strike prices are further away may be less liquid. The liquidity of options may also be affected if options exchanges impose trading halts, particularly when markets are volatile.
Asset Coverage for Futures and Options Positions. The Fund will not use leverage in its options and futures strategies. The Fund will hold securities or other options or futures positions whose values are expected to offset its obligations under the hedge strategies. The Fund will not enter into an option or futures position that exposes the Fund to an obligation to another party unless it owns either (i) an offsetting position in securities or other options or futures contracts or (ii) cash, receivables and short-term debt securities with a value sufficient to cover its potential obligations. The Fund will comply with guidelines established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with respect to coverage of options and futures strategies by mutual funds, and, if the guidelines so require, will set aside cash and liquid securities in a segregated account with its custodian bank in the amount prescribed. Securities held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the futures or option strategy is outstanding, unless they are replaced with similar securities. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Funds assets could impede portfolio management or the Funds ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
Limitations on Futures and Options Transactions. The Company, on behalf of the Fund, has filed a notice of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of the term commodity pool operator with the CFTC and the National Futures Association, which regulate trading in the futures markets. Pursuant to Section 4.5 of the regulations under the Commodity Exchange Act, the Fund will not enter into any commodity futures contract or option on a commodity futures contract for non-hedging purposes if, as a result, the sum of initial margin deposits on commodity futures contracts and related commodity options and premiums paid for options on commodity futures contracts the Fund has purchased would exceed 5% of the Funds net assets after taking into account unrealized profits and losses on such contracts, except as may be otherwise permitted under applicable regulations.
The Funds limitations on investments in futures contracts and their policies regarding futures contracts and the limitations on investments in options and its policies regarding options discussed above in this SAI, are not fundamental policies and may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors as regulatory agencies permit.
Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price. The repurchase price under repurchase agreements generally equals the price paid by the Fund plus interest negotiated on the basis of current short-term rates (which may be more or less than the rate on the securities underlying the repurchase agreement). The financial institutions with whom the Fund may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks and broker/dealers which the Adviser considers creditworthy pursuant to criteria approved by the Board of Directors. The Adviser will consider, among other things, whether a repurchase obligation of a seller involves minimal credit risk to the Fund in determining whether to have the Fund enter into a repurchase agreement. The seller under a repurchase agreement will be required to maintain the value of the securities subject to the agreement at not less than the repurchase price plus accrued interest. The Adviser will mark to market daily the value of the securities and will, if necessary, require the seller to maintain additional securities, to ensure that the value is not less than the repurchase price. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose the Fund to a possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations. The Companys custodian will hold securities subject to repurchase agreements in the Federal Reserve/Treasury book-entry system or by another authorized securities depository. Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans by the Fund under the 1940 Act.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements
Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to the Funds agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed upon price, date and rate of interest. Such agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act, and may be entered into only for temporary or emergency purposes. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account with its custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash, or other liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement and will monitor the account to ensure that such value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase.
Rights Offerings and Purchase Warrants
Rights offerings and purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the rights or warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of rights and/or warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the right and/or warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
Section 4(2) Paper
Section 4(2) paper is commercial paper, which is issued in reliance on the private placement exemption from registration, which is afforded by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Section 4(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws and is generally sold to institutional investors such as the Fund which agree that they are purchasing the paper for investment and not with a view to public distribution. Any resale by the purchaser must be in an exempt transaction. Section 4(2) paper normally is resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of investment dealers who make a market in the Section 4(2) paper normally, thereby providing liquidity. See Illiquid Securities and Appendix A to this SAI for a list of commercial paper ratings.
Short Sales
Short sales are transactions in which the Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that security. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay to the lender amounts equal to any dividend which accrues during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
Until the Fund replaces a borrowed security in connection with a short sale, the Fund will: (a) maintain daily a segregated account, containing cash, cash equivalents, or liquid marketable securities, at such a level that the amount deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short or (b) otherwise cover its short position in accordance with positions taken by the staff of the SEC.
The Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. The Fund will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those dates. This result is the opposite of what one would expect from a cash purchase of a long position in a security. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of any premium or amounts in lieu of interest the Fund may be required to pay in connection with a short sale. The Fund may purchase call options to provide a hedge against an increase in the price of a security sold short.
The Fund anticipates that the frequency of short sales will vary substantially in different periods, and it does not intend that any specified portion of its assets, as a matter of practice, will be invested in short sales. However, no securities will be sold short if, after effect is given to any such short sale, the total market value of all securities sold short would exceed 25% of the value of the Funds net assets. The Fund may, however, make a short sale as a hedge, when it believes that the price of a security may decline, causing a decline in the value of a security owned by the Fund (or a security convertible or exchangeable for such security), or when the Fund wants to sell the security at an attractive current price, but also wishes possibly to defer recognition of gain or loss for federal income tax purposes. In such case, any future losses in the Funds long position should be reduced by a gain in the short position. Conversely, any gain in the long position should be reduced by a loss in the short position. The extent to which such gains or losses are reduced will depend upon the amount of the security sold short relative to the amount
the Fund owns. There will be certain additional transaction costs associated with short sales against the box, but the Fund will endeavor to offset these costs with the income from the investment of the cash proceeds of short sales.
Short Sales Against the Box
In addition to the short sales discussed above, the Fund may make short sales against the box, a transaction in which the Fund enters into a short sale of a security that the Fund owns. The proceeds of the short sale will be held by a broker until the settlement date at which time the Fund delivers the security to close the short position. The Fund receives the net proceeds from the short sale. It currently is anticipated that the Fund will make short sales against the box for purposes of protecting the value of the Funds net assets and will not engage in short sales against the box for speculative purposes.
A short sale against the box will defer recognition of gain for federal income tax purposes only if the Fund subsequently closes the short position by making a purchase of the relevant securities no later than 30 days after the end of the taxable year.
Temporary Investments
The short-term and medium-term debt securities in which the Fund may invest for temporary defensive purposes consist of: (a) obligations of the United States or foreign governments, their respective agencies or instrumentalities; (b) bank deposits and bank obligations (including certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers acceptances) of U.S. or foreign banks denominated in any currency; (c) floating rate securities and other instruments denominated in any currency issued by international development agencies; (d) finance company and corporate commercial paper and other short-term corporate debt obligations of U.S. and foreign corporations; and (e) repurchase agreements with banks and broker-dealers with respect to such securities.
U.S. Government Obligations
The Fund may purchase U.S. government agency and instrumentality obligations that are debt securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and federal agencies. Some obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or by U.S. Treasury guarantees, such as securities of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and the Federal Housing Authority; others, by the ability of the issuer to borrow, provided approval is granted, from the U.S. Treasury, such as securities of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and others, only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation, such as securities of Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs). Such guarantees of U.S. government securities held by a Fund do not, however, guarantee the market value of the shares of the Fund. There is no guarantee that the U.S. government will continue to provide support to its agencies or instrumentalities in the future. U.S. government obligations that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are subject to greater risks than those that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. All U.S. government obligations are subject to interest rate risk.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
The Funds net assets may be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, including, if applicable, options and futures on such obligations. The maturities of U.S. government securities usually range from three months to thirty years. Examples of types of U.S. government obligations include U.S. Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes and Treasury Bonds and the obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Fannie Mae, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Freddie Mac, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Maritime Administration, the Asian-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. U.S. government securities may include inflation-indexed fixed income
securities, such as U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). The interest rate of TIPS, which is set at auction, remains fixed throughout the term of the security and the principal amount of the security is adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted principal is not paid until maturity.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. A Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
When-Issued Securities and Forward Commitments
The Fund may purchase securities on a when-issued basis and may purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment basis. These transactions involve a commitment by the Fund to purchase or sell particular securities with payment and delivery taking place at a future date (perhaps one or two months later), and permit the Fund to lock-in a price or yield on a security it owns or intends to purchase, regardless of future changes in interest rates. When-issued and forward commitment transactions involve the risk, however, that the price or yield obtained in a transaction may be less favorable than the price or yield available in the market when the securities delivery takes place. The Funds when-issued purchases and forward commitments are not expected to exceed 25% of the value of its total assets absent unusual market conditions. The Fund does not intend to engage in when-issued purchases and forward commitments for speculative purposes but only in furtherance of its investment objective.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Fund has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the particular Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such Fund are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such Fund. The Fund may not:
1. |
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Purchase securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase more than 5% of a Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by a Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of a Funds assets may be invested without regard to such limitation. |
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2. |
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Borrow money, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act or mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any of its assets in connection with any such borrowing except in amounts not in excess of 125% of the dollar amounts borrowed. The 1940 Act permits an investment company to borrow in an amount up to 33 1/3% of the value of such companys total assets. For purposes of this investment limitation, the entry into options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indexes, and options on futures contracts or indexes shall not constitute borrowing. |
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3. |
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Purchase any securities which would cause, at the time of purchase, 25% or more of the value of the total assets of the Fund to be invested in the obligations of issuers in any industry, provided that there is no limitation with respect to investments in U.S. government obligations. |
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4. |
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Make loans, except that the Fund may purchase or hold debt obligations in accordance with its investment objective, policies and limitations, may enter into repurchase agreements for securities, and may lend portfolio securities against collateral consisting of cash or securities which are consistent with the Funds permitted investments, which is equal at all times to at least 100% of the value of the securities loaned. There is no investment restriction on the amount of securities that may be loaned, except that payments received on such loans, including amounts received during the loan on account of interest on the securities loaned, may not (together with all non-qualifying income) exceed 10% of the Funds annual gross income (without offset for |
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realized capital gains) unless, in the opinion of counsel to the Company, such amounts are qualifying income under federal income tax provisions applicable to regulated investment companies. |
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5. |
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Purchase securities on margin, except for short-term credit necessary for clearance of portfolio transactions, and except that the Fund may establish margin accounts in connection with its use of options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indexes, and options on futures contracts or indexes. |
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6. |
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Underwrite securities of other issuers, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities, the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under federal securities laws. |
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7. |
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Purchase or sell real estate or real estate limited partnership interests, provided that the Fund may invest in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies which invest in real estate or interests therein or in real estate investment trusts. |
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8. |
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Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may purchase and sell options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indexes, and options on futures contracts or indexes. |
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9. |
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Invest in oil, gas or mineral-related exploration or development programs or leases. |
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10. |
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Purchase any securities issued by any other investment company, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and except in connection with the merger, consolidation or acquisition of all the securities or assets of such an issuer. |
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11. |
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Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but the Fund will vote those securities it owns in its portfolio as a shareholder in accordance with its views. |
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12. |
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Issue any senior security, as defined in Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. |
13. |
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Pledge, mortgage or hypothecate its assets, except to the extent necessary to secure permitted borrowings as described in Limitation 2 above and to the extent related to the purchase of securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and the deposit of assets in escrow in connection with writing covered put and call options and collateral and initial or variation margin arrangements with respect to options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indexes, and options on futures contracts or indexes. |
* * *
If a percentage restriction under one of the Funds investment policies or limitations or the use of assets is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities issued by the Fund).
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Adviser currently makes the Funds top ten holdings, sector weightings and portfolio characteristics publicly available on its web site, www.boglefunds.com, as disclosed in the following table:
Information Posting |
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Frequency of Disclosure |
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Date of Web Posting |
Top 10 Portfolio Holdings and other portfolio characteristics |
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Quarterly |
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6 to 7 weeks after the end of each calendar quarter |
The scope of the information relating to the Funds portfolio that is made available on the web site may change from time to time without notice. The Adviser or its affiliates may include the Funds portfolio information that has already been made public through a Web posting or SEC filing in marketing literature and other communications to shareholders, advisors or other parties, provided that, in the case of information made public through the Web, the information is disclosed no earlier than the day after the date of posting to the web site.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers of the Company, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; Merrill Corporation, the financial printer; and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., the Funds proxy voting service. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship ( e.g . attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles ( e.g ., custody services provided by financial institutions).
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to (i) certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of the Fund as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Fund shareholders. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15-day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter.
The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act), are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address and Age |
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Position(s)
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Term of Office
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships Held by
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INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
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Julian A. Brodsky
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Director |
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1988 to present |
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From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
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23 |
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AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies). |
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J. Richard Carnall
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Director |
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2002 to present |
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Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
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23 |
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None |
Name, Address and Age |
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Position(s)
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Term of Office
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships Held by
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Gregory P. Chandler
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Director |
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2012 to present |
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Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
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23 |
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Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
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Nicholas A. Giordano
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Director |
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2006 to present |
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Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
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23 |
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Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices). |
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Arnold M. Reichman
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Chairman Director |
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2005 to present
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Since 2006, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lifebooker, LLC. |
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23 |
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None |
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Robert A. Straniere
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Director |
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2006 to present |
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Since 2009, Administrative Law Judge, New York City; 1980, Founding Partner, Straniere Law Group. |
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23 |
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Reich and Tang Group (asset management). |
INTERESTED DIRECTORS(2) |
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Jay F. Nusblatt
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Director |
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2012 to present |
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Since July 2010, Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing; from 2006 to July 2010, Senior Vice President, Fund Accounting and Administration, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
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23 |
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None |
Name, Address and Age |
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Position(s)
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Term of Office
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships Held by
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Robert Sablowsky
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Director |
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1991 to present |
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Since July 2002, Senior Vice President and prior thereto, Executive Vice President, of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (a registered broker-dealer). |
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23 |
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None |
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OFFICERS |
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Salvatore Faia, JD,
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President
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2009 to present
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Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Joel Weiss
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Treasurer |
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2009 to present |
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Since 1993, Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Diane Drake
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Secretary |
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2014 to present |
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Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010, Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc. |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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James G. Shaw
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Assistant
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2005 to present |
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Since 1995, Senior Director and Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Michael P. Malloy
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Assistant Secretary |
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1999 to present |
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Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved a waiver of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall and Sablosky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and also serveson the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Giordano, Reichman, Sablowsky and Chandler. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee of the Board convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Reichman, Sablowsky, Straniere and Nusblatt. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Reichman, Sablowsky and Nusblatt. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013:
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-10,000 |
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
Robert Sablowsky |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Over $100,000 |
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director, (except Mr. Jay Nusblatt) a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Company in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,638 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,936 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
2,172 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
2,138 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
2,627 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,856 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,958 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA
|
|
$ |
14,474 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser has adopted proxy voting procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Fund. The Adviser employs a third party service provider to assist in the voting of proxies. These procedures have been provided to the service provider, who analyzes the proxies and votes such proxies in the manner outlined in the Advisers procedures. A copy of the Advisers Proxy Voting Guidelines is included with this SAI. Please see Appendix B to this SAI for further information.
Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-877-264-5346 and by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014 to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
INVESTOR CLASS
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
National Financial Services LLC
|
|
568,508.369 |
|
19.56 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TD Ameritrade Inc.
|
|
205,021.992 |
|
7.06 |
% |
INSTITUTIONAL CLASS
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
National Financial Services LLC
|
|
1,016,478.711 |
|
35.13 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charles Schwab & Co.
|
|
686,593.535 |
|
23.73 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, the Directors and officers as a group owned 2.70% of the Schneider Value Fund, 2.04% of the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each other portfolio and class within the Company.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Advisory Agreement
The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (Advisory Agreement) dated September 15, 1999. Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to
receive a monthly fee from the Fund calculated at an annual rate of 1.00% of the Funds average daily net assets. The Adviser has agreed to limit the Funds Total Annual Operating Expenses (excluding certain items discussed below to the extent that such expenses exceed 1.25% of the Funds Institutional Class average daily net assets and 1.35% of the Funds Investor Class average daily net assets. In determining the Advisers obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net total annual fund operating expenses to exceed 1.25% or 1.35%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived advisory fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Companys Board of Directors. As necessary, this limitation is effected in waivers of advisory fees and reimbursements of expenses exceeding the advisory fee. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waivers indefinitely. John C. Bogle, Jr., the Funds portfolio manager (the Portfolio Manager), is the President of the Adviser.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Fund including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Fund, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, or sold by the Fund, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales made for the Fund.
The Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. The Fund bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Fund include, but are not limited to the expenses listed in the Prospectus and the following (or the Funds share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by the Fund and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) expenses of organizing the Company that are not attributable to a class of the Company; (c) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Fund for violation of any law; (d) any extraordinary expenses; (e) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (f) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; and (g) the cost of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its duties and obligations thereunder.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the continuation of the Funds investment advisory agreement may be reviewed in the Funds annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (877) 264-5346 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
The advisory fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Advisory Fees (after waivers
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
2,061,448 |
|
$ |
134,352 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
1,197,306 |
|
$ |
194,958 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
773,004 |
|
$ |
242,905 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall at all times have all rights in and to the Funds name and all investment models used by or on behalf of the Fund. The Adviser may use the Funds name or any portion thereof in connection with any other mutual fund or business activity without the consent of any shareholder, and the Company has agreed to execute and deliver any and all documents required to indicate its consent to such use.
Portfolio Manager
Description of Compensation . The Funds Portfolio Manager receives a base salary, a retirement plan contribution, a bonus and profit distributions from his ownership stake in the Adviser. Compensation and bonus is based on the Advisers overall profitability. The Advisers profitability, and thus compensation from its profit distributions, is directly related to the Advisers investment performance for accounts with performance-based fees (most accounts, all strategies), as well as assets under management. Base salary and bonuses are determined annually based on a series of factors including investment performance and the Advisers profitability. An annual retirement plan contribution is based on a fixed percentage of total annual salary and bonus.
Material Conflicts of Interest. The Adviser does not trade any proprietary accounts; however, the Portfolio Manager does have an economic interest in several of the accounts managed by the Adviser, either through direct ownership or through performance fees. Therefore, the Adviser has policies in place to ensure that accounts in which the Portfolio Manager holds an interest (either directly or through a potential performance fee) are not favored over other accounts. This conflict is mitigated in the following ways: (1) equitable, well documented trade allocation procedures; (2) daily performance monitoring and risk tracking; (3) broad direct ownership by the Portfolio Manager in all of the Advisers investment strategies; (4) performance-based fees in accounts that represent all of the Advisers investment strategies; and (5) ownership and compensation policies based on the success of the overall Adviser, not just a specific investment strategy.
Other Accounts . The table below discloses accounts, other than the Fund, for which the Portfolio Manager is primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management, as of the Funds most recently completed fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager or
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
John C. Bogle, Jr. |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
5 |
|
$ |
1,621 |
|
5 |
|
$ |
1,621 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
4 |
|
$ |
428 |
|
4 |
|
$ |
428 |
|
Securities Ownership . The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Portfolio Manager in the Fund as of August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares
|
John C. Bogle, Jr. |
|
Over $1 Million |
Custodian Agreements
The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, serves as custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a custodian agreement between BNY and the Company dated as of July 18, 2011 (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, BNY (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund, (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of the Fund, (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund, (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio securities and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. BNY is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that BNY remains responsible for the performance of all its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Company harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, BNY Mellon receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Funds average gross assets; exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
Transfer Agency Agreements
BNY Mellon, with corporate offices at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a Transfer Agency Agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented for the Fund on September 15, 1999 (collectively, the Transfer Agency Agreement). Under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon (a) issues and redeems Shares of the Fund, (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of Shares of the Fund, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders, (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open accounts in the Fund. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Customer Identification Program, including the verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
Administration and Accounting Services Agreement
BNY Mellon also serves as the Funds administrator and fund accounting agent pursuant to an Administration and Accounting Services Agreement dated as of September 15, 1999, (the Administration Agreement). BNY Mellon has agreed to calculate the Funds net asset value (NAV), provide all accounting services for the Fund and assist in related aspects of the Funds operations. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of BNY Mellons gross negligence. In consideration for providing services pursuant to the Administration Agreement, BNY Mellon receives a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.115% of the Funds average daily net assets, subject to a minimum of $6,250 per month, exclusive of out-of-pocket expenses and pricing charges. BNY Mellon is currently waiving 0.0125% of its annual fee.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it or its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a Regulatory Administration Services Agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective
amendment filing and supplements to the Funds registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
The administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees, including waivers and reimbursements, for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Administration, Accounting and
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
283,872 |
|
$ |
27,447 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
193,569 |
|
$ |
17,403 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
154,954 |
|
$ |
12,699 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Distribution and Shareholder Servicing
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund(s) pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Fund, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect
financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
The shareholder servicing fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Shareholder Servicing Fees
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
98,711 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
67,043 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
59,494 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors, the Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. The Adviser has broad supervision over the placement of securities orders for the Fund. The Adviser has the authority to determine the broker-dealer to be used in any securities transaction and the commission rate to be paid. While the primary criterion for all transactions in portfolio securities is the execution of orders at the most favorable net price, numerous additional factors are considered by the Adviser when arranging for the purchase and sale of the Funds portfolio securities. These include restrictions imposed by the federal securities laws and the allocation of brokerage in return for certain services and materials described below. In determining the abilities of the broker-dealer to obtain best execution of a particular transaction, the Adviser will consider all relevant factors including the execution capabilities required by the transaction(s), the ability and willingness of the broker-dealer to facilitate the Funds portfolio transactions promptly and at reasonable expense, the importance to the Fund of speed, efficiency or confidentiality and the broker-dealers apparent familiarity with sources from or to whom particular securities might be purchased or sold, as well as any other matters the Adviser deems relevant to the selection of a broker-dealer for a particular portfolio transaction of the Fund.
When the best execution criteria are satisfied, those broker-dealers who supplement the Advisers capabilities with trading execution and research services, within the parameters of Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, may be selected by the Adviser to provide brokerage services. Research services include both proprietary research (created or developed by the broker-dealer) and research created or developed by a third party.
Ongoing research, computer systems and market data feeds are critical elements of the Advisers investment management process. Accordingly, the Adviser is a significant user of broker-provided products and services that assist the Adviser in carrying out its investment and trading decisions. These products and services include: quotation services; trading; research (including proprietary) and portfolio management systems and consulting services; data; software; seminars; prime brokerage; custody and clearance services; other data services; trading and data feeds; proxy research; and trading communication services. In the absence of soft dollar arrangements, the Adviser would have to pay directly for these services. Further, although best execution is always the primary objective in broker selection, the use of soft dollars means that the Adviser has less incentive to go to execution-only brokers, and that the Adviser may not always obtain the best price.
In some cases the Adviser acquires research products or services with soft dollars that also have non-research uses. In these cases the Adviser makes reasonable allocation of the cost of the product or service according to its use. That portion of the product or service that provides administrative or other non-research services is paid for by the Adviser in hard dollars.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid $20,147 in aggregate commissions to brokers on account of research services. All research services received from broker-dealers to whom commissions are paid are used collectively. There is no direct relationship between commissions received by a broker-dealer from the Funds or a particular clients transactions and the use of any or all of that broker-dealers research material in relation to the Fund or that clients account. The Adviser may pay a broker-dealers brokerage commission in excess of that which another broker-dealer might have charged for the same transaction in recognition of research and brokerage related services provided by the broker-dealer. The variations in brokerage commissions are a result of changes in the Funds assets, commission rates, and turnover of the Funds securities.
The brokerage commissions for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Brokerage
|
|
|
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
141,059 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
168,845 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
149,570 |
|
The Fund is required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Funds as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. As of August 31, 2014, the Fund held 104,547 shares with a market value of $1,780,435 of Investment Technology Group, Inc.
The Adviser typically aggregates orders for the purchase and sale of securities for client portfolios including portfolios of the investment partnerships and registered investment companies it advises. In this process, orders for investment partnerships or registered investment companies in which the Adviser or persons associated with the Adviser have an interest may be aggregated with orders for other client portfolios. Securities purchased or proceeds of securities sold through aggregated orders are allocated to the account of each client or fund that bought or sold such securities at the average execution price. If less than the total of the aggregated orders is executed, purchased securities or proceeds will be allocated pro rata among the participating portfolios. Transaction costs for any transaction will be shared pro rata based on each portfolios participation in the transaction. The Fund will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such security of which the Adviser or any affiliated person (as defined in the 1940 Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Companys Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act.
In no instance will portfolio securities be purchased from or sold to the Distributor, BNY or the Adviser or any affiliated person of the foregoing entities except as permitted by SEC exemptive order or by applicable law.
Corporate debt and U.S. government securities and many micro- and small-cap stocks are generally traded on the over-the-counter market on a net basis without a stated commission, through dealers acting for their own account and not as brokers. The Fund will engage in transactions with these dealers or deal directly with the issuer unless a better price or execution could be obtained by using a broker. Prices paid to a dealer in debt, micro- or small-cap securities will generally include a spread, which is the difference between the prices at which the dealer is willing to purchase and sell the specific security at the time, and includes the dealers normal profit.
The Adviser may seek to obtain an undertaking from issuers of commercial paper or dealers selling commercial paper to consider the repurchase of such securities from the Fund prior to their maturity at their original cost plus interest (sometimes adjusted to reflect the actual maturity of the securities), if it believes that the Funds anticipated need for liquidity makes such action desirable. Any such repurchase prior to maturity reduces the possibility that the Fund would incur a capital loss in liquidating commercial paper (for which there is no established market), especially if interest rates have risen since acquisition of the particular commercial paper.
In transactions for securities not actively traded on a securities exchange, the Fund will deal directly with the dealers who make a market in the securities involved, except in those circumstances where better prices and execution are available elsewhere. Such dealers usually are acting as principal for their own account. On occasion, securities may be purchased directly from the issuer. Such portfolio securities are generally traded on a net basis and do not normally involve brokerage commissions. Securities firms may receive brokerage commissions on certain
portfolio transactions, including options, futures and options on futures transactions and the purchase and sale of underlying securities upon exercise of options.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
Institutional Class shares of the Fund may be sold to corporations or other institutions such as trusts, foundations or broker-dealers purchasing for the accounts of others. Purchase orders for Investor Class shares may be placed through a financial intermediary. Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares may also be purchased directly from the Fund at the NAV per share, by mail or by wire.
The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist that make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequence as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Fund are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code); or (3) if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund reserves the right to redeem a shareholders account in the Fund at any time the NAV of the account falls below $500 as the result of a redemption request. Shareholders will be notified in writing that the value of their account is less than $500 and will be allowed 30 days to make additional investments before the involuntary redemption is processed.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than the Distributor),
financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to the approval of the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Fund qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Funds business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Funds taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate
rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
State and Local Taxes
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which the Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys Charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders collectively owning at least 10% of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of the Fund will vote in the aggregate and not by class on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the
matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under the Rule, the approval of an investment advisory agreement, distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined by the 1940 Act) of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants, the approval of principal underwriting contracts and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote on the matter voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel.
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning the Fund at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued.
Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
BOGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, L.P.
PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES
It is the policy at Bogle Investment Management, L.P. (BIM), to vote all proxies, where we have been delegated the fiduciary duty to do so, in order to maximize shareholder value and the value of our investments. Whenever there is a conflict between the interests of BIM and the interests of its clients with regards to a proxy vote, it is BIMs policy to act in the best interest of its clients. The proxy voting guidelines below summarize BIMs position on various issues of concern to shareholders and investors. In order to facilitate the proxy voting process, we may retain a proxy service provider to assist us with proxy research, vote execution and record keeping. This proxy service provider would coordinate with our prime brokers and our clients custodians to ensure that all proxy materials for each client are received and executed on a timely basis. This proxy service provider would also vote the proxies in accordance with our pre-determined policy and in consultation with BIM for non-routine, unusual or controversial issues.
In the case where an outside proxy firm is used and the firm makes vote recommendations, BIM performs due diligence to ensure that these recommendations benefit investors rather than the provider firms own commercial interests. One of our key criterion in selecting a provider is independence, considering sources of revenue as well as industry reputation. Further, our relationship with our provider is more implementation oriented than recommendation oriented, in that the provider works from a pre-determined set of policies, created by BIM and customized to suit our needs.
No set of guidelines can anticipate every issue that may arise. The guidelines are not exhaustive and do not include all potential voting issues or variations on existing issues. Many of the issues and the circumstances of individual companies are different, and there may be instances when we adjust our position and may not vote in strict adherence to these guidelines. Also, in cases where there are no pre-determined policy guidelines, the third party service provider contacts BIM to determine the proper course of action.
As part of our ongoing investment process, our investment professionals may encounter significant corporate developments. As these situations arise, we may adjust votes for specific securities based on the current information.
Portfolio managers are responsible for determining the voting templates and for addressing case-by-case queries.
Our proxy voting guidelines are summarized below, including specific examples of commonly presented items.
I. GUIDELINES FOR DOMESTIC SECURITIES
Election of the Board of Directors:
We will generally vote for the companys nominees, provided that the Board maintains a majority of independent directors. We will vote on a case-by-case basis for contested elections.
Classified Board Structure:
We are generally against the adoption of classified board structures, where the board of directors is elected on a staggered basis instead of each director elected annually. We are generally against proposals to declassify boards, unless there are special circumstances where shareholders would benefit from the declassification.
Cumulative Voting:
We are generally against proposals to allow cumulative voting by shareholders.
Supermajority Voting:
We are generally against proposals to require a supermajority for shareholder votes.
Election of Auditors:
Our policies generally support the re-election of auditors unless:
· An auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, and is therefore not independent.
· There is reason to believe that the auditor rendered an opinion that is either inaccurate or not indicative of the companys financial position.
We will review fees paid by a company for non-audit services on a case-by-case basis to determine if they are so excessive as to impair the auditors appearance of independence.
Executive Compensation:
We are generally in favor of proposals that link executive compensation to both the companys long-term performance and to the performance of its peer group, unless such proposals are excessive. We will vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals to reprice options and to institute or amend employee stock purchase plans.
Golden Parachutes:
We are generally for shareholder proposals to require a shareholder vote to approve any plans greater than two times salary and bonus. We will review any proposals to repeal or cancel existing plans on a case-by-case basis.
Poison Pills:
These are anti-takeover provisions that can make it more difficult for an outside party to take control of a company without the approval of the board of directors. We are generally for any shareholder proposals to require a company to submit its poison pill plan for shareholder approval. We will review on a case-by-case basis any proposals to redeem or revise any existing plans.
Common Stock Authorization:
We generally vote for the authorization to increase shares of common stock for routine corporate purposes such as for stock splits or share repurchase programs. Any non-routine issuances or issuances in connection with corporate restructurings are voted on as case-by-case basis.
Preferred Stock:
We generally vote against proposals to create a new class of preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend distribution, and other rights blank check stock. We review requests for issuances of preferred stock on a case-by-case basis.
State of Incorporation:
We vote on a case-by-case basis on any proposals to change a companys state or country of incorporation.
Corporate Restructurings:
We vote on all mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, liquidations and any other corporate restructurings on a case-by-case basis.
Social Issues and Corporate Responsibility Issues:
As there are many variations on these types of issues, we evaluate all shareholder proposals individually and vote for each on a case-by-case basis.
II. GUIDELINES FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES
For some of our clients we invest in foreign domiciled securities. For those securities that are incorporated in foreign jurisdictions and are not listed on US securities exchanges or the NASDAQ, protection for shareholders may vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Laws governing foreign issuers may, in some cases, provide substantially less protection for shareholders. Corporate governance systems differ country by country. As a result, the foregoing guidelines may not be appropriate under some circumstances for foreign issuers. The funds will vote proxies of foreign issuers in accordance with the foregoing guidelines where applicable, and any exceptions or unusual circumstances will be voted on a case-by-case basis.
Share blocking occurs in some, but not all, global markets. Clients cannot trade those blocked shares from the time the voting instructions are received to the meeting date. In many markets, meetings are often postponed, sometimes more than once, because they were unable to reach a quorum. In most cases, the voting instructions remain valid until the next scheduled meeting date unless there is a change in the agenda. This means that the shares remain unavailable for trading until the actual meeting. We have decided not to vote proxies where share blocking is an issue. We have communicated this to the separate account clients impacted by this.
MATSON MONEY, INC.
FAMILY OF FUNDS
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Institutional Class
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund: FMUEX
Free Market International Equity Fund: FMNEX
Free Market Fixed Income Fund: FMFIX
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
Matson Money, Inc.
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides information about the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund (each a Fund and collectively, the Funds). The Funds are series of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This information is in addition to the information contained in the Funds Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus). This SAI is not a prospectus. Copies of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION |
1 |
|
|
NON- PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES OF THE FUNDS |
1 |
|
|
FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
2 |
|
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INVESTMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF UNDERLYING INVESTMENT COMPANIES AND RELATED RISKS |
4 |
|
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
33 |
|
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
34 |
|
|
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
44 |
|
|
CODE OF ETHICS |
45 |
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PROXY VOTING POLICIES |
46 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
47 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISER |
47 |
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS |
50 |
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT |
51 |
|
|
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS |
54 |
|
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS |
56 |
|
|
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
56 |
|
|
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
58 |
|
|
VALUATION OF SHARES |
58 |
|
|
TAXES |
58 |
|
|
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
60 |
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS |
62 |
|
|
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
62 |
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APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
|
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APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate investment portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to Institutional Class shares representing interests in three diversified Funds, which are offered by the Prospectus. Matson Money, Inc. (Matson Money or the Adviser) serves as the investment adviser to the Funds.
NON- PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES OF THE FUNDS
Although the Funds invest primarily in shares of other registered investment companies, for temporary defensive purposes, the Funds may hold cash or invest in a variety of money market instruments, including U.S. government securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and bankers acceptances. When a Fund invests for temporary defensive purposes, it may do so without any percentage limitations. A Fund may not achieve its investment objective during periods when it has taken such a temporary defensive position.
U.S. Government Securities. Each Fund may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities (U.S. Government) that have remaining maturities not exceeding one year. Agencies and instrumentalities that issue or guarantee debt securities and that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government include the Export-Import Bank, the Federal Farm Credit System, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Federal Land Banks, and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae).
Bank Obligation. Each Fund may invest in obligations of U.S. banks (including certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances) and U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of U.S. subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion. Such banks must be members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The activities of banks are subject to extensive regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans that may be made and the interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and costs 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 play an important part in the operation of this industry.
Commercial Paper. Commercial paper represents short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by bank holding companies, corporations, and finance companies. The commercial paper purchased by the Funds consists of direct obligations of issuers which, at the time of investment, are (i) rated P-1 by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys) or A-1 by Standard & Poors Ratings Services (Standard & Poors), or (ii) if not rated, issued by a corporation having an outstanding unsecured debt issue rated Aaa by Moodys or AAA by Standard & Poors. In the event that a security held by a Fund is placed on a credit watch or is downgraded by a rating agency, the value of such security may decline and the Fund invested in
such security may consequently experience losses in respect of such security. See Appendix A for a description of Moodys and Standard & Poors rating categories.
FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Funds have adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to a Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a)(42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of a Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. Each Funds investment goals and strategies described in the Prospectus may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without the approval of the Funds shareholders. Each Fund may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements and the Free Market Fixed Income Fund may enter into dollar rolls (including mortgage dollar rolls), for temporary purposes in amounts up to one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing and provided that, for any borrowing with respect to the Fund, there is at least 300% asset coverage for borrowings of the Fund. A Fund may not mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with a Funds investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation.
2. Issue any senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.
3. Act as underwriter of securities within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), except insofar as the Fund might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities.
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts.
5. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that to the extent consistent with its investment policies and restrictions, the Fund may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures.
6. Make loans, except through loan portfolio instruments and repurchase agreements, provided that, for purposes of this restriction, the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan.
7. Purchase any security if, as a result of such purchase, more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of issuers concentrated in a particular industry except that this limitation does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities.
8. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
With respect to Investment Limitation No. 1, in the event that asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowing to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days.
For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 2, the SEC has concluded that even though reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements, and standby commitment agreements fall within the meaning of the term evidence indebtedness, the issue of compliance with Section 18 of the 1940 Act will not be raised with the SEC by the Division of Investment Management if a Fund covers such securities by earmarking and maintaining certain assets on the books and records of the Funds custodian.
Similarly, so long as such earmarked assets are maintained, the issue of compliance with Section 18 will not be raised with respect to any of the following: any swap contract; any borrowings or pledge or encumbrance of assets permitted by Investment Limitation No. 1; any collateral arrangements with respect to the writing of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and foreign currency contracts and collateral arrangements with respect to short sales and initial and variation margin; and purchases and sales of futures or related options
The Funds have adopted the following non-fundamental investment limitation, which may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without shareholder approval:
1. No Fund will invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities.
Securities held by the Funds generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser or its affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act.
If a percentage restriction under one of the Funds investment policies or limitations is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities by the Fund.) In the event that investments in illiquid instruments exceed 15% of a Funds net assets, the Fund must take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the prescribed limitations as soon as reasonably practicable. This requirement would not force the Fund to liquidate any instrument where the Fund would suffer a loss on the sale of that instrument.
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF UNDERLYING INVESTMENT COMPANIES AND RELATED RISKS
The underlying investment companies in which the Funds invest have their own investment objectives, policies, practices, and techniques, any one or all of which may subject their assets to varying degrees of risk. In addition, as a shareholder of another investment company, each Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of that companys expenses, including advisory and administrative fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations. Therefore, it may be more costly for a Fund to own shares of another investment company than to own directly the underlying securities owned by such company. Investment companies in which the Funds may invest also may impose a sales or distribution charge in connection with the purchase or redemption of their shares and other types of commissions or charges. Such charges will be payable by the Funds and, therefore, will be borne by shareholders. The underlying investment companies in which each Fund invests may purchase securities of affiliated and unaffiliated unregistered money market funds.
Set forth below is additional information with respect to the types of securities and instrument techniques of the underlying investment companies and the risks involved in certain of these practices and techniques.
Asset-Backed Securities. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities may also be collateralized by a portfolio of U.S. government securities, but are not direct obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Such asset pools are securitized through the use of privately-formed trusts or special purpose corporations. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be guaranteed up to certain amounts and for a certain time period by a letter of credit or a pool insurance policy issued by a financial institution unaffiliated with the trust or corporation, or other credit enhancements may be
present; however privately issued obligations collateralized by a portfolio of privately issued asset-backed securities do not involve any government-related guarantee or insurance. In addition, asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets. See Mortgage-Backed Securities.
Corporate Obligations. The Free Market Fixed Income Funds underlying investment companies may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, (i) rated Aa3 or better by Moodys, or AA- or better by Standard & Poors, or AA- or better by Fitch, or (ii) if there is no rating for the debt security, determined by the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies to be of comparable quality to equivalent issues of the same issuer rated at least AA- or Aa3. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value.
Convertible Securities and Preferred Stocks. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to nonconvertible debt securities in that they ordinarily provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stocks of the same or similar issuers. Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporations capital structure but are usually subordinated to comparable nonconvertible securities. While no securities investment is completely without risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than the corporations common stock, although the extent to which such risk is reduced depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security sells above its value as a fixed income security. Convertible securities have unique investment characteristics in that they generally: (1) have higher yields than common stocks, but lower yields than comparable non-convertible securities; (2) are less subject to fluctuation in value than the underlying stock since they have fixed income characteristics; and (3) 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 securitys 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 declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline. The credit standing of the issuer and other factors also may have an effect on the convertible securitys 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. Generally the conversion value
decreases as the convertible security approaches maturity. 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 might be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible securitys governing instrument. If a convertible security held by a Fund is called for redemption, that 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.
Preferred stocks are securities that represent an ownership interest in a company and provide their owner with claims on the companys earnings and assets prior to the claims of owners of common stocks but after those of bond owners. Preferred stocks in which the Funds may invest include sinking fund, convertible, perpetual fixed and adjustable rate (including auction rate) preferred stocks. There is no minimum credit rating applicable to a Funds investment in preferred stocks and securities convertible into or exchangeable for common stock.
Depository Arrangements . To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may invest in American Depository Receipts (ADRs). ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying foreign securities. ADRs are denominated in U.S. dollars. They are publicly traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the United States.
The underlying investment companies may invest in both sponsored and unsponsored ADR programs. There are certain risks associated with investments in unsponsored ADR programs. Because the non-U.S. securities issuer does not actively participate in the creation of the ADR program, the underlying agreement for service and payment will be between the depository and the shareholder. The company issuing the stock underlying the ADR pays nothing to establish the unsponsored facility because fees for ADR issuance and cancellation are paid by brokers. Investors directly bear the expenses associated with certificate transfer, custody and dividend payment.
In an unsponsored ADR program, there also may be several depositories with no defined legal obligations to the non-U.S. company. The duplicate depositories may lead to marketplace confusion because there would be no central source of information for buyers, sellers and intermediaries. The efficiency of centralization gained in a sponsored program can greatly reduce the delays in delivery of dividends and annual reports.
The underlying investment companies may also invest in Holding Company Depository Receipts (HOLDRS). HOLDRS represent trust-issued receipts that represent individual and undivided beneficial ownership interests in the common stock or ADRs of specific companies in a particular industry, sector or group.
The underlying investment companies of the Free Market International Equity Fund may also invest in European Depository Receipts (EDRs), International Depository Receipts (IDRs) and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). These are receipts issued by a non-U.S. financial institution evidencing ownership of underlying foreign or U.S. securities and are usually denominated in foreign currencies. They may not be denominated in the same currency as the securities they represent. Generally, EDRs, GDRs and IDRs are designed for use in the foreign securities markets. Investments in EDRs, GDRs and IDRs involve certain risks not typically involved in purely domestic investments, including currency exchange risk. These risks are set forth under Foreign Securities in this SAI.
Dollar Rolls. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, the Free Market Fixed Income Funds underlying investment companies may enter into dollar rolls in which the investment companies sell fixed income securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contract to repurchase substantially similar (same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a specified future date.
During the roll period, an investment company would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. However, the investment company would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the forward price for the future purchase, as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. The return on dollar rolls may be negatively impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. For additional information on dollar roll transactions, see the section entitled Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions in this SAI.
Equity Markets. The underlying investment companies of the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund and Free Market International Equity Fund invest primarily in equity markets at all times. Equity markets can be highly volatile, so that investing in the underlying investment companies involves substantial risk. As a result, investing in the underlying investment companies involves the risk of loss of capital.
European Currency Unification. On January 1, 1999, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) introduced a new single currency called the euro. The euro has replaced the national currencies of many European countries.
The new European Central Bank has control over each member countrys monetary policies. Therefore, the member countries no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. The national governments of the participating countries, however, have retained the authority to set tax and spending policies and public debt levels.
European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes for membership. Europes economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures vary widely. Several European Union (EU) countries, including Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal have faced budget issues, some of which may have negative long-term effects for the economies of those countries and other EU countries. There is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries are required to maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficit to qualify for membership in the EMU. These requirements can severely limit the ability of EMU member countries to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions. Also, it is possible that the EUs single currency, the euro, could be abandoned in the future by countries that have already adopted its use.
These or other events, including political and economic developments, could cause market disruptions, and could affect adversely the values of securities held by the Funds. Because of the number of countries using this single currency, a significant portion of the assets held by certain Funds may be denominated in the euro.
Foreign Securities. The underlying investment companies of the Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund may invest in securities issued by foreign companies. Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Volume and liquidity in most foreign bond markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility or price can be greater than in the United States. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Inability to dispose of securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to an underlying investment company due to subsequent declines in value of the securities, or, if the underlying investment company has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth or gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.
Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed companies than in the United States.
Settlement mechanics may be slower or less reliable than within the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. 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 a portion of the assets of an underlying investment company is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of an underlying investment company to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the underlying investment company to miss attractive investment opportunities.
Although the underlying investment companies may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, each investment company values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the NAV of an underlying investment companys shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the underlying investment companys securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which an underlying investment company makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price
of the underlying investment companys securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of an underlying investment companys securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, an underlying investment company is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency.
The underlying investment companies may invest in obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks (Eurodollars) and U.S. branches of foreign banks (Yankee dollars) as well as foreign branches of foreign banks. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities of U.S. banks, including potential unfavorable political and economic developments, different tax provisions, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest. The underlying investment companies may also invest in debt securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments, including Yankee bonds, which are issued by foreign governments and their agencies and foreign corporations, but pay interest in U.S. dollars and are typically issued in the United States.
Forward Commitment and When-Issued Transactions. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis. These transactions involve a commitment by an underlying investment company to purchase or sell securities at a future date (ordinarily one or two months later). 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 commitments are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges.
When-issued purchases and forward commitments enable an underlying investment company to lock in what is believed by the underlying investment adviser to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, an underlying investment company might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, an underlying investment company might sell securities it owns and purchase the same or a similar security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. When-issued securities or forward commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date.
The value of securities purchased on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation of an underlying investment companys NAV starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the securities, and the underlying investment company is subject to the rights and risks of ownership of the securities on that date. An underlying investment company does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until they are paid for and delivered on the settlement date. When an underlying investment company makes a forward commitment to sell securities it
owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are included in the underlying investment companys assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities are not reflected in the underlying investment companys NAV as long as the commitment to sell remains in effect. Settlement of when-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions generally takes place within two months after the date of the transaction, but an underlying investment company may agree to a longer settlement period.
An underlying investment company generally will make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued basis or to 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, an underlying investment company may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into. An underlying investment company also may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the underlying investment company on the settlement date. An underlying investment company may realize a capital gain or loss in connection with these transactions, and its distributions from any net realized capital gains will be taxable to shareholders.
When an underlying investment company purchases securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, the investment company or its custodian will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities having a value (determined daily) at least equal to the amount of the underlying investment companys purchase commitments. These procedures are designed to ensure that the underlying investment company will maintain sufficient assets at all times to cover its obligations under when-issued purchases and forward commitments.
Forward Foreign Currency Transactions . The Free Market International Equity and Free Market Fixed Income Funds underlying investment companies may, to the extent that they invest in foreign securities, enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to facilitate the settlement of equity or bond purchases; exchange one currency for another, including to repatriate excess currencies; or, in the case of the Free Market Fixed Income Fund, hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The underlying investment companies will conduct their foreign currency exchange transactions either on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or through entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. 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 (usually less than one year) 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 conducted directly between traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. Although foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the spread) between the price at which they are buying and selling various currencies.
The underlying investment companies may to enter into forward contracts under several circumstances. First, when an underlying investment company enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security quoted or denominated in a foreign currency, it may desire to lock in the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed number of U.S. dollars, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the underlying investment company will be able to insulate itself from a possible loss resulting from a 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 and the date on which payment is made or received. The underlying investment adviser(s) may also use non-U.S. currency to enter into a forward foreign exchange contract.
Second, the investment adviser to certain underlying fixed income investment companies may cause such investment companies to enter a forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the investment companys portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such foreign currency in an effort to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates. These underlying fixed income investment companies may also engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in one currency to hedge against fluctuations in the value in securities denominated or quoted in a different currency if the investment adviser determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the two currencies. Cross-hedging may also include entering into a forward transaction involving two foreign currencies, using one foreign currency as a proxy for the U.S. dollar to hedge against variations in the other U.S. foreign currency, if the investment adviser determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the proxy currency and the U.S. dollar. With currency hedging techniques, the precise matching of the forward contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible since 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 the forward contract is entered into and the date it matures. Additionally, these techniques do not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. They simply establish a rate of exchange which can be achieved 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 underlying investment companys foreign assets. It also reduces any potential gain which may have otherwise occurred had the currency value increased above the settlement price of the contract.
Third, the investment adviser may exchange one currency for another if it believes it may need the other currency to settle future equity purchases or to repatriate excess foreign currency to U.S. dollars.
The underlying investment companies generally will not enter into forward contracts to sell currency or maintain a net exposure to such contracts if the consummation of such contracts would obligate the investment company to deliver an amount of foreign currency in excess of the value of the investment companys respective portfolio securities (including accrued interest or other accrued receivables) or other assets quoted or denominated in that currency. At the consummation of the forward contract, an underlying investment company may either make delivery of the foreign currency or terminate its contractual obligation by purchasing an offsetting contract obligating it to purchase at the same maturity date, the same amount of such foreign currency. If an underlying investment company chooses to make delivery of foreign currency, it may be required to obtain such delivery through the sale of portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such currency or through conversion of other assets of the Fund into such currency. If an underlying investment company engages in an offsetting transaction, the underlying investment company will realize a gain or a loss to the extent that there has been a change in forward contract prices.
The underlying investment companies transactions in forward contracts generally will be limited to those described above. Of course, the underlying investment companies are not required to enter into such transactions with regard to their foreign currency quoted or denominated securities, and the investment companies will not do so unless deemed appropriate by their respective investment advisers.
While the underlying investment company may enter into forward contracts to seek to reduce currency exchange rate risks, transactions in such contracts involve certain other risks. Thus, while an underlying investment company may benefit from such transactions, unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the underlying investment company than if it had not engaged in any such transactions. Moreover, there may be imperfect correlation between the underlying investment companys portfolio holdings or securities quoted or denominated in a particular currency and forward contracts entered into by the underlying investment company. Such imperfect correlation may cause the underlying investment company to sustain losses, which will prevent the underlying investment company from achieving a complete hedge, or expose the underlying investment company to the risk of foreign exchange loss.
Forward contracts are subject to the risks that the counterparts to such contract will default on its obligations. Since a forward foreign currency exchange contract is not guaranteed by an exchange or clearing house, a default on the contract would deprive an underlying investment company of unrealized profits, transaction costs or the benefits of a currency hedge or force an underlying investment company to cover its purchase or sale commitments, if any, at the current market price.
The underlying investment companies foreign currency transactions (including related options, futures and forward contracts) may be limited by the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) for qualification as a regulated investment company.
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, an underlying investment company can seek to offset a decline in the value of its current portfolio securities through the sale of futures contracts. When interest rates are falling or securities prices are rising, an underlying investment company, through the purchase of futures contracts, can attempt to secure better rates or prices than might later be available in the market when it affects anticipated purchases.
To seek to increase total return or to hedge against changes in interest rates or securities prices, an underlying investment company may purchase and sell various kinds of futures contracts, and purchase and write call and put options on any of such futures contracts. An underlying investment company may also enter into closing purchase and sale transactions with respect to any of such contracts and options. The futures contracts may be based on various securities (such as U.S. government securities), securities indices, and any other financial instruments and indices. Generally an underlying investment company will engage in futures and related options transactions for bona fide hedging purposes as described below or for purposes of seeking to increase total return, in each case, only to the extent permitted by regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). All futures contracts entered into by an underlying investment company are traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that are licensed and regulated by the CFTC or on foreign exchanges.
The Funds intend to limit investments in commodity futures, commodity options contracts and swaps to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). However, the application of the amended rules to funds-of-funds remains unclear. Accordingly, the Adviser has filed for relief with respect to each Fund which defers compliance until six months following the effective date of any CFTC guidance regarding the application of the amended rules to fund-of-funds. As of the date of this SAI, no such guidance has been issued. For this reason, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing
trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO, the disclosure and operations of the Funds would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
Positions taken in the futures markets are not normally held to maturity but are instead liquidated through offsetting transactions, which may result in a profit or a loss. While futures contracts on securities will usually be liquidated in this manner, an underlying investment company may instead make, or take, delivery of the underlying securities or currency whenever it appears economically advantageous to do so. A clearing corporation associated with the exchange on which futures on securities are traded guarantees that, if still open, the sale or purchase will be performed on the settlement date.
Hedging, by use of futures contracts, seeks to establish with more certainty than would otherwise be possible the effective price or rate of return on portfolio securities or securities that an underlying investment company proposes to acquire or the exchange rate of currencies in which portfolio securities are quoted or denominated. An underlying investment company 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 that would adversely affect the value of the underlying investment companys portfolio securities. Such futures contracts may include contracts for the future delivery of securities held by an underlying investment company or securities with characteristics similar to those of the underlying investment companys portfolio securities. If, in the opinion of the investment adviser to an underlying investment company, there is a sufficient degree of correlation between price trends for an underlying investment companys portfolio securities and futures contracts based on other financial instruments, securities indices or other indices, the underlying investment company may also enter into such futures contracts as part of its hedging strategy. Although under some circumstances prices of securities in an underlying investment companys portfolio may be more or less volatile than prices of such futures contracts, the underlying 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 underlying investment companys enter into a greater or lesser number of futures contracts or by seeking to achieve only a partial hedge against price changes affecting the underlying investment companys 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 an underlying investment company portfolios securities would be substantially offset by a decline in the value of the futures position.
On other occasions, an underlying investment company may take a long position by purchasing futures contracts. This would be done, for example, when the underlying investment company anticipates the subsequent purchase of particular securities when it has the necessary cash, but expects the prices then available in the applicable market to be less favorable than prices that are currently available.
Indexed Securities. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may invest in indexed securities whose value is linked to securities indices. Most such securities have values which rise and fall according to the change in one or more specified indices, and may have characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying securities. Depending on the index, such securities may have greater volatility than the market as a whole. An underlying investment company may also invest in exchange-traded funds, which generally track their related indices and trade like an individual stock throughout the trading day. For example, an underlying investment company may invest in Standard & Poors Depositary Receipts (commonly referred to as Spiders), which are exchange-traded shares of a closed-end investment company that are designed to replicate the price performance and dividend yield of the Standard & Poors 500® Composite Stock Price Index.
Initial Public Offerings. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may purchase stock in an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a companys first offering of stock to the public. Risks associated with IPOs may include considerable fluctuation in the market value of IPO shares due to certain factors, such as the absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, a limited number of shares available for trading, lack of information about the issuer and limited operating history. The purchase of IPO shares may involve high transaction costs. When an underlying investment companys asset base is small, a significant portion of the underlying investment companys performance could be attributable to investments in IPOs, because such investments would have a magnified impact on the underlying investment company. As an underlying investment companys assets grow, the effect of the underlying investment companys investments in IPOs on the underlying investment companys performance probably will decline, which could reduce the underlying investment companys performance. Because of the price volatility of IPO shares, an underlying investment company may choose to hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the turnover of the underlying investment companys portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the underlying investment company, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, the underlying investment advisers cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
Inflation-Protected Securities. The Free Market Fixed Income Funds underlying investment companies may invest in inflation-protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, known as TIPs or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, which are debt securities whose principal and interest payments are adjusted for inflation and interest is paid on the adjusted amount. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index, such as the consumer price index (CPI). A fixed coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that as inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of your investment.
Inflation-protected securities normally will decline in price when real interest rates rise. (A real interest rate is calculated by subtracting the inflation rate from a nominal interest rate. For example, if a 10-year Treasury note is yielding 5% and inflation is 2%, the real interest rate
is 3%.) If inflation is negative, the principal and income of an inflation-protected security will decline and could result in losses for the Funds underlying investment companies.
Any increase in principal for an inflation-protected security resulting from inflation adjustments is considered by IRS regulations to be taxable income in the year it occurs. For direct holders of an inflation-protected security, this means that taxes must be paid on principal adjustments even though these amounts are not received until the bond matures. By contrast, an underlying investment company holding these securities distributes both interest income and the income attributable to principal adjustments in the form of cash or reinvested shares, which are taxable to shareholders.
Interest Rate Swaps, Floors and Caps and Currency Swaps. The Free Market Fixed-Income Funds underlying investment companies may enter into interest rate swaps and may purchase interest rate floors or caps. An underlying investment company will typically use interest rate swaps to preserve a return on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio or to shorten the effective duration of its portfolio investments. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the underlying investment company with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed rate payments for floating rate payments. The purchase of an interest rate floor or cap entitles the purchaser to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the seller, to the extent the specified index falls below (floor) or exceeds (cap) a predetermined interest rate. The Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund may enter into currency swaps, which involve the exchange of the rights of the underlying investment company and another party to make or receive payments in specific currencies.
An underlying investment company will only enter into interest rate swaps or interest rate floor or cap transactions on a net basis, i.e. the two payment streams are netted out, with the underlying investment company receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. In contrast, currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency.
The net amount of the excess, if any, of an underlying investment companys obligations over its entitlements with respect to each interest rate or currency swap will be accrued on a daily basis, and an amount of liquid assets having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to such accrued excess will be segregated by the underlying investment company.
If there is a default by the other party to such transaction, the underlying investment company will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.
Lending of Portfolio Securities. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may lend their portfolio securities to financial institutions provided that (1) the loan is continuously secured by collateral consisting of U.S. government securities or cash or cash equivalents maintained on a daily mark-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned; (2) the underlying investment company may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of the securities loaned; (3) the underlying investment company will receive any interest or dividends paid on the loaned securities; and (4) the aggregate market value of the securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of the underlying investment company. Such loans would involve risk of delay in receiving additional collateral in the event the value of the collateral decreased below the value of the securities loaned or risk of delay in recovering the securities loaned or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially.
Loan Participations . The Free Market Fixed-Income Funds underlying investment companies may purchase participations in commercial loans. Such indebtedness may be secured or unsecured. Loan participations typically represent direct participation in a loan to a corporate borrower, and generally are offered by banks or other financial institutions or lending syndicates. An underlying investment company may participate in such syndications, or can buy part of a loan, becoming a part lender. When purchasing loan participations, the underlying investment company assumes the credit risk associated with the corporate borrower and may assume the credit risk associated with an interposed bank or other financial intermediary. The participation interests in which the Fund intends to invest may not be rated by any nationally recognized rating service.
A loan is often administered by an agent bank acting as agent for all holders. The agent bank administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. In addition, the agent bank is normally responsible for the collection of principal and interest payments from the corporate borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all institutions which are parties to the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the underlying investment company has direct recourse against the corporate borrower, the underlying investment company may have to rely on the agent bank or other financial intermediary to apply appropriate credit remedies against a corporate borrower.
Purchases of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the corporate borrower for payment of principal and interest. If the underlying investment company does not receive scheduled interest or principal payments on such indebtedness, the underlying investment companys share price and yield could be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured offer the underlying investment company more protection than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the corporate borrowers obligation, or that the collateral can be liquidated.
An underlying investment company invests in loan participations with credit quality comparable to that of issuers of its securities investments. Indebtedness of companies whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks, and may be highly speculative. Some companies may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the
amount owed. Consequently, when investing in indebtedness of companies with poor credit, the underlying investment company bears a substantial risk of losing the entire amount invested.
Loans and other types of direct indebtedness may not be readily marketable and may be subject to restrictions on resale. In some cases, negotiations involved in disposing of indebtedness may require weeks to complete. Consequently, some indebtedness may be difficult or impossible to dispose of readily at what the underlying investment companys investment adviser believes to be a fair price.
Investments in loans through a direct assignment of the financial institutions interests with respect to the loan may involve additional risks to an underlying investment company. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the underlying investment company could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, an underlying investment company could be held liable as co-lender. It is unclear whether loans and other forms of direct indebtedness offer securities law protections against fraud and misrepresentation. In the absence of definitive regulatory guidance, an underlying investment company relies on its investment advisers research in an attempt to avoid situations where fraud or misrepresentation could adversely affect the Fund.
Market Fluctuation. The market value of the investments of each underlying investment company, and thus each underlying investment companys NAV, will change in response to market conditions affecting the value of its portfolio securities. When interest rates decline, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to decline. In contrast, as interest rates on adjustable rate loans are reset periodically, yields on investments in such loans will gradually align themselves to reflect changes in market interest rates, causing the value of such investments to fluctuate less dramatically in response to interest rate fluctuations than would investments in fixed rate obligations.
Micro Cap, Small Cap and Mid Cap Stocks. Securities of companies with micro, small and mid-size capitalizations tend to be riskier than securities of companies with large capitalizations. This is because micro, small and mid cap companies typically have smaller product lines and less access to liquidity than large cap companies, and are therefore more sensitive to economic downturns. In addition, growth prospects of micro, small and mid cap companies tend to be less certain than large cap companies, and the dividends paid on micro, small and mid cap stocks are frequently negligible. Moreover, micro, small and mid cap stocks have, on occasion, fluctuated in the opposite direction of large cap stocks or the general stock market. Consequently, securities of micro, small and mid cap companies tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies. The market for micro and small cap securities may be thinly traded and as a result, greater fluctuations in the price of micro and small cap securities may occur.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The Free Market Fixed Income Funds underlying investment companies may invest in mortgage pass-through certificates and multiple-class pass-through securities, such as real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMIC) pass-through certificates and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs).
Guaranteed mortgage pass-through securities represent participation interests in pools of residential mortgage loans and are issued by U.S. governmental or private lenders and guaranteed by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, including but not limited to the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ginnie Mae certificates are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government for timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Fannie Mae certificates are guaranteed by Fannie Mae, a federally chartered and privately owned corporation, for full and timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae is authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations. Freddie Mac certificates are guaranteed by Freddie Mac, a corporate instrumentality of the U.S. government, for timely payment of interest and the ultimate collection of all principal of the related mortgage loans.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. A Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
CMOs and REMIC pass-through or participation certificates may be issued by, among others, U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities as well as private lenders. CMOs and REMIC certificates are issued in multiple classes and the principal of and interest on the mortgage assets may be allocated among the several classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates in various ways. Each class of CMOs or REMIC certificates, often referred to as a tranche, is issued at a specific adjustable or fixed interest rate and must be fully retired no later than its final distribution date. Generally, interest is paid or accrues on all classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates on a monthly basis.
Typically, CMOs are collateralized by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac certificates but also may be collateralized by other mortgage assets such as whole loans or private mortgage pass-through securities. Debt service on CMOs is provided from payments of principal and interest on collateral of mortgaged assets and any reinvestment income thereon. Mortgage-backed securities that are collateralized by a portfolio of mortgages or mortgage-related securities depend on the payments of principal and interest made by or through the
underlying assets, which may not be sufficient to meet the payment obligations of the mortgage-backed securities. The quality and value of the underlying collateral may decline, or default, which has become a significant risk for collateral related to sub-prime mortgage loans, especially in a declining residential real estate market. Further, these securities generally are privately sold and may not be readily marketable, particularly after a rapid decrease in value.
A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment under the Code and invests in certain mortgages primarily secured by interests in real property and other permitted investments. Investors may purchase regular and residual interest shares of beneficial interest in REMIC trusts.
An underlying investment company may invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by trusts or other entities formed or sponsored by private originators of and institutional investors in mortgage loans and other non-governmental entities (or representing custodial arrangements administered by such institutions). These private originators and institutions include savings and loan associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, insurance companies, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing.
Privately issued mortgage-backed securities are generally backed by pools of conventional (i.e., non-government guaranteed or insured) mortgage loans. Since such mortgage-backed securities normally are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit standing of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in order to receive a high quality rating from the rating organizations (e.g., Standard & Poors or Moodys), they often are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement. Such credit enhancement falls into two categories: (1) liquidity protection and (2) protection against losses resulting after default by a borrower and liquidation of the collateral (e.g., sale of a house after foreclosure). Liquidity protection refers to the payment of cash advances to holders of mortgage-backed securities when a borrower on an underlying mortgage fails to make its monthly payment on time. Protection against losses resulting after default and liquidation is designed to cover losses resulting when, for example, the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are insufficient to cover the outstanding amount on the mortgage. Such protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit, through various means of structuring the securities or through a combination of such approaches.
Examples of credit enhancement arising out of the structure of the transaction include senior-subordinated securities (multiple class securities with one or more classes entitled to receive payment before other classes, with the result that defaults on the underlying mortgages are borne first by the holders of the subordinated class), creation of spread accounts or reserve funds (where cash or investments are held in reserve against future losses) and over-collateralization (where the scheduled payments on the underlying mortgages in a pool exceed the amount required to be paid on the mortgage-backed securities). The degree of credit enhancement for a particular issue of mortgage-backed securities is based on the level of credit risk associated with the particular mortgages in the related pool. Losses on a pool in excess of anticipated levels could nevertheless result in losses to security holders since credit enhancement rarely covers every dollar owed on a pool.
Investing in mortgage-backed securities (such as those described above) involves certain risks, including the failure of a counter-party to meet its commitments, adverse interest rate changes and the effects of prepayments on mortgage cash flows. Further, the yield characteristics of mortgage-backed securities differ from those of traditional fixed income securities. The major differences typically include more frequent interest and principal payments (usually monthly), the adjustability of interest rates, and the possibility that prepayments of principal may be made substantially earlier than their final distribution dates.
Prepayment rates are influenced by changes in current interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic, social and other factors and cannot be predicted with certainty. Both adjustable rate mortgage loans and fixed rate mortgage loans may be subject to a greater rate of principal prepayments in a declining interest rate environment and to a lesser rate of principal prepayments in an increasing interest rate environment. Under certain interest rate and prepayment rate scenarios, a Fund may fail to recoup fully its investment in Mortgage-Backed Securities notwithstanding any direct or indirect governmental or agency guarantee. When a Fund reinvests amounts representing payments and unscheduled prepayments of principal, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on existing adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities. Thus, mortgage-backed securities, and adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities in particular, may be less effective than other types of U.S. government securities as a means of locking in interest rates.
Conversely, in a rising interest rate environment, a declining prepayment rate will extend the average life of many mortgage-backed securities. This possibility is often referred to as extension risk. Extending the average life of a mortgage-backed security increases the risk of depreciation due to future increases in market interest rates. The market for certain types of mortgage-backed securities (i.e., certain CMOs) may not be liquid under all interest rate scenarios, which may prevent a Fund from selling such securities held in its portfolio at times or prices that it desires.
Different types of derivative debt securities are subject to different combinations of prepayment, extension and/or interest rate risk. Conventional mortgage pass-through securities and sequential pay CMOs are subject to all of these risks, but are typically not leveraged. Thus, the magnitude of exposure may be less than for more leveraged mortgage-backed securities.
Planned amortization class (PAC) and target amortization class (TAC) CMO bonds involve less exposure to prepayment, extension and interest rate risk than other mortgage-backed securities, provided that prepayment rates remain within expected prepayment ranges or collars. To the extent that prepayment rates remain within these prepayment ranges, the residual or support tranches of PAC and TAC CMOs assume the extra prepayment extension and interest rate risk associated with the underlying mortgage assets.
An underlying investment company may invest in floating rate securities based on the Cost of Funds Index (COFI floaters), other lagging rate floating rate securities, floating rate securities that are subject to a maximum interest rate (capped floaters), and mortgage-backed securities purchased at a discount. The primary risks associated with these derivative debt securities are the potential extension of average life and/or depreciation due to rising interest rates.
Recently, rating agencies have placed on credit watch or downgraded the ratings previously assigned to a large number of mortgage-related securities (which may include certain of the mortgage-related securities in which an underlying investment company may have invested or may in the future be invested), and may continue to do so in the future. In the event that any mortgage-related security held by an underlying investment company is placed on credit watch or downgraded, the value of such mortgage-related security may decline and the underlying investment company invested in such security, and thus the Free Market Fixed Income Fund, may consequently experience losses in respect of such mortgage-related security.
Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions. The Free Market Fixed Income Funds underlying investment companies may enter into mortgage dollar roll transactions in which the underlying investment company sells securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts with the same counterparty to repurchase similar (same type, coupon and maturity), but not identical securities on a specified future date.
During the roll period, the underlying investment company would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. However, the underlying investment company would benefit to the extent of any difference between the price received for the securities sold and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the drop) or fee income plus the interest on the cash proceeds of the securities sold until the settlement date of the forward purchase. Unless such benefits exceed the income, capital appreciation and gain or loss due to mortgage prepayments that would have been realized on the securities sold as part of the mortgage dollar roll, the use of this technique will diminish the investment performance of the underlying investment company compared with what such performance would have been without the use of mortgage dollar rolls. Any benefits derived from the use of mortgage dollar rolls may depend upon mortgage prepayment assumptions, which will be affected by changes in interest rates. There is no assurance that mortgage dollar rolls can be successfully employed. For additional information on dollar rolls, please refer to the section entitled Dollar Rolls in this SAI.
Options on Futures Contracts. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may purchase and sell various kinds of futures contracts, and purchase and write call and put options on any of such futures contracts. The acquisition of put and call options on futures contracts will give an underlying investment company 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, an underlying investment company 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 an underlying investment companys assets. By writing a call option, an underlying investment company becomes obligated, in exchange for the premium, (upon exercise of the option) to sell a futures contract if the option is exercised, which may have a value higher than the exercise price. Conversely, 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 an underlying investment company intends to purchase. However, the underlying investment company becomes obligated (upon 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 an underlying investment company in writing options on futures is potentially unlimited and may exceed the amount of the premium received. The underlying investment company 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. An underlying investment companys ability to establish and close out positions on such options will be subject to the development and maintenance of a liquid market.
Transactions in futures contracts and options on futures involve brokerage costs, require margin deposits and, in some cases, may require the applicable underlying investment company to establish a segregated account consisting of cash or liquid securities in an amount equal to the underlying value of such contracts and options.
The use of futures contracts entails certain risks, including but not limited to the following: no assurance that futures contracts transactions can be offset at favorable prices; possible reduction of the underlying investment companys income due to the use of hedging; possible reduction in value of both the securities hedged and the hedging instrument; possible lack of liquidity due to daily limits on price fluctuations; imperfect correlation between the contract and the securities being hedged; and potential losses in excess of the amount initially invested in the futures contracts themselves. If the expectations of the adviser of the underlying investment company regarding movements in securities prices or interest rates are incorrect, the underlying investment company may have experienced better investment results without hedging. The use of futures contracts and options on futures contracts requires special skills in addition to those needed to select portfolio securities.
While transactions in futures contracts and options on futures may reduce certain risks, such transactions themselves entail certain other risks. Thus, while an underlying investment company may benefit from the use of futures and options on futures, unanticipated changes in interest rates or securities prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the underlying investment company than if it had not entered into any futures contracts or options transactions. 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 underlying investment company may be exposed to risk of loss.
Perfect correlation between an underlying investment companys futures positions and portfolio positions will be impossible to achieve. There are no futures contracts based upon individual securities, except certain U.S. government securities. Other futures contracts available to hedge an underlying investment companys portfolio investments generally are limited to futures on various securities indices.
Options on Securities and Securities Indices. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may each write covered call and secured put options on any securities in which it may invest or on any domestic stock indices based on securities in which it may invest. An underlying investment company may purchase and write such options on securities that are listed on national domestic securities exchanges or foreign securities exchanges or traded in the over-the-counter market. A call option written by an underlying investment company obligates the investment company to sell specified securities to the holder of the option at a specified price if the option is exercised at any time before the expiration date, regardless of the market price of the security.
A put option written by an underlying investment company obligates the underlying investment company to purchase specified securities from the option holder at a specified price if the option is exercised at any time before the expiration date, regardless of the market price for the security. The purpose of writing such options is to generate additional income. However, in return for the option premium, the underlying investment company accepts the risk that it will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the securities market value at the time of purchase.
A written call option or put option may be covered by (i) maintaining cash or liquid securities, either of which may be quoted or denominated in any currency, in a segregated account noted on the underlying investment companys records or maintained by the underlying investment companys custodian with a value at least equal to the underlying investment companys obligation under the option, (ii) entering into an offsetting forward commitment and/or (iii) purchasing an offsetting option or any other option which, by virtue of its exercise price or otherwise, reduces the underlying investment companys net exposure on its written option position.
An underlying investment company may terminate its obligations under an exchange-traded call or put option by purchasing an option identical to the one it has written. Obligations under over-the-counter options may be terminated only by entering into an offsetting transaction with the counterparts to such option. Such purchases are referred to as closing purchase transactions and do not result in the ownership of an option. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be effected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying security from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying security or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying security. The cost of such a liquidation purchase plus transaction costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event the underlying investment company will have incurred a loss in the transaction.
An underlying investment company may also write (sell) covered call and put options on any securities index composed of securities in which it may invest. Options on securities indices are similar to options on securities, except that the exercise of securities index options requires cash settlement payments and does not involve the actual purchase or sale of securities. The amount of this settlement will be equal to the difference between the closing price of the securities index at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars, times a specified amount. In addition, securities index options are designed to reflect price fluctuations in a group of securities or segment of the securities market rather than price fluctuations in a single security.
An underlying investment company may cover call options on a securities index by owning securities whose price changes are expected to be similar to those of the underlying index or by having an absolute and immediate right to acquire such securities without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account) upon conversion or exchange of other securities in its portfolio. An underlying investment company may also cover call and put options on a securities index by using the other methods described above.
An underlying investment company would normally purchase call options in anticipation of an increase, or put options in anticipation of a decrease (protective puts) in the market value of securities of the type in which it may invest. The purchase of a call option would entitle an underlying investment company, in return for the premium paid, to purchase specified securities at a specified price during the option period. An underlying investment company would ordinarily realize a gain on the purchase of a call option if, during the option period, the value of such securities exceeded the sum of the exercise price, the premium paid and transaction costs; otherwise the underlying investment company would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the call option. The purchase of a put option would entitle an underlying investment company, in exchange for the premium paid, to sell specified securities at a specified price during the option period. The purchase of protective puts is designed to offset or hedge against a decline in the market value of an underlying investment companys securities. Put options may also be purchased by an underlying investment company for the purpose of affirmatively benefiting from a decline in the price of securities which it does not own. An underlying investment company would ordinarily realize a gain if, during the option period, the value of the underlying securities decreased below the exercise price sufficiently to cover the premium and transaction costs; otherwise the underlying investment company would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the put option. Gains and losses on the purchase of put options may be offset by countervailing changes in the value of the underlying portfolio securities.
An underlying investment company may purchase put and call options on securities indices for the same purposes as it may purchase options on securities. Options on securities indices are similar to options on securities, except that the exercise of securities index options requires cash payments and does not involve the actual purchase or sale of securities. In addition, securities index options are designed to reflect price fluctuations in a group of securities or segment of the securities market rather than price fluctuations in a single security.
Although an underlying investment company may use option transactions to seek to generate additional income and to seek to reduce the effect of any adverse price movement in the securities or currency subject to the option, they do involve certain risks that are different in some respects from investment risks associated with similar mutual funds, which do not engage in such activities. These risks include the following: for writing call options, the inability to effect closing transactions at favorable prices and the inability to participate in the appreciation of the underlying securities above the exercise price; for writing put options, the inability to effect closing transactions at favorable prices and the obligation to purchase the specified securities or to make a cash settlement on the securities index at prices which may not reflect current market values; and for purchasing call and put options, the possible loss of the entire premium paid. In addition, the effectiveness of hedging through the purchase or sale of securities index options, including options on the S&P 500 ® Index, will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of the securities portfolio being hedged correlate with the price movements in the selected securities index. Perfect correlation may not be possible because the securities held or to be acquired by an underlying investment company may not exactly match the composition of the securities index on which options are written. If the forecasts of the adviser of the underlying investment company regarding movements in securities prices or interest rates are incorrect, an underlying investment companys investment results may have been better without the hedge transactions.
There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on a domestic or foreign options exchange will exist for any particular exchange-traded option or at any particular time. If an underlying investment company is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to covered options it has written, the investment company will not be able to sell the underlying securities or dispose of assets held in a segregated account until the options expire or are exercised. Similarly, if an underlying investment company is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options it has purchased, it would have to exercise the options in order to realize any profit and will incur transaction costs upon the purchase or sale of underlying securities or currencies.
Reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an exchange include the following: (i) there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; (ii) restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; (iii) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options; (iv) unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; (v) the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or (vi) one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist although outstanding options on that exchange that had been issued by the Options Clearing Corporation as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
The writing and purchase of options is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The successful use of options for hedging purposes depends in part on the advisers ability to predict future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets.
Pay-in-Kind Securities, Zero Coupon and Capital Appreciation Bonds. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may invest in pay-in-kind (PIK) securities. PIK securities may be debt obligations or preferred shares that provide the issuer with the option of paying interest or dividends on such obligations in cash or in the form of additional securities rather than cash. Similarly, zero coupon and capital appreciation bonds are debt securities issued or sold at a discount from their face value and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified date. The amount of the discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. These securities also may take the form of debt securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves or receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations or coupons. A portion of the discount with respect to stripped tax-exempt securities or their coupons may be taxable. Such securities are designed to give an issuer flexibility in managing cash flow. PIK securities that are debt securities can either be senior or subordinated debt and generally trade flat (i.e., without accrued interest). The trading price of PIK debt securities generally reflects the market value of the underlying debt plus an amount representing accrued interest since the last interest payment.
PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds involve the additional risk that, unlike securities that periodically pay interest to maturity, an underlying investment company will realize no cash until a specified future payment date unless a portion of such securities is sold and, if the issuer of such securities defaults, an underlying investment company may obtain no return at all on its investment. In addition, even though such securities may not provide for the payment of current interest in cash, an underlying investment company is nonetheless required to accrue income on such investments for each taxable year and generally is required to distribute such accrued amounts (net of deductible expenses, if any) to avoid being subject to tax. Because no cash is generally received at the time of the accrual, an underlying investment company may be required to liquidate other portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to satisfy federal tax distribution requirements applicable to the underlying investment company. Additionally, the market prices of PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds generally are more volatile than the market prices of interest bearing securities and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than interest bearing securities having similar maturities and credit quality.
Purchase Warrants. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may invest in purchase warrants and similar rights. Purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of warrants involves the risk that the underlying investment company could lose the purchase value of a warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
Real Estate Investment Trust Securities. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs generally invest directly in real estate, in mortgages or in some combination of the two. Individual REITs may own a limited number of properties and may concentrate in a particular region or property type. A REIT is a corporation, or a business trust that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation, which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level Federal income tax and making the REIT a pass-through vehicle for federal income tax purposes. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things, invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs) or cash and government securities, derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property, and distribute to shareholders annually a substantial portion of its otherwise taxable income.
Generally, REITs can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity and mortgage REITs. The values of securities issued by REITs are affected by tax and regulatory requirements and by perceptions of management skill. They also are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers or tenants, self-liquidation and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status under the Code or to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act. Unexpected high rates of default on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a mortgage REIT. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. To the extent that a mortgage REITs portfolio is exposed to lower-rated, unsecured or subordinated instruments, the risk of loss may increase, which may have a negative impact on an underlying investment company, and therefore the Funds.
The REITs in which the underlying investment companies may invest may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. REITs are sensitive to factors such as changes in real estate values, property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, occupancy rates, government regulations affecting zoning, land use and rents, and management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Companies in the real estate industry may also be subject to liabilities under environmental and hazardous waste laws. REITS whose underlying assets include long-term health care properties; such as nursing, retirement and assisted living homes, may be impacted by federal regulations concerning the health care industry. An underlying investment company will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses, including management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests in addition to the expenses of the underlying investment company. An underlying investment company is also subject to the risk that the REITs in which it invests will fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code, and/or fail to qualify for an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. A REITs return may be adversely affected when interest rates are high or rising.
Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index.
Repurchase Agreements. Each Funds underlying investment companies may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price (repurchase agreements). The securities held subject to a repurchase agreement may have stated maturities exceeding 397 days, provided the repurchase agreement itself matures in less than 13 months. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose an underlying investment company to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, expose an underlying investment company to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
Restricted and Illiquid Securities. Each Funds underlying investment companies may not invest more than 15% of their respective net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Illiquid securities include: repurchase agreements and time deposits with a notice or demand period of more than seven days; interest rate; currency and mortgage swaps; interest rate caps; floors and collars; municipal leases; certain restricted securities, such as those purchased in a private placement of securities, unless it is determined, based upon a review of the trading markets for a specific restricted security, that such restricted security is liquid; and certain over-the-counter options. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation.
Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of restricted or other illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
Each underlying investment company may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act (Restricted Securities). These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the underlying investment adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in an underlying investment company during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The underlying investment adviser will monitor the liquidity of Restricted Securities held by an underlying investment company. In reaching liquidity decisions, the underlying investment adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Restricted Securities normally reflect a discount from the price at which such securities trade when they are not restricted, since the restriction makes them less liquid. The amount of the discount from the prevailing market price is expected to vary depending upon the type of security, the character of the issuer, the party who will bear the expenses of registering the Restricted Securities and prevailing supply and demand conditions.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by an underlying investment company subject to the underlying investment companys agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by an underlying investment company may decline below the price of the securities the underlying investment company is obligated to repurchase and the interest received on the cash exchanged for the securities. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act.
Short Sales. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Funds underlying investment companies may enter into short sales. Short sales
are transactions in which an underlying investment company sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that security. To complete such a transaction, the underlying investment company must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The underlying investment company then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the underlying investment company. Until the security is replaced, the underlying investment company is required to pay to the lender amounts equal to any dividend which accrues during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the underlying investment company also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
Until an underlying investment company replaces a borrowed security in connection with a short sale, the underlying investment company will: (a) maintain daily a segregated account, containing cash, cash equivalents, or liquid marketable securities, at such a level that the amount deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short or (b) otherwise cover its short position in accordance with positions taken by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).
An underlying investment company will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the underlying investment company replaces the borrowed security. The underlying investment company will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those dates. This result is the opposite of what one would expect from a cash purchase of a long position in a security. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of any premium or amounts in lieu of interest the underlying investment company may be required to pay in connection with a short sale.
Short Sales Against the Box. In addition to the short sales discussed above, an underlying investment company may make short sales against the box, a transaction in which a fund enters into a short sale of a security that the fund owns or has the right to obtain at no additional cost. The proceeds of the short sale will be held by a broker until the settlement date at which time the underlying investment company delivers the security to close the short position. The underlying investment company receives the net proceeds from the short sale.
Structured Securities. The Free Market Fixed Income Funds underlying investment companies may invest in structured securities. The value of the principal of and/or interest on structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, commodities, securities, indices or other financial indicators (the Reference) or the relative change in two or more References. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Examples of structured securities include, but are not limited to, notes where the principal repayment at maturity is determined by the value of the relative change in two or more specified securities or securities indices.
The terms of some structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, an underlying investment company could suffer a total
loss of its investment. 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 rate or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of the changes in the value of the Reference. Consequently, structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of securities. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities due to their derivative nature.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 underlying investment companies 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 an underlying investment companys, and thus a Funds, 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 underlying investment companies holdings.
Cyber Security Risk. The Funds and their service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting a Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact a Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact a Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject a Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Funds may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which a Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Funds, a policy relating to the disclosure of each Funds portfolio securities to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interest of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of a Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure and the recipients are subject to a duty of confidentiality that includes a duty not to trade based on the selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers of the Company, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian for the Funds; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; and Merrill Corporation, the financial printer. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Funds. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions). Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in a Funds portfolio.
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to (i) certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of a Fund as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Fund shareholders. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other
selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolios.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Funds.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
Portfolio Turnover. Changes may be made to a Funds portfolio consistent with the investment objective and policies of such Fund whenever such changes are believed to be in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities by the average monthly value of a Funds portfolio securities. For purposes of this calculation, portfolio securities exclude all securities having a maturity when purchased of one year or less. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio turnover rates for the Funds can be found in the Financial Highlights section of the Funds Prospectus. High portfolio turnover may result in increased brokerage costs to a Fund and also adverse tax consequences to a Funds shareholders. Under normal circumstances each of the Funds expects to have a low portfolio turnover rate.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address,
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 81 |
|
Director |
|
1988 to present |
|
From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
|
23 |
|
AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 76 |
|
Director |
|
2002 to present |
|
Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
|
23 |
|
None |
Name, Address,
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
Gregory P. Chandler 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 48 |
|
Director |
|
2012 to present |
|
Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
|
23 |
|
Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 71 |
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
|
23 |
|
Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 66 |
|
Chairman Director |
|
2005 to present 1991 to present |
|
Since 2006, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lifebooker, LLC. |
|
23 |
|
None |
Name, Address,
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
OFFICERS |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Salvatore Faia, JD, CPA, CFE Vigilant Compliance Services Brandywine Two 5 Christy Drive, Suite 208 Chadds Ford, PA 19317 Age: 52 |
|
President Chief Compliance Officer |
|
President 2009 to present
|
|
Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joel Weiss 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 51 |
|
Treasurer |
|
2009 to present |
|
Since 1993 Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diane Drake 301 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 47 |
|
Secretary |
|
2014 to present |
|
Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010, Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 54 |
|
Assistant
|
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
Name, Address,
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
Michael P. Malloy One Logan Square, Ste. 2000 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Age: 55 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and has served on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the
investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Giordano, Reichman, Sablowsky and Chandler. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of
the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Reichman, Sablowsky, Straniere and Nusblatt. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Reichman, Sablowsky and Nusblatt. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Funds and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him) as of December 31, 2013.
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
|
|
|
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
|
||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001 - $50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001 - $50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
|
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Previously, from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Funds in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate Compensation from Funds |
|
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Fund Expenses |
|
Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement |
|
Total Compensation From Funds and Fund Complex Paid to Directors or Officers |
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
23,168.41 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
21,434.98 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
23,598.98 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
23,353.25 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
25,971.98 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
19,791.98 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
None |
|
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
23,157.98 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA, Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
86,106.37 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from each of the Funds in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Free Market
|
|
Free Market
|
|
Free Market
|
|
|||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
8,602.00 |
|
$ |
6,440.90 |
|
$ |
8,125.51 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
7,912.78 |
|
$ |
6,046.69 |
|
$ |
7,475.51 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
$ |
8,701.76 |
|
$ |
6,662.18 |
|
$ |
8,235.04 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
8,616.48 |
|
$ |
6,592.53 |
|
$ |
8,144.24 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
9,548.15 |
|
$ |
7,381.31 |
|
$ |
9,042.52 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
7,296.20 |
|
$ |
5,599.84 |
|
$ |
6,895.94 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
8,558.68 |
|
$ |
6,503.62 |
|
$ |
8,095.68 |
|
Officers: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA, Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
30,852.84 |
|
$ |
25,666.69 |
|
$ |
29,586.84 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014, to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of each Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a
majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Special Custody Acct FBO Customers Attn. Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94104 |
|
96,908,749 |
|
84 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
Trust Company of America FBO 24 P.O. Box 6503 Centennial, Co 80155 |
|
15,862,669 |
|
14 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Special Custody Acct FBO Customers Attn. Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94104 |
|
115,417,745 |
|
84 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
Trust Company of America FBO 24 P.O. Box 6503 Centennial, Co 80155 |
|
19,048,373 |
|
14 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. Special Custody Acct FBO Customers Attn. Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94104 |
|
157,790,457 |
|
86 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
Trust Company of America FBO 24 P.O. Box 6503 Centennial, Co 80155 |
|
23,490,336 |
|
13 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, the Directors and officers as a group owned 2.70% of the Schneider Value Fund, 2.04% of the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each other portfolio and class within the Company.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by each Fund to the Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Funds. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser has adopted proxy voting procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Funds. A copy of the Advisers Proxy Voting Policies is included with this SAI. Please see Appendix B to this SAI for further information.
Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-261-4073 or by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Investment Adviser
The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (Advisory Agreement) dated as of December 31, 2007. The Adviser is not a subsidiary of or under the control of any other company. Mark E. Matson, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Adviser, owns approximately 90% of the Advisers voting stock, and members of Mr. Matsons family own all of the remaining shares of the Advisers voting stock.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Fund including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Fund, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, or sold by the Fund, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales made for the Fund. The Adviser will provide the services rendered by it in accordance with the Funds investment goal, restrictions and policies as stated in the Prospectus and in this SAI. The Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment, mistake of law, or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement.
For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee at an annual rate of 0.50% of the first $1 billion of each Funds average daily net assets, 0.49% of each Funds average daily net assets over $1 billion to $5 billion and 0.47% of each Funds average daily net assets over $5 billion. Prior to January 1, 2013, the Adviser was entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee at an annual rate of 0.50% of each Funds average daily net assets. The Adviser has voluntarily agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses to the extent that the Funds total annual operating expenses exceeded 1.13%, 1.35% and 1.00% of the Funds average daily net assets with respect to the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund, respectively. The Adviser may discontinue these arrangements at any time.
The advisory fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Advisory Fees (after waivers
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
$ |
8,303,943 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
$ |
6,125,897 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
$ |
7,786,205 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Advisory Fees (after waivers
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
$ |
5,752,391 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
$ |
4,187,917 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
$ |
5,506,994 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Advisory Fees (after waivers
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
$ |
4,034,791 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
$ |
2,810,636 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
$ |
4,277,194 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
The Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. Each Fund bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Fund include, but are not limited to the following (or the Funds share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by the Fund and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of the Fund by the Adviser; (c) filing fees and expenses relating to the registration and qualification of the Company and the Funds shares under federal and/or state securities laws and maintaining such registrations and qualifications; (d) fees and salaries payable to the Companys Directors and officers; (e) taxes (including any income or franchise taxes) and governmental fees; (f) costs of any liability and other insurance or fidelity bonds; (g) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Fund for violation of any law; (h) legal, accounting and auditing expenses, including legal fees of special counsel for the independent Directors; (i) charges of custodians and other agents; (j) expenses of setting in type and printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto for existing shareholders, reports, statements, and confirmations to shareholders and proxy material that are not attributable to a class; (k) costs of mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto to existing
shareholders, as well as reports to shareholders and proxy materials that are not attributable to a class; (1) any extraordinary expenses; (m) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (n) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; (o) costs of independent pricing services to value a portfolios securities; and (p) the costs of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the continuation of the Funds investment advisory agreement is included in the Funds annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov. The Advisory Agreement is terminable by vote of the Companys Board of Directors or by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, at any time without penalty, on 60 days written notice to the Adviser. The Advisory Agreement may be terminated by the Adviser at any time, without payment of any penalty, on 60 days written notice to the Fund. The Advisory Agreement terminates automatically in the event of its assignment.
The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall at all times have all rights in and to the Funds name and all investment models used by or on behalf of the Fund. The Adviser may use the Funds name or any portion thereof in connection with any other mutual fund or business activity without the consent of any shareholder, and the Company has agreed to execute and deliver any and all documents required to indicate its consent to such use.
The Advisory Agreement further provides that no public reference to, or description of, the Adviser or its methodology or work shall be made by the Company, whether in the Prospectus, SAI or otherwise, without the Advisers prior written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. In each case, the Company has agreed to provide the Adviser a reasonable opportunity to review any such reference or description before being asked for such consent.
Portfolio Managers
Description of Compensation . The Portfolio managers currently and will continue to receive a base salary, a year-end incentive bonus based on company profitability and may receive a quarterly bonus based on services provided to the Adviser. Compensation of a portfolio manager is determined at the discretion of the Portfolio managers supervisor and is based on a portfolio managers experience, responsibilities, the perception of the quality of his or her work efforts and other subjective factors. The compensation of portfolio managers is not directly based upon the performance of the Portfolios or other accounts that they manage. The Portfolio managers supervisor reviews the compensation of each portfolio manager annually and may make modifications in compensation as it deems necessary to reflect changes in the market.
Other Accounts . The table below discloses accounts, other than the Funds, for which each Portfolio Manager is primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management, as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total Assets |
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. Daniel J. List |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
49,323 |
|
5.871 billion |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. Mark E. Matson |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
49,323 |
|
5.871 billion |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3. Steven B. Miller |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
49,323 |
|
5.871 billion |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
The portfolio managers utilize a team based approach to other accounts managed. The portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of a portion of the total assets and number of accounts shown.
Conflicts of Interest. Matson Money reviewed its conflicts of interest and risk factors and has attempted to develop policies and procedures to address these matters. Matson Money does not
engage in transactions on behalf of client accounts with any affiliates. Matson Money does not have custody of any client securities or funds. Neither Matson Money nor any of its related persons act as general partners or managing members of any unregistered pooled investment vehicle. Matson Money does not manage its own proprietary account. Moreover, none of Matson Moneys officers or employees engage in any outside business activities that conflict with Matson Moneys duties to its clients. Finally, Matson Money does not purchase IPOs or individual securities for clients. Thus, Matson Moneys conflicts and risk factors are in the following areas: solicitation practices, suitability of Matson Moneys services for a client, trade errors, marketing practices, compliance with any client guidelines and restrictions, valuation of client accounts and calculation of fees, safeguarding of client assets, safeguarding of the privacy of client information, disaster recovery, accurate disclosure of information to clients and regulators, and accurate creation and secure maintenance of client records. Matson Moneys Compliance Manual is available upon request, which has more detailed explanations of policies and procedures currently in place to safeguard against potential conflicts/risks.
Securities Ownership . The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Portfolio Manager in each of the Funds as of August 31, 2014:
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares
|
|
|
|
Free Market U.S. Equity |
|
|
Daniel J. List |
|
$1-$10,000 |
Mark E. Matson |
|
$100,001-$500,000 |
Steven B. Miller |
|
$100,001-$500,000 |
|
|
|
Free Market International Equity |
|
|
Daniel J. List |
|
$1-$10,000 |
Mark E. Matson |
|
$100,001-$500,000 |
Steven B. Miller |
|
$100,001-$500,000 |
|
|
|
Free Market Fixed Income |
|
|
Daniel J. List |
|
$1-$10,000 |
Mark E. Matson |
|
Over $1 million |
Steven B. Miller |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Custodian Agreement
The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, serves as the custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a custodian agreement between BNY and the Company dated as of July 18, 2011, as amended, and supplemented (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, BNY: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of each Fund; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of each Fund; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of each Fund; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of each Funds portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors
concerning the Funds operations. BNY is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Funds, provided that BNY remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Company harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian . The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Funds under the Custodian Agreement, BNY Mellon receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Funds average gross assets; exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Funds.
Transfer Agency Agreement
BNY Mellon, with corporate offices at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Funds pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (collectively, the Transfer Agency Agreement). Under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of each Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Funds to record owners of Shares of the Fund, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Funds. For its services to the Funds under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Funds, subject to a minimum fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Customer Identification Program, including the verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Funds will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
Administration and Accounting Services Agreement
BNY Mellon also serves as the Funds administrator and fund accounting agent pursuant to an Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (the Administration Agreement). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Funds statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Funds. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard.
Effective June 1, 2013, for its services to each Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.045% of the Funds first $1.5 billion of aggregate average net assets; 0.035% of the Funds next $1.5 billion of aggregate average net assets; 0.030% of the Funds next $2 billion of aggregate average net assets; and 0.020% of the Funds aggregate average net assets in excess of $5 billion.
The minimum monthly fee is $5,208 per month for each Fund, exclusive of costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
For the past three fiscal years, each Fund paid BNY Mellon administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees and related out of pocket expenses as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Administration, Accounting
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
$ |
748,303 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
$ |
551,765 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
$ |
701,550 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Administration, Accounting
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
$ |
592,690 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
$ |
465,968 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
$ |
573,352 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Administration, Accounting
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund |
|
$ |
485,645 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Free Market International Equity Fund |
|
$ |
377,802 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Free Market Fixed Income Fund |
|
$ |
505,873 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or a Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Companys registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
From September 1, 2011 to June 1, 2013, for its services to each Fund, BNY Mellon was entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.065% of each Funds first $250 million of average net assets; 0.055% of each Funds next $250 million of average net assets; 0.040 of each Funds next $200 million of average net assets; 0.030% of each Funds average net assets in excess of $700 million.
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
Distribution Agreement
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Funds pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Funds.
Under the Distribution Agreement with the Company, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Funds. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Funds on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Funds. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Funds and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Funds.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Funds through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Funds for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, the Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Funds. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Funds, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
No Fund has any obligation to deal with any broker or group of brokers in the execution of portfolio transactions. The Adviser may, consistent with the interests of the Funds and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, select brokers on the basis of the research, statistical and pricing services they provide to the Funds and other clients of the Adviser. Information and research received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the Adviser under its respective contracts. A commission paid to such brokers may be higher than that which another qualified broker would have charged for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the transaction or the overall responsibility of the Adviser to a Fund and its other clients and that the total commissions paid by a Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to a Fund over the long-term.
Investment decisions for each Fund and for other investment accounts managed by the Adviser are made independently of each other in the light of differing conditions. However, the same investment decision may be made for two or more of such accounts. In such cases, simultaneous transactions are inevitable. Purchases or sales are then averaged as to price and allocated as to amount according to a formula deemed equitable to each such account. While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the security as far as a Fund is concerned, in other cases it is believed to be beneficial to a Fund.
No Fund paid brokerage commissions on portfolio transactions for the past three fiscal years.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist that make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of a Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing that Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that each Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the
lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions.)
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
Each Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the particular Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than Foreside Distributors), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with Individual Retirement Account or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
In order to assist in the determination of fair value, the Companys Board of Directors may authorize the Funds to employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on a Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain tax considerations generally affecting the Funds, the underlying investment companies, and Fund shareholders that are not fully described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Funds, the underlying investment companies, or Fund shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
Each Fund and each underlying investment company intends to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, each Fund and underlying investment company generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, each Fund and underlying investment company must meet three important tests each year.
First, each Fund and underlying investment company must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities, or currencies or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of each Funds and each underlying investment companys taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds and the underlying investment companies assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies and securities of other issuers (as to which the Fund or underlying investment company has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of such issuer and as to which the Fund or underlying investment company does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer), and no more than 25% of the value of each Funds and each underlying investment companys total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund or underlying investment company controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, each Fund and underlying investment company must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of the Funds or underlying investment companys investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
Each Fund and underlying investment company intends to comply with these requirements. If a Fund or underlying investment company were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund or underlying investment company could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year a Fund or underlying investment company were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions
to shareholders. In that event, shareholders in a Fund or underlying investment company would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds or underlying investment companys current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). Each Fund and underlying investment company intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
State and Local Taxes
Although each Fund and underlying investment company expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, a Fund or an underlying investment company may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by a Fund or an underlying investment company, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause a Fund or an underlying investment company to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund or the underlying investment company to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which a Fund or an underlying investment company invests, the Fund or the underlying investment company may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund or the underlying investment company fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in a Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders collectively owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of Common Stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of each Fund will vote in the aggregate on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Funds independent registered public accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated by reference into this SAI. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial
commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while
speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
PROXY POLICY STATEMENT
INTRODUCTION
STATEMENT OF POLICY
Matson Money, Inc. (formerly known as Abundance Technologies, Inc.) views the fiduciary act of managing plan assets to include the voting of proxies appurtenant to shares held in the plan. As a rule, Matson Money, Inc. strives to ensure that all proxies are received from the custodian in a timely manner and then exercises its right to vote all proxies. In keeping with the ERISA definition of fiduciary responsibility and the Department of Labor directives, all proxy voting decisions are made solely in the best interest of the clients plan participants and beneficiaries.
This document represents what the firm believes to be important elements of sound corporate governance and social responsibility. In our opinion, good corporate governance should maintain an appropriate balance between the rights of shareholders (the owners of the corporation) and the needs of management to direct the corporations affairs devoid of distracting short-term pressures. As a responsible long term investment manager, Matson Money, Inc. acknowledges its responsibility to strive for improved corporate governance and performance discipline. Matson Money, Inc. offers this policy as a basis for dialogue with the objective of improving corporate governance and social practices. This statement identifies Matson Moneys voting guidelines on numerous proxy issues. These guidelines are not an exhaustive list of every issue that may arise. Proxy issues that are not described herein will be considered in light of the relevant facts and circumstances.
CRITERIA AND STANDARDS
Each proxy issue is reviewed on its own merits, on a case-by-case basis. Every proxy voting decision, whether on Corporate Governance or Social Issues, is made with the exclusive purpose of maximizing the economic value of the clients investment. Matson Money, Inc. gives special consideration to out of the ordinary matters and may vote against management on specific issues which are deemed to impair shareholder rights or value. Furthermore, Matson Money, Inc. would oppose any proposal which would entrench or protect management interest contrary to the financial interests of the stockholder.
PROXY ADMINISTRATION
The portfolio manager and compliance officer are primarily responsible for monitoring corporate actions, making voting decisions and ensuring that proxies are submitted timely, consistent with this policy. Matson Money, Inc. may form special committees, from time to time, to address unusual proxy voting issues or conflicts.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
All conflicts of interest will be resolved in the interest of the clients. Occasionally, Matson Money, Inc. may be subject to conflicts of interest in the voting of proxies due to business or personal relationships it maintains with persons having an interest in the outcome of certain votes. In situations where Matson Money, Inc. perceives a material conflict of interest, Matson Money, Inc. may disclose the conflict to the relevant clients; defer to the voting recommendation of the clients or of an independent third party provider of proxy services; send the proxy directly to the clients for a voting decision; abstain from voting; or take such other action in good faith, in consultation with counsel, to determine the appropriate method to resolve the conflict in the interest of clients, based upon the particular facts and circumstances. With respect to investment company clients, conflicts may arise as to votes involving the investment adviser, the underwriter, their affiliates or affiliates of the investment company. In such cases, Matson Money, Inc. will follow the voting guidelines described herein, including the process for handling conflicts. Under normal circumstances, if a conflict is determined not to be material, Matson Money, Inc. will vote the proxy in accordance with this policy. The method selected by Matson Money, Inc. to vote proxies in the presence of a conflict may vary depending upon the facts and circumstances of each situation and the requirements of applicable law.
I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:
A. BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
A companys board of directors represents the focal point of corporate governance. The board is a group of elected individuals which oversees the operation and direction of the company on behalf of its owners. The principal responsibility of the board is to further the long term success of the corporation while remaining true to its fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. Matson Money, Inc. supports the primary authority of the board; however, at the same time, the firm believes that directors must remain accountable to the shareholders. Consequently, Matson Moneys guidelines are as follows:
1. Election of Directors: While Matson Money, Inc. normally votes for the boards nominees, the firm may decline to vote for unopposed candidates when their record indicates that their election to the board would not be in the interest of shareholders. Likewise, Matson Money, Inc. may vote for alternative candidates when its analysis indicates that these candidates will better represent shareholder interests.
2. Independent Directors: In Matson Moneys opinion, the ideal board should be comprised primarily of independent (non-management) directors who are both willing and qualified to serve in such capacity. In this context, independence means no present or former employment by the company or its management which could interfere with the directors loyalty to the shareholders.
3. Cumulative Voting: This voting procedure entitles each stockholder to as many votes as shall equal the number of shares owned multiplied by the number of directors to be elected. Such votes may all be cast for a single candidate or for any two or more as the stockholder sees fit. Matson Money, Inc. believes this method is an important democratic means of electing directors and allows shareholders to obtain representation on the
board by significant vote. Consequently, Matson Money, Inc. generally supports the practice of cumulative voting.
4. Classified Board: A classified board is a staggered board arrangement in which each director is elected for an established term of two, three, or four years, depending on the number of classes established. Only those directors in the class up for election can be approved or rejected by shareholders in any given year. In Matson Moneys opinion, a classified board serves to entrench management and limit shareholders ability to effect favorable change. Consequently, Matson Money, Inc. generally opposes classified boards.
5. Director Liability and Indemnification: A proper director liability policy should balance the need to hold directors accountable for improper actions with the need to attract competent and diligent individuals for board positions. The Corporation should be free to indemnify directors for legal expenses and judgments in connection with their service as directors and eliminate the directors liability for ordinary negligence. However, directors should be held liable to the corporation for violations of their fiduciary duty involving gross negligence. Similarly, proposals that indemnify directors who have committed fraud or dereliction of duty would be opposed.
6. Director Compensation: Normally, the remuneration of Directors is considered a routine item of business. Therefore, it is not usually submitted for a shareholder vote. However, non-employee director compensation has become a shareholder issue recently. Generally, Matson Money, Inc. would prefer to see more of the directors compensation based upon shareholder returns as measured by stock price appreciation or some other meaningful performance measure. Furthermore, Matson Money, Inc. encourages corporations to phase out pension or retirement plans for their non-employee directors. Most non-employee directors have retirement benefits from their primary employer; however, Matson Money, Inc. recognizes that a blanket vote to eliminate all such retirement plans could negatively impact a companys access to potentially valuable directors. Consequently, Matson Money, Inc. will not vote in favor of unilaterally eliminating retirement benefits.
7. General: Matson Money, Inc. recognizes the responsibilities of the board to organize its function and conduct its business in an efficient manner. Therefore, barring unusual circumstances, Matson Money, Inc. would favor management proposals related to board size and oppose shareholder resolutions calling for the separation of the CEO and Chairman positions, establishing age limits for directors, special interest representation, and the formation of shareholder advisory committees, or term limits for directors. Matson Money, Inc. is also against restricting the date or location of the annual meeting.
B. CAPITALIZATION ISSUES: Capitalization related proposals pertain to the creation, repurchase, or reclassification of securities. Matson Money, Inc. may support the authorization of additional stock if management provides a satisfactory explanation of its plans for the stock; however, Matson Money, Inc. will oppose large unexplained increases in common stock. Matson Money, Inc.
will also oppose the issuance of blank check preferred or convertible stock which could potentially be used as a takeover deterrent or dilute/jeopardize the clients common stock ownership.
1. Increase Authorized Common Stock: Matson Money, Inc. considers a proposal to increase the number of authorized but unissued shares of common stock on case-by-case basis. Matson Money, Inc. takes into account the size of the requested increase, its stated purpose, and how much authorized but unissued common stock remains. The firm generally supports a stock split or a reasonable replenishment after a stock split. Likewise, Matson Money, Inc. may approve an increase to support a shareholder value enhancing acquisition, to provide the necessary flexibility to maintain an optimal capital structure, or to fund stock option and stock purchase plans. Requests to significantly increase the number of authorized shares (those resulting in greater than 10% dilution) without a stated reason or demonstrated need would be opposed. Similarly, Matson Money, Inc. would oppose an increase when additional shares are to be used for anti-takeover measures.
2. Authorize Blank Check Preferred Stock: This proposal would grant authority to the board to create and issue a new class of preferred stock with unspecified terms and conditions. Blank check preferred stock could be granted special voting rights and be used to entrench management or deter takeover attempts. Matson Money, Inc. generally opposes proposals to vest the board with such power.
3. Authorize Convertible Stock: Matson Money, Inc. would review the rationale on a case-by-case basis taking into account the companys current capitalization structure, the stated purpose for the security and the potential dilution effect this security would have on existing common shareholders upon conversion. Matson Money, Inc. would oppose any request which is blank check in nature, where the companys rationale is unclear, and where the request appears to blunt possible takeover attempts.
C. SHAREHOLDERS RIGHTS AND PROXY VOTING: The proxy vote is the key mechanism by which shareholders render their opinion in corporate governance. In exercising its votes, Matson Money, Inc. believes:
1. Confidential Voting should be adopted by all corporations on all matters brought before the shareholders. Such provisions would protect the importance of the proxy vote and eliminate the appearance of any impropriety.
2. Multiple Classes of Common Stock with disparate voting rights should not exist. Rather, the board should adhere to the principle of one share-one vote.
3. Super-majority rules or requirements which interfere with the shareholders right to elect directors and ratify corporate actions should be opposed.
4. Changes in Corporations Domicile should only be proposed for valid business reasons, not to obtain protection against unfriendly takeovers.
5. Change of Control occurs when a third party becomes, or obtains the right to become, the beneficial owner of Company securities having 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of
the company. Change of Control also would occur when the directors prior to a given event cease to constitute a majority of the Board as a result of the event.
6. Fair Price Provisions and measures to limit the corporations ability to buy back shares from a particular shareholder at higher than market prices are generally supported.
7. Pre-emptive Rights allow shareholders the option to buy part of any new issue prior to its public offering. This provision allows existing shareholders to maintain their original ownership percentage. However, pre-emptive rights often raise the cost of capital by increasing both the time and expense of issuing new shares. Therefore, pre-emptive rights should generally be eliminated, except where Matson Moneys analysis concludes such rights have value to the shareholders.
8. Anti-Takeover measures should be submitted for shareholder approval. Matson Money, Inc. is generally against such measures.
9. Bundled Proposals: Occasionally management will attempt to tie a non-routine issue to one that is routine, attempting to pass both items in the form of a bundled proposal. Disparate issues should not be combined and presented for a single vote. Such proposals are generally not well received and must be carefully reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
10. Special Meetings of the Board of Directors, on such issues as takeovers and changes in the make-up of the Board, by its shareholders is permitted at most companies. Matson Money, Inc. is generally against limitations on the calling of Special Meetings.
D. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION: The board and its compensation committee should set executive compensation levels adequate to attract and retain qualified executives. These managers should be rewarded in direct relationship to the contribution they make in maximizing shareholder value. Matson Money, Inc. readily admits it is not qualified to thoroughly evaluate the specific issues of executive compensation for each of its portfolio holdings; however the firm does evaluate the reasonableness of compensation policies, criteria and formulas. Likewise, Matson Money, Inc. decides what constitutes adequate disclosure of executive compensation. Matson Money, Inc. generally supports sound pay for performance plans which ensure equitable treatment of both corporate management and shareholders. Compensation should include both salary and performance components. The salary should have a defined relationship to salaries in an industry peer group. Similarly, performance measures should relate to key industry success measurements and be judged over adequate time periods.
1. Incentive Plans should be set forth annually in the proxy statement. The criteria used to evaluate the performance of senior executives should be clearly stated. Terms of the awards, such as type, coverage and option price should be specified. Excess discretion will not be approved. Matson Money, Inc. generally supports management if the company defines their performance goals. However, Matson Money, Inc. opposes incentive plans where no specific goals are defined. Without specific performance goals, there is no assurance that awards will be paid based upon realistic performance criteria. Matson Money, Inc. also votes against plans where performance hurdles are, in its opinion, set too low. Total potential
dilution from existing and proposed compensation plans should not exceed 10% over the duration of the plan(s). Finally, Matson Money, Inc. generally opposes plans which grant reload options (favorable repricing of options) or where options become immediately exercisable following a change of control defined as anything less than 50%.
2. Stock/Stock Option Plans: Matson Money, Inc. generally votes against a plan if the exercise price is unspecified or below 90% of the fair market value on the date of the grant.
3. Golden Parachutes should always be put to shareholder vote because they often exceed ordinary compensation practices. We are generally against Golden Parachutes.
E. ROUTINE CORPORATE ISSUES: Proposals in this category, which have been seen repeatedly on an historical basis, are usually non-controversial. Generally, these issues revolve around items that are related to the normal operating procedures of the company. Matson Money, Inc., however, votes against a management proposal to approve any other business that properly comes before the meeting. As a fiduciary, Matson Money, Inc. opposes any attempt by management to get a blanket approval without full disclosure. Conversely, each of the proposals listed below are generally supported, unless compelling reasons exist to question why it is not in the best interest of shareholders.
1. Appointment of Auditors
2. Corporate Name and/or Ticker Change
3. Approval of Articles of Incorporation
4. Changes to the Articles of Incorporation
5. Changes in the Date, Time and/or Location of Annual Meeting
6. Stock Splits
7. Acceptance of Directors Report
8. Approval of Corporate Dividend
II. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES: Matson Money, Inc. acknowledges its duty both as a corporate citizen and as a manager of investment funds to address important social issues. The intention of our firm is not to impose its moral or social views upon clients. Nor should Matson Money, Inc. restrict in any way the day-to-day operating procedures of a corporation unless, in so doing, the economic value of the clients investment is enhanced.
DOCUMENTATION OF VOTING DECISIONS
Matson Money, Inc. maintains accurate records of each corporate proxy received and voted along with documentation of the proxy voting decisions on each issue. The records will be retained for such period of time as is required to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
REPORTING
In order to facilitate a clients monitoring of proxy decisions made and actions taken by Matson Money, Inc., a report summarizing each corporate issue and corresponding proxy vote is available to clients upon request.
MATSON MONEY, INC.
FAMILY OF PORTFOLIOS
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Institutional Class
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio: FMVUX
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio: FMVIX
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio: FMVFX
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
Matson Money, Inc.
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides information about the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio (each a Portfolio and collectively, the Portfolios). The Portfolios are series of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This information is in addition to the information contained in the Portfolios Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus). This SAI is not a prospectus. Copies of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION |
1 |
NON- PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES OF THE FUNDS |
1 |
FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
2 |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF UNDERLYING INVESTMENT COMPANIES AND RELATED RISKS |
4 |
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
32 |
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
34 |
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
45 |
CODE OF ETHICS |
46 |
PROXY VOTING POLICIES |
46 |
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
46 |
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS |
52 |
FUND TRANSACTIONS |
53 |
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
54 |
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
55 |
VALUATION OF SHARES |
55 |
TAXES |
56 |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
59 |
MISCELLANEOUS |
61 |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
61 |
APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate investment portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to Institutional Class shares representing interests in three diversified Portfolios, which are offered by the Prospectus. Shares of the Portfolios may be purchased and held by the separate accounts (Separate Accounts) of participating insurance companies (Participating Insurance Companies) for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Shares of the Portfolios are not offered directly to the general public. Matson Money, Inc. (Matson Money or the Adviser) serves as the investment adviser to the Portfolios.
NON- PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES OF THE FUNDS
Although the Portfolios invest primarily in shares of other registered investment companies, for temporary defensive purposes, the Portfolios may hold cash or invest in a variety of money market instruments, including U.S. government securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, and bankers acceptances. When a Portfolio invests for temporary defensive purposes, it may do so without any percentage limitations. A Portfolio may not achieve its investment objective during periods when it has taken such a temporary defensive position.
U.S. Government Securities. Each Portfolio may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities (U.S. Government) that have remaining maturities not exceeding one year. Agencies and instrumentalities that issue or guarantee debt securities and that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government include the Export-Import Bank, the Federal Farm Credit System, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Federal Land Banks, and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae).
Bank Obligation. Each Portfolio may invest in obligations of U.S. banks (including certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances) and U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of U.S. subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion. Such banks must be members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The activities of banks are subject to extensive regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans that may be made and the interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and costs 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 play an important part in the operation of this industry.
Commercial Paper. Commercial paper represents short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by bank holding companies, corporations, and finance companies. The commercial paper purchased by the Portfolios consists of direct obligations of issuers which, at the time of
investment, are (i) rated P-1 by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys) or A-1 by Standard & Poors Ratings Services (Standard & Poors), or (ii) if not rated, issued by a corporation having an outstanding unsecured debt issue rated Aaa by Moodys or AAA by Standard & Poors. In the event that a security held by a Portfolio is placed on a credit watch or is downgraded by a rating agency, the value of such security may decline and the Portfolio invested in such security may consequently experience losses in respect of such security. See Appendix A for a description of Moodys and Standard & Poors rating categories.
FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Portfolios have adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to a Portfolio without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Portfolio outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2 (a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of a Portfolio means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the Portfolio represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Portfolio. Each Portfolios investment goals and strategies described in the Prospectus may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without the approval of the Portfolios shareholders. Each Portfolio may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that the Portfolio may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements and the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio may enter into dollar rolls (including mortgage dollar rolls), for temporary purposes in amounts up to one-third of the value of the Portfolios total assets at the time of such borrowing and provided that, for any borrowing with respect to the Portfolio, there is at least 300% asset coverage for borrowings of the Portfolio. A Portfolio may not mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Portfolios total assets at the time of such borrowing. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with a Portfolios investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation.
2. Issue any senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.
3. Act as underwriter of securities within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), except insofar as the Portfolio might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities.
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Portfolio may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts.
5. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that to the extent consistent with its investment policies and restrictions, the Portfolio may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures.
6. Make loans, except through loan portfolio instruments and repurchase agreements, provided that, for purposes of this restriction, the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan.
7. Purchase any security if, as a result of such purchase, more than 25% of the value of the Portfolios total assets would be invested in the securities of issuers concentrated in a particular industry except that this limitation does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities.
8. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Portfolios total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Portfolio, except that up to 25% of the value of the Portfolios total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
With respect to Investment Limitation No. 1, in the event that asset coverage is below 300%, the Portfolio will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowing to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days.
For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 2, the SEC has concluded that even though reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements, and standby commitment agreements fall within the meaning of the term evidence indebtedness, the issue of compliance with Section 18 of the 1940 Act will not be raised with the SEC by the Division of Investment Management if a Portfolio covers such securities by earmarking and maintaining certain assets on the books and records of the Portfolios custodian.
Similarly, so long as such earmarked assets are maintained, the issue of compliance with Section 18 will not be raised with respect to any of the following: any swap contract; any borrowings or pledge or encumbrance of assets permitted by Investment Limitation No. 1; any collateral arrangements with respect to the writing of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and foreign currency contracts and collateral arrangements with respect to short sales and initial and variation margin; and purchases and sales of futures or related options
The Portfolios have adopted the following non-fundamental investment limitation, which may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without shareholder approval:
1. No Portfolio will invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities.
Securities held by the Portfolios generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser or its affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act.
If a percentage restriction under one of the Portfolios investment policies or limitations is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities by the Portfolio.) In the event that investments in illiquid instruments exceed 15% of a Portfolios net assets, the Portfolio must take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the prescribed limitations as soon as reasonably practicable. This requirement would not force the Portfolio to liquidate any instrument where the Portfolio would suffer a loss on the sale of that instrument.
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF UNDERLYING INVESTMENT COMPANIES AND RELATED RISKS
The underlying investment companies in which the Portfolios invest have their own investment objectives, policies, practices, and techniques, any one or all of which may subject their assets to varying degrees of risk. In addition, as a shareholder of another investment company, each Portfolio would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of that companys expenses, including advisory and administrative fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Portfolio bears directly in connection with its own operations. Therefore, it may be more costly for a Portfolio to own shares of another investment company than to own directly the underlying securities owned by such company. Investment companies in which the Portfolios may invest also may impose a sales or distribution charge in connection with the purchase or redemption of their shares and other types of commissions or charges. Such charges will be payable by the Portfolios and, therefore, will be borne by shareholders. The underlying investment companies in which each Portfolio invests may purchase securities of affiliated and unaffiliated unregistered money market funds.
Set forth below is additional information with respect to the types of securities and instrument techniques of the underlying investment companies and the risks involved in certain of these practices and techniques.
Asset-Backed Securities. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities may also be collateralized by a portfolio of U.S. government securities, but are not direct obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Such asset pools are securitized through the use of privately-formed trusts or special purpose corporations. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be guaranteed up to certain amounts and for a certain time period by a letter of credit or a pool insurance policy issued by a financial institution unaffiliated with the trust or corporation, or other credit enhancements may be
present; however privately issued obligations collateralized by a portfolio of privately issued asset-backed securities do not involve any government-related guarantee or insurance. In addition, asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets. See Mortgage-Backed Securities.
Corporate Obligations. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, (i) rated Aa3 or better by Moodys, or AA- or better by Standard & Poors, or AA- or better by Fitch, or (ii) if there is no rating for the debt security, determined by the investment adviser(s) to the underlying investment companies to be of comparable quality to equivalent issues of the same issuer rated at least AA- or Aa3. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value.
Convertible Securities and Preferred Stocks. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to nonconvertible debt securities in that they ordinarily provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stocks of the same or similar issuers. Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporations capital structure but are usually subordinated to comparable nonconvertible securities. While no securities investment is completely without risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than the corporations common stock, although the extent to which such risk is reduced depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security sells above its value as a fixed income security. Convertible securities have unique investment characteristics in that they generally: (1) have higher yields than common stocks, but lower yields than comparable non-convertible securities; (2) are less subject to fluctuation in value than the underlying stock since they have fixed income characteristics; and (3) 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 securitys 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 declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline. The credit standing of the issuer and other factors also may have an effect on the convertible securitys 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. Generally the conversion value
decreases as the convertible security approaches maturity. 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 might be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible securitys governing instrument. If a convertible security held by a Portfolio is called for redemption, that Portfolio 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.
Preferred stocks are securities that represent an ownership interest in a company and provide their owner with claims on the companys earnings and assets prior to the claims of owners of common stocks but after those of bond owners. Preferred stocks in which the Portfolios may invest include sinking fund, convertible, perpetual fixed and adjustable rate (including auction rate) preferred stocks. There is no minimum credit rating applicable to a Portfolios investment in preferred stocks and securities convertible into or exchangeable for common stock.
Depository Arrangements . To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in American Depository Receipts (ADRs). ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying foreign securities. ADRs are denominated in U.S. dollars. They are publicly traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the United States.
The underlying investment companies may invest in both sponsored and unsponsored ADR programs. There are certain risks associated with investments in unsponsored ADR programs. Because the non-U.S. securities issuer does not actively participate in the creation of the ADR program, the underlying agreement for service and payment will be between the depository and the shareholder. The company issuing the stock underlying the ADR pays nothing to establish the unsponsored facility because fees for ADR issuance and cancellation are paid by brokers. Investors directly bear the expenses associated with certificate transfer, custody and dividend payment.
In an unsponsored ADR program, there also may be several depositories with no defined legal obligations to the non-U.S. company. The duplicate depositories may lead to marketplace confusion because there would be no central source of information for buyers, sellers and intermediaries. The efficiency of centralization gained in a sponsored program can greatly reduce the delays in delivery of dividends and annual reports.
The underlying investment companies may also invest in Holding Company Depository Receipts (HOLDRS). HOLDRS represent trust-issued receipts that represent individual and undivided beneficial ownership interests in the common stock or ADRs of specific companies in a particular industry, sector or group.
The underlying investment companies of the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio may also invest in European Depository Receipts (EDRs), International Depository Receipts (IDRs) and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). These are receipts issued by a non-U.S. financial institution evidencing ownership of underlying foreign or U.S. securities and are usually denominated in foreign currencies. They may not be denominated in the same currency as the securities they represent. Generally, EDRs, GDRs and IDRs are designed for use in the foreign securities markets. Investments in EDRs, GDRs and IDRs involve certain risks not typically involved in purely domestic investments, including currency exchange risk. These risks are set forth under Foreign Securities in this SAI.
Dollar Rolls. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may enter into dollar rolls in which the investment companies sell fixed income securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contract to repurchase substantially similar (same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a specified future date.
During the roll period, an investment company would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. However, the investment company would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the forward price for the future purchase, as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. The return on dollar rolls may be negatively impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. For additional information on dollar roll transactions, see the section entitled Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions in this SAI.
Equity Markets. The underlying investment companies of the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio invest primarily in equity markets at all times. Equity markets can be highly volatile, so that investing in the underlying investment companies involves substantial risk. As a result, investing in the underlying investment companies involves the risk of loss of capital.
European Currency Unification. On January 1, 1999, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) introduced a new single currency called the euro. The euro has replaced the national currencies of many European countries.
The new European Central Bank has control over each member countrys monetary policies. Therefore, the member countries no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. The national governments of the participating countries, however, have retained the authority to set tax and spending policies and public debt levels.
European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes for membership. Europes economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures vary widely. Several European Union (EU) countries, including Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal have faced budget issues, some of which may have negative long-term effects for the economies of those countries and other EU countries. There is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries are required to maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficit to qualify for membership in the EMU. These requirements can severely limit the ability of EMU member countries to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions. Also, it is possible that the EUs single currency, the euro, could be abandoned in the future by countries that have already adopted its use.
These or other events, including political and economic developments, could cause market disruptions, and could affect adversely the values of securities held by the Portfolios. Because of the number of countries using this single currency, a significant portion of the assets held by certain Portfolios may be denominated in the euro.
Foreign Securities. The underlying investment companies of the Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio may invest in securities issued by foreign companies. Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Volume and liquidity in most foreign bond markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility or price can be greater than in the United States. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Inability to dispose of securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to an underlying investment company due to subsequent declines in value of the securities, or, if the underlying investment company has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth or gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.
Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed companies than in the United States.
Settlement mechanics may be slower or less reliable than within the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. 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 a portion of the assets of an underlying investment company is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of an underlying investment company to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the underlying investment company to miss attractive investment opportunities.
Although the underlying investment companies may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, each investment company values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the NAV of an underlying investment companys shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the underlying investment companys securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which an underlying investment company makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price
of the underlying investment companys securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of an underlying investment companys securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, an underlying investment company is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency.
The underlying investment companies may invest in obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks (Eurodollars) and U.S. branches of foreign banks (Yankee dollars) as well as foreign branches of foreign banks. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities of U.S. banks, including potential unfavorable political and economic developments, different tax provisions, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest. The underlying investment companies may also invest in debt securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments, including Yankee bonds, which are issued by foreign governments and their agencies and foreign corporations, but pay interest in U.S. dollars and are typically issued in the United States.
Forward Commitment and When-Issued Transactions. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis. These transactions involve a commitment by an underlying investment company to purchase or sell securities at a future date (ordinarily one or two months later). 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 commitments are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges.
When-issued purchases and forward commitments enable an underlying investment company to lock in what is believed by the underlying investment adviser to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, an underlying investment company might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, an underlying investment company might sell securities it owns and purchase the same or a similar security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. When-issued securities or forward commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date.
The value of securities purchased on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation of an underlying investment companys NAV starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the securities, and the underlying investment company is subject to the rights and risks of ownership of the securities on that date. An underlying investment company does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until they are paid for and delivered on the settlement date. When an underlying investment company makes a forward commitment to sell securities it
owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are included in the underlying investment companys assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities are not reflected in the underlying investment companys NAV as long as the commitment to sell remains in effect. Settlement of when-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions generally takes place within two months after the date of the transaction, but an underlying investment company may agree to a longer settlement period.
An underlying investment company generally will make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued basis or to 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, an underlying investment company may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into. An underlying investment company also may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the underlying investment company on the settlement date. An underlying investment company may realize a capital gain or loss in connection with these transactions, and its distributions from any net realized capital gains will be taxable to shareholders.
When an underlying investment company purchases securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, the investment company or its custodian will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities having a value (determined daily) at least equal to the amount of the underlying investment companys purchase commitments. These procedures are designed to ensure that the underlying investment company will maintain sufficient assets at all times to cover its obligations under when-issued purchases and forward commitments.
Forward Foreign Currency Transactions . The Matson Money International Equity VI and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may, to the extent that they invest in foreign securities, enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to facilitate the settlement of equity or bond purchases; exchange one currency for another, including to repatriate excess currencies; or, in the case of the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio, hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The underlying investment companies will conduct their foreign currency exchange transactions either on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or through entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. 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 (usually less than one year) 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 conducted directly between traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. Although foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the spread) between the price at which they are buying and selling various currencies.
The underlying investment companies generally may enter into forward contracts under several circumstances. First, when an underlying investment company enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security quoted or denominated in a foreign currency, it may desire to
lock in the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed number of U.S. dollars, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the underlying investment company will be able to insulate itself from a possible loss resulting from a 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 and the date on which payment is made or received. The underlying investment adviser(s) may also use non-U.S. currency to enter into a forward foreign exchange contract.
Second, the investment adviser to certain underlying fixed income investment companies may cause such investment companies to enter a forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the investment companys portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such foreign currency in an effort to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates. These underlying fixed income investment companies may also engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in one currency to hedge against fluctuations in the value in securities denominated or quoted in a different currency if the investment adviser determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the two currencies. Cross-hedging may also include entering into a forward transaction involving two foreign currencies, using one foreign currency as a proxy for the U.S. dollar to hedge against variations in the other U.S. foreign currency, if the investment adviser determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the proxy currency and the U.S. dollar. With currency hedging techniques, the precise matching of the forward contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible since 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 the forward contract is entered into and the date it matures. Additionally, these techniques do not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. They simply establish a rate of exchange which can be achieved 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 underlying investment companys foreign assets. It also reduces any potential gain which may have otherwise occurred had the currency value increased above the settlement price of the contract.
Third, the investment adviser may exchange one currency for another if it believes it may need the other currency to settle future equity purchases or to repatriate excess foreign currency to U.S. dollars.
The underlying investment companies generally will not enter into forward contracts to sell currency or maintain a net exposure to such contracts if the consummation of such contracts would obligate the investment company to deliver an amount of foreign currency in excess of the value of the investment companys respective portfolio securities (including accrued interest or other accrued receivables) or other assets quoted or denominated in that currency. At the consummation of the forward contract, an underlying investment company may either make delivery of the foreign currency or terminate its contractual obligation by purchasing an offsetting contract obligating it to purchase at the same maturity date, the same amount of such foreign currency. If an underlying investment company chooses to make delivery of foreign currency, it may be required to obtain such delivery through the sale of portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such currency or through conversion of other assets of the Portfolio into such currency. If an underlying investment company engages in an offsetting transaction, the underlying investment company will realize a gain or a loss to the extent that there has been a change in forward contract prices.
The underlying investment companies transactions in forward contracts generally will be limited to those described above. Of course, the underlying investment companies are not required to enter into such transactions with regard to their foreign currency quoted or denominated securities, and the investment companies will not do so unless deemed appropriate by their respective investment advisers.
While the underlying investment company may enter into forward contracts to seek to reduce currency exchange rate risks, transactions in such contracts involve certain other risks. Thus, while an underlying investment company may benefit from such transactions, unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the underlying investment company than if it had not engaged in any such transactions. Moreover, there may be imperfect correlation between the underlying investment companys portfolio holdings or securities quoted or denominated in a particular currency and forward contracts entered into by the underlying investment company. Such imperfect correlation may cause the underlying investment company to sustain losses, which will prevent the underlying investment company from achieving a complete hedge, or expose the underlying investment company to the risk of foreign exchange loss.
Forward contracts are subject to the risks that the counterparts to such contract will default on its obligations. Since a forward foreign currency exchange contract is not guaranteed by an exchange or clearing house, a default on the contract would deprive an underlying investment company of unrealized profits, transaction costs or the benefits of a currency hedge or force an underlying investment company to cover its purchase or sale commitments, if any, at the current market price.
The underlying investment companies foreign currency transactions (including related options, futures and forward contracts) may be limited by the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) for qualification as a regulated investment company.
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, an underlying investment company can seek to offset a decline in the value of its current portfolio securities through the sale of futures contracts. When interest rates are falling or securities prices are rising, an underlying investment company, through the purchase of futures contracts, can attempt to secure better rates or prices than might later be available in the market when it affects anticipated purchases.
To seek to increase total return or to hedge against changes in interest rates or securities prices, an underlying investment company may purchase and sell various kinds of futures contracts, and purchase and write call and put options on any of such futures contracts. An underlying investment company may also enter into closing purchase and sale transactions with respect to any of such contracts and options. The futures contracts may be based on various securities (such as U.S. government securities), securities indices, and any other financial instruments and indices. Generally an underlying investment company will engage in futures and related options transactions for bona fide hedging purposes as described below or for purposes of seeking to increase total return, in each case, only to the extent permitted by regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). All futures contracts entered into by an underlying investment company are traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that are licensed and regulated by the CFTC or on foreign exchanges.
The Portfolios intend to limit investments in commodity futures, commodity options contracts and swaps to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). However, the application of the amended rules to funds-of-funds remains unclear. Accordingly, the Adviser has filed for relief with respect to each Portfolio which defers compliance until six months following the effective date of any CFTC guidance regarding the application of the amended rules to fund-of-funds. As of the date of this SAI, no such guidance has been issued. For this reason, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and
derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO, the disclosure and operations of the Portfolios would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
Positions taken in the futures markets are not normally held to maturity but are instead liquidated through offsetting transactions, which may result in a profit or a loss. While futures contracts on securities will usually be liquidated in this manner, an underlying investment company may instead make, or take, delivery of the underlying securities or currency whenever it appears economically advantageous to do so. A clearing corporation associated with the exchange on which futures on securities are traded guarantees that, if still open, the sale or purchase will be performed on the settlement date.
Hedging, by use of futures contracts, seeks to establish with more certainty than would otherwise be possible the effective price or rate of return on portfolio securities or securities that an underlying investment company proposes to acquire or the exchange rate of currencies in which portfolio securities are quoted or denominated. An underlying investment company 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 that would adversely affect the value of the underlying investment companys portfolio securities. Such futures contracts may include contracts for the future delivery of securities held by an underlying investment company or securities with characteristics similar to those of the underlying investment companys portfolio securities. If, in the opinion of the investment adviser to an underlying investment company, there is a sufficient degree of correlation between price trends for an underlying investment companys portfolio securities and futures contracts based on other financial instruments, securities indices or other indices, the underlying investment company may also enter into such futures contracts as part of its hedging strategy. Although under some circumstances prices of securities in an underlying investment companys portfolio may be more or less volatile than prices of such futures contracts, the underlying 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 underlying investment companys enter into a greater or lesser number of futures contracts or by seeking to achieve only a partial hedge against price changes affecting the underlying investment companys 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 an underlying investment company portfolios securities would be substantially offset by a decline in the value of the futures position.
On other occasions, an underlying investment company may take a long position by purchasing futures contracts. This would be done, for example, when the underlying investment company anticipates the subsequent purchase of particular securities when it has the necessary cash, but expects the prices then available in the applicable market to be less favorable than prices that are currently available.
Indexed Securities. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in indexed securities whose value is linked to securities indices. Most such securities have values which rise and fall according to
the change in one or more specified indices, and may have characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying securities. Depending on the index, such securities may have greater volatility than the market as a whole. An underlying investment company may also invest in exchange-traded funds, which generally track their related indices and trade like an individual stock throughout the trading day. For example, an underlying investment company may invest in Standard & Poors Depositary Receipts (commonly referred to as Spiders), which are exchange-traded shares of a closed-end investment company that are designed to replicate the price performance and dividend yield of the Standard & Poors 500® Composite Stock Price Index.
Initial Public Offerings. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may purchase stock in an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a companys first offering of stock to the public. Risks associated with IPOs may include considerable fluctuation in the market value of IPO shares due to certain factors, such as the absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, a limited number of shares available for trading, lack of information about the issuer and limited operating history. The purchase of IPO shares may involve high transaction costs. When an underlying investment companys asset base is small, a significant portion of the underlying investment companys performance could be attributable to investments in IPOs, because such investments would have a magnified impact on the underlying investment company. As an underlying investment companys assets grow, the effect of the underlying investment companys investments in IPOs on the underlying investment companys performance probably will decline, which could reduce the underlying investment companys performance. Because of the price volatility of IPO shares, an underlying investment company may choose to hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the turnover of the underlying investment companys portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the underlying investment company, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, the underlying investment advisers cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
Inflation-Protected Securities. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in inflation-protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, known as TIPs or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, which are debt securities whose principal and interest payments are adjusted for inflation and interest is paid on the adjusted amount. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index, such as the consumer price index (CPI). A fixed coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that as inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of your investment.
Inflation-protected securities normally will decline in price when real interest rates rise. (A real interest rate is calculated by subtracting the inflation rate from a nominal interest rate. For example, if a 10-year Treasury note is yielding 5% and inflation is 2%, the real interest rate is 3%.) If inflation is negative, the principal and income of an inflation-protected security will decline and could result in losses for the Portfolios underlying investment companies.
Any increase in principal for an inflation-protected security resulting from inflation adjustments is considered by IRS regulations to be taxable income in the year it occurs. For direct holders of an inflation-protected security, this means that taxes must be paid on principal adjustments even though these amounts are not received until the bond matures. By contrast, an underlying investment company holding these securities distributes both interest income and the income attributable to principal adjustments in the form of cash or reinvested shares, which are taxable to shareholders.
Interest Rate Swaps, Floors and Caps and Currency Swaps. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may enter into interest rate swaps and may purchase interest rate floors or caps. An underlying investment company will typically use interest rate swaps to preserve a return on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio or to shorten the effective duration of its portfolio investments. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the underlying investment company with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed rate payments for floating rate payments. The purchase of an interest rate floor or cap entitles the purchaser to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the seller, to the extent the specified index falls below (floor) or exceeds (cap) a predetermined interest rate. The Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio may enter into currency swaps, which involve the exchange of the rights of the underlying investment company and another party to make or receive payments in specific currencies.
An underlying investment company will only enter into interest rate swaps or interest rate floor or cap transactions on a net basis, i.e. the two payment streams are netted out, with the underlying investment company receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. In contrast, currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency.
The net amount of the excess, if any, of an underlying investment companys obligations over its entitlements with respect to each interest rate or currency swap will be accrued on a daily basis, and an amount of liquid assets having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to such accrued excess will be segregated by the underlying investment company.
If there is a default by the other party to such transaction, the underlying investment company will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.
Lending of Portfolio Securities. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may lend their portfolio securities to financial institutions provided that (1) the loan is continuously secured by collateral consisting of U.S. government securities or cash or cash equivalents maintained on a daily mark-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned; (2) the underlying investment company may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of the securities loaned; (3) the underlying investment company will receive any interest or dividends paid on the loaned securities; and (4) the aggregate market value of the securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of the underlying investment company. Such loans would involve risk of delay in receiving additional
collateral in the event the value of the collateral decreased below the value of the securities loaned or risk of delay in recovering the securities loaned or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially.
Loan Participations . The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may purchase participations in commercial loans. Such indebtedness may be secured or unsecured. Loan participations typically represent direct participation in a loan to a corporate borrower, and generally are offered by banks or other financial institutions or lending syndicates. An underlying investment company may participate in such syndications, or can buy part of a loan, becoming a part lender. When purchasing loan participations, the underlying investment company assumes the credit risk associated with the corporate borrower and may assume the credit risk associated with an interposed bank or other financial intermediary. The participation interests in which the Portfolio intends to invest may not be rated by any nationally recognized rating service.
A loan is often administered by an agent bank acting as agent for all holders. The agent bank administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. In addition, the agent bank is normally responsible for the collection of principal and interest payments from the corporate borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all institutions which are parties to the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the underlying investment company has direct recourse against the corporate borrower, the underlying investment company may have to rely on the agent bank or other financial intermediary to apply appropriate credit remedies against a corporate borrower.
Purchases of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the corporate borrower for payment of principal and interest. If the underlying investment company does not receive scheduled interest or principal payments on such indebtedness, the underlying investment companys share price and yield could be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured offer the underlying investment company more protection than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the corporate borrowers obligation, or that the collateral can be liquidated.
An underlying investment company invests in loan participations with credit quality comparable to that of issuers of its securities investments. Indebtedness of companies whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks, and may be highly speculative. Some companies may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Consequently, when investing in indebtedness of companies with poor credit, the underlying investment company bears a substantial risk of losing the entire amount invested.
Loans and other types of direct indebtedness may not be readily marketable and may be subject to restrictions on resale. In some cases, negotiations involved in disposing of indebtedness may require weeks to complete. Consequently, some indebtedness may be difficult or impossible to dispose of readily at what the underlying investment companys investment adviser believes to be a fair price.
Investments in loans through a direct assignment of the financial institutions interests with respect to the loan may involve additional risks to an underlying investment company. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the underlying investment company could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, an underlying investment company could be held liable as co-lender. It is unclear whether loans and other forms of direct indebtedness offer securities law protections against fraud and misrepresentation. In the absence of definitive regulatory guidance, an underlying investment company relies on its investment advisers research in an attempt to avoid situations where fraud or misrepresentation could adversely affect the Portfolio.
Market Fluctuation. The market value of the investments of each underlying investment company, and thus each underlying investment companys NAV, will change in response to market conditions affecting the value of its portfolio securities. When interest rates decline, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to decline. In contrast, as interest rates on adjustable rate loans are reset periodically, yields on investments in such loans will gradually align themselves to reflect changes in market interest rates, causing the value of such investments to fluctuate less dramatically in response to interest rate fluctuations than would investments in fixed rate obligations.
Micro Cap, Small Cap and Mid Cap Stocks. Securities of companies with micro, small and mid-size capitalizations tend to be riskier than securities of companies with large capitalizations. This is because micro, small and mid cap companies typically have smaller product lines and less access to liquidity than large cap companies, and are therefore more sensitive to economic downturns. In addition, growth prospects of micro, small and mid cap companies tend to be less certain than large cap companies, and the dividends paid on micro, small and mid cap stocks are frequently negligible. Moreover, micro, small and mid cap stocks have, on occasion, fluctuated in the opposite direction of large cap stocks or the general stock market. Consequently, securities of micro, small and mid cap companies tend to be more volatile than those of large cap companies. The market for micro and small cap securities may be thinly traded and as a result, greater fluctuations in the price of micro and small cap securities may occur.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in mortgage pass-through certificates and multiple-class pass-through securities, such as real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMIC) pass-through certificates and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs).
Guaranteed mortgage pass-through securities represent participation interests in pools of residential mortgage loans and are issued by U.S. governmental or private lenders and guaranteed by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, including but not limited to the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ginnie Mae certificates are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government for timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Fannie Mae certificates are guaranteed by Fannie Mae, a federally chartered and privately owned
corporation, for full and timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae is authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations. Freddie Mac certificates are guaranteed by Freddie Mac, a corporate instrumentality of the U.S. government, for timely payment of interest and the ultimate collection of all principal of the related mortgage loans.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. A Portfolio may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Portfolio may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
CMOs and REMIC pass-through or participation certificates may be issued by, among others, U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities as well as private lenders. CMOs and REMIC certificates are issued in multiple classes and the principal of and interest on the mortgage assets may be allocated among the several classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates in various ways. Each class of CMOs or REMIC certificates, often referred to as a tranche, is issued at a specific adjustable or fixed interest rate and must be fully retired no later than its final distribution date. Generally, interest is paid or accrues on all classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates on a monthly basis.
Typically, CMOs are collateralized by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac certificates but also may be collateralized by other mortgage assets such as whole loans or private mortgage pass-through securities. Debt service on CMOs is provided from payments of principal and interest on collateral of mortgaged assets and any reinvestment income thereon. Mortgage-backed securities that are collateralized by a portfolio of mortgages or mortgage-related securities depend on the payments of principal and interest made by or through the underlying assets, which may not be sufficient to meet the payment obligations of the mortgage-backed securities. The quality and value of the underlying collateral may decline, or default, which has become a significant risk for collateral related to sub-prime mortgage loans, especially in a declining residential real estate market. Further, these securities generally are privately sold and may not be readily marketable, particularly after a rapid decrease in value.
A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment under the Code and invests in certain mortgages primarily secured by interests in real property and other permitted
investments. Investors may purchase regular and residual interest shares of beneficial interest in REMIC trusts.
An underlying investment company may invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by trusts or other entities formed or sponsored by private originators of and institutional investors in mortgage loans and other non-governmental entities (or representing custodial arrangements administered by such institutions). These private originators and institutions include savings and loan associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, insurance companies, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing.
Privately issued mortgage-backed securities are generally backed by pools of conventional (i.e., non-government guaranteed or insured) mortgage loans. Since such mortgage-backed securities normally are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit standing of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in order to receive a high quality rating from the rating organizations (e.g., Standard & Poors or Moodys), they often are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement. Such credit enhancement falls into two categories: (1) liquidity protection and (2) protection against losses resulting after default by a borrower and liquidation of the collateral (e.g., sale of a house after foreclosure). Liquidity protection refers to the payment of cash advances to holders of mortgage-backed securities when a borrower on an underlying mortgage fails to make its monthly payment on time. Protection against losses resulting after default and liquidation is designed to cover losses resulting when, for example, the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are insufficient to cover the outstanding amount on the mortgage. Such protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit, through various means of structuring the securities or through a combination of such approaches.
Examples of credit enhancement arising out of the structure of the transaction include senior-subordinated securities (multiple class securities with one or more classes entitled to receive payment before other classes, with the result that defaults on the underlying mortgages are borne first by the holders of the subordinated class), creation of spread accounts or reserve funds (where cash or investments are held in reserve against future losses) and over-collateralization (where the scheduled payments on the underlying mortgages in a pool exceed the amount required to be paid on the mortgage-backed securities). The degree of credit enhancement for a particular issue of mortgage-backed securities is based on the level of credit risk associated with the particular mortgages in the related pool. Losses on a pool in excess of anticipated levels could nevertheless result in losses to security holders since credit enhancement rarely covers every dollar owed on a pool.
Investing in mortgage-backed securities (such as those described above) involves certain risks, including the failure of a counter-party to meet its commitments, adverse interest rate changes and the effects of prepayments on mortgage cash flows. Further, the yield characteristics of mortgage-backed securities differ from those of traditional fixed income securities. The major differences typically include more frequent interest and principal payments (usually monthly), the adjustability of interest rates, and the possibility that prepayments of principal may be made substantially earlier than their final distribution dates.
Prepayment rates are influenced by changes in current interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic, social and other factors and cannot be predicted with certainty. Both adjustable rate mortgage loans and fixed rate mortgage loans may be subject to a greater rate of principal prepayments in a declining interest rate environment and to a lesser rate of principal prepayments in an increasing interest rate environment. Under certain interest rate and prepayment rate scenarios, a Portfolio may fail to recoup fully its investment in Mortgage-Backed Securities notwithstanding any direct or indirect governmental or agency guarantee. When a Portfolio reinvests amounts representing payments and unscheduled prepayments of principal, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on existing adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities. Thus, mortgage-backed securities, and adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities in particular, may be less effective than other types of U.S. government securities as a means of locking in interest rates.
Conversely, in a rising interest rate environment, a declining prepayment rate will extend the average life of many mortgage-backed securities. This possibility is often referred to as extension risk. Extending the average life of a mortgage-backed security increases the risk of depreciation due to future increases in market interest rates. The market for certain types of mortgage-backed securities (i.e., certain CMOs) may not be liquid under all interest rate scenarios, which may prevent a Portfolio from selling such securities held in its portfolio at times or prices that it desires.
Different types of derivative debt securities are subject to different combinations of prepayment, extension and/or interest rate risk. Conventional mortgage pass-through securities and sequential pay CMOs are subject to all of these risks, but are typically not leveraged. Thus, the magnitude of exposure may be less than for more leveraged mortgage-backed securities.
Planned amortization class (PAC) and target amortization class (TAC) CMO bonds involve less exposure to prepayment, extension and interest rate risk than other mortgage-backed securities, provided that prepayment rates remain within expected prepayment ranges or collars. To the extent that prepayment rates remain within these prepayment ranges, the residual or support tranches of PAC and TAC CMOs assume the extra prepayment extension and interest rate risk associated with the underlying mortgage assets.
An underlying investment company may invest in floating rate securities based on the Cost of Funds Index (COFI floaters), other lagging rate floating rate securities, floating rate securities that are subject to a maximum interest rate (capped floaters), and mortgage-backed securities purchased at a discount. The primary risks associated with these derivative debt securities are the potential extension of average life and/or depreciation due to rising interest rates.
Recently, rating agencies have placed on credit watch or downgraded the ratings previously assigned to a large number of mortgage-related securities (which may include certain of the mortgage-related securities in which an underlying investment company may have invested or may in the future be invested), and may continue to do so in the future. In the event that any mortgage-related security held by an underlying investment company is placed on credit watch or downgraded, the value of such mortgage-related security may decline and the
underlying investment company invested in such security, and thus the Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio, may consequently experience losses in respect of such mortgage-related security.
Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may enter into mortgage dollar roll transactions in which the underlying investment company sells securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts with the same counterparty to repurchase similar (same type, coupon and maturity), but not identical securities on a specified future date.
During the roll period, the underlying investment company would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. However, the underlying investment company would benefit to the extent of any difference between the price received for the securities sold and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the drop) or fee income plus the interest on the cash proceeds of the securities sold until the settlement date of the forward purchase. Unless such benefits exceed the income, capital appreciation and gain or loss due to mortgage prepayments that would have been realized on the securities sold as part of the mortgage dollar roll, the use of this technique will diminish the investment performance of the underlying investment company compared with what such performance would have been without the use of mortgage dollar rolls. Any benefits derived from the use of mortgage dollar rolls may depend upon mortgage prepayment assumptions, which will be affected by changes in interest rates. There is no assurance that mortgage dollar rolls can be successfully employed. For additional information on dollar rolls, please refer to the section entitled Dollar Rolls in this SAI.
Options on Futures Contracts. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may purchase and sell various kinds of futures contracts, and purchase and write call and put options on any of such futures contracts. The acquisition of put and call options on futures contracts will give an underlying investment company 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, an underlying investment company 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 an underlying investment companys assets. By writing a call option, an underlying investment company becomes obligated, in exchange for the premium, (upon exercise of the option) to sell a futures contract if the option is exercised, which may have a value higher than the exercise price. Conversely, 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 an underlying investment company intends to purchase. However, the underlying investment company becomes obligated (upon 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 an underlying investment company in writing options on futures is
potentially unlimited and may exceed the amount of the premium received. The underlying investment company 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. An underlying investment companys ability to establish and close out positions on such options will be subject to the development and maintenance of a liquid market.
Transactions in futures contracts and options on futures involve brokerage costs, require margin deposits and, in some cases, may require the applicable underlying investment company to establish a segregated account consisting of cash or liquid securities in an amount equal to the underlying value of such contracts and options.
The use of futures contracts entails certain risks, including but not limited to the following: no assurance that futures contracts transactions can be offset at favorable prices; possible reduction of the underlying investment companys income due to the use of hedging; possible reduction in value of both the securities hedged and the hedging instrument; possible lack of liquidity due to daily limits on price fluctuations; imperfect correlation between the contract and the securities being hedged; and potential losses in excess of the amount initially invested in the futures contracts themselves. If the expectations of the adviser of the underlying investment company regarding movements in securities prices or interest rates are incorrect, the underlying investment company may have experienced better investment results without hedging. The use of futures contracts and options on futures contracts requires special skills in addition to those needed to select portfolio securities.
While transactions in futures contracts and options on futures may reduce certain risks, such transactions themselves entail certain other risks. Thus, while an underlying investment company may benefit from the use of futures and options on futures, unanticipated changes in interest rates or securities prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the underlying investment company than if it had not entered into any futures contracts or options transactions. 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 underlying investment company may be exposed to risk of loss.
Perfect correlation between an underlying investment companys futures positions and portfolio positions will be impossible to achieve. There are no futures contracts based upon individual securities, except certain U.S. government securities. Other futures contracts available to hedge an underlying investment companys portfolio investments generally are limited to futures on various securities indices.
Options on Securities and Securities Indices. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may each write covered call and secured put options on any securities in which it may invest or on any domestic stock indices based on securities in which it may invest. An underlying investment company may purchase and write such options on securities that are listed on national domestic securities exchanges or foreign securities exchanges or traded in the over-the-counter market. A call option written by an underlying investment company obligates the investment company to sell specified securities to the holder of the option at a specified price if the option is exercised at any time before the expiration date, regardless of the market price of the security.
A put option written by an underlying investment company obligates the underlying investment company to purchase specified securities from the option holder at a specified price if the option is exercised at any time before the expiration date, regardless of the market price for the security. The purpose of writing such options is to generate additional income. However, in return for the option premium, the underlying investment company accepts the risk that it will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the securities market value at the time of purchase.
A written call option or put option may be covered by (i) maintaining cash or liquid securities, either of which may be quoted or denominated in any currency, in a segregated account noted on the underlying investment companys records or maintained by the underlying investment companys custodian with a value at least equal to the underlying investment companys obligation under the option, (ii) entering into an offsetting forward commitment and/or (iii) purchasing an offsetting option or any other option which, by virtue of its exercise price or otherwise, reduces the underlying investment companys net exposure on its written option position.
An underlying investment company may terminate its obligations under an exchange-traded call or put option by purchasing an option identical to the one it has written. Obligations under over-the-counter options may be terminated only by entering into an offsetting transaction with the counterparts to such option. Such purchases are referred to as closing purchase transactions and do not result in the ownership of an option. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be effected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying security from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying security or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying security. The cost of such a liquidation purchase plus transaction costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event the underlying investment company will have incurred a loss in the transaction.
An underlying investment company may also write (sell) covered call and put options on any securities index composed of securities in which it may invest. Options on securities indices are similar to options on securities, except that the exercise of securities index options requires cash settlement payments and does not involve the actual purchase or sale of securities. The amount of this settlement will be equal to the difference between the closing price of the securities index at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars, times a specified amount. In addition, securities index options are designed to reflect price
fluctuations in a group of securities or segment of the securities market rather than price fluctuations in a single security.
An underlying investment company may cover call options on a securities index by owning securities whose price changes are expected to be similar to those of the underlying index or by having an absolute and immediate right to acquire such securities without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account) upon conversion or exchange of other securities in its portfolio. An underlying investment company may also cover call and put options on a securities index by using the other methods described above.
An underlying investment company would normally purchase call options in anticipation of an increase, or put options in anticipation of a decrease (protective puts) in the market value of securities of the type in which it may invest. The purchase of a call option would entitle an underlying investment company, in return for the premium paid, to purchase specified securities at a specified price during the option period. An underlying investment company would ordinarily realize a gain on the purchase of a call option if, during the option period, the value of such securities exceeded the sum of the exercise price, the premium paid and transaction costs; otherwise the underlying investment company would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the call option. The purchase of a put option would entitle an underlying investment company, in exchange for the premium paid, to sell specified securities at a specified price during the option period. The purchase of protective puts is designed to offset or hedge against a decline in the market value of an underlying investment companys securities. Put options may also be purchased by an underlying investment company for the purpose of affirmatively benefiting from a decline in the price of securities which it does not own. An underlying investment company would ordinarily realize a gain if, during the option period, the value of the underlying securities decreased below the exercise price sufficiently to cover the premium and transaction costs; otherwise the underlying investment company would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the put option. Gains and losses on the purchase of put options may be offset by countervailing changes in the value of the underlying portfolio securities.
An underlying investment company may purchase put and call options on securities indices for the same purposes as it may purchase options on securities. Options on securities indices are similar to options on securities, except that the exercise of securities index options requires cash payments and does not involve the actual purchase or sale of securities. In addition, securities index options are designed to reflect price fluctuations in a group of securities or segment of the securities market rather than price fluctuations in a single security.
Although an underlying investment company may use option transactions to seek to generate additional income and to seek to reduce the effect of any adverse price movement in the securities or currency subject to the option, they do involve certain risks that are different in some respects from investment risks associated with similar mutual funds, which do not engage in such activities. These risks include the following: for writing call options, the inability to effect closing transactions at favorable prices and the inability to participate in the appreciation of the underlying securities above the exercise price; for writing put options, the inability to effect closing transactions at favorable prices and the obligation to purchase the specified
securities or to make a cash settlement on the securities index at prices which may not reflect current market values; and for purchasing call and put options, the possible loss of the entire premium paid. In addition, the effectiveness of hedging through the purchase or sale of securities index options, including options on the S&P 500 ® Index, will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of the securities portfolio being hedged correlate with the price movements in the selected securities index. Perfect correlation may not be possible because the securities held or to be acquired by an underlying investment company may not exactly match the composition of the securities index on which options are written. If the forecasts of the adviser of the underlying investment company regarding movements in securities prices or interest rates are incorrect, an underlying investment companys investment results may have been better without the hedge transactions.
There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on a domestic or foreign options exchange will exist for any particular exchange-traded option or at any particular time. If an underlying investment company is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to covered options it has written, the investment company will not be able to sell the underlying securities or dispose of assets held in a segregated account until the options expire or are exercised. Similarly, if an underlying investment company is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options it has purchased, it would have to exercise the options in order to realize any profit and will incur transaction costs upon the purchase or sale of underlying securities or currencies.
Reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an exchange include the following: (i) there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; (ii) restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; (iii) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options; (iv) unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; (v) the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or (vi) one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist although outstanding options on that exchange that had been issued by the Options Clearing Corporation as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
The writing and purchase of options is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The successful use of options for hedging purposes depends in part on the advisers ability to predict future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets.
Pay-in-Kind Securities, Zero Coupon and Capital Appreciation Bonds. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in pay-in-kind (PIK) securities. PIK securities may be debt obligations or preferred shares that provide the issuer with the option of paying interest or dividends on such obligations in cash or in the form of additional securities rather than cash.
Similarly, zero coupon and capital appreciation bonds are debt securities issued or sold at a discount from their face value and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified date. The amount of the discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. These securities also may take the form of debt securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves or receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations or coupons. A portion of the discount with respect to stripped tax-exempt securities or their coupons may be taxable. Such securities are designed to give an issuer flexibility in managing cash flow. PIK securities that are debt securities can either be senior or subordinated debt and generally trade flat (i.e., without accrued interest). The trading price of PIK debt securities generally reflects the market value of the underlying debt plus an amount representing accrued interest since the last interest payment.
PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds involve the additional risk that, unlike securities that periodically pay interest to maturity, an underlying investment company will realize no cash until a specified future payment date unless a portion of such securities is sold and, if the issuer of such securities defaults, an underlying investment company may obtain no return at all on its investment. In addition, even though such securities may not provide for the payment of current interest in cash, an underlying investment company is nonetheless required to accrue income on such investments for each taxable year and generally is required to distribute such accrued amounts (net of deductible expenses, if any) to avoid being subject to tax. Because no cash is generally received at the time of the accrual, an underlying investment company may be required to liquidate other portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to satisfy federal tax distribution requirements applicable to the underlying investment company. Additionally, the market prices of PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds generally are more volatile than the market prices of interest bearing securities and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than interest bearing securities having similar maturities and credit quality.
Purchase Warrants. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in purchase warrants and similar rights. Purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of warrants involves the risk that the underlying investment company could lose the purchase value of a warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
Real Estate Investment Trust Securities. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs generally invest directly in real estate, in mortgages or in some combination of the two. Individual REITs may own a limited number of properties and may concentrate in a particular region or property type. A REIT is a corporation, or a business trust that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation, which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level Federal income tax and making the REIT a pass-through vehicle for federal income tax purposes. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things, invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs) or cash and government securities, derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property, and distribute to shareholders annually a substantial portion of its otherwise taxable income.
Generally, REITs can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity and mortgage REITs. The values of securities issued by REITs are affected by tax and regulatory requirements and by perceptions of management skill. They also are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers or tenants, self-liquidation and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status under the Code or to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act. Unexpected high rates of default on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a mortgage REIT. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. To the extent that a mortgage REITs portfolio is exposed to lower-rated, unsecured or subordinated instruments, the risk of loss may increase, which may have a negative impact on an underlying investment company and, therefore, the Portfolios.
The REITs in which the underlying investment companies may invest may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. REITs are sensitive to factors such as changes in real estate values, property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, occupancy rates, government regulations affecting zoning, land use and rents, and management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Companies in the real estate industry may also be subject to liabilities under environmental and hazardous waste laws. REITS whose underlying assets include long-term health care properties; such as nursing, retirement and assisted living homes, may be impacted by federal regulations concerning the health care industry. An underlying investment company will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses, including management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests in addition to the expenses of the underlying investment company. An underlying investment company is also subject to the risk that the REITs in which it invests will fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code, and/or fail to qualify for an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. A REITs return may be adversely affected when interest rates are high or rising.
Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® Index.
Repurchase Agreements. Each Portfolios underlying investment companies may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price (repurchase agreements). The securities held subject to a repurchase agreement may have stated maturities exceeding 397 days, provided the repurchase agreement itself matures in less than 13 months. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose an underlying investment company to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, expose an underlying investment company to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
Restricted and Illiquid Securities. Each Portfolios underlying investment companies may not invest more than 15% of their respective net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Illiquid securities include: repurchase agreements and time deposits with a notice or demand period of more than seven days; interest rate; currency and mortgage swaps; interest rate caps; floors and collars; municipal leases; certain restricted securities, such as those purchased in a private placement of securities, unless it is determined, based upon a review of the trading markets for a specific restricted security, that such restricted security is liquid; and certain over-the-counter options. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation.
Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of restricted or other illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
Each underlying investment company may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act (Restricted Securities). These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the underlying investment adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in an underlying investment company during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The underlying investment adviser will monitor the liquidity of Restricted Securities held by an underlying investment company. In reaching liquidity decisions, the underlying investment adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Restricted Securities normally reflect a discount from the price at which such securities trade when they are not restricted, since the restriction makes them less liquid. The amount of the discount from the prevailing market price is expected to vary depending upon the type of security, the character of the issuer, the party who will bear the expenses of registering the Restricted Securities and prevailing supply and demand conditions.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by an underlying investment company subject to the underlying investment companys agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by an underlying investment company may decline below the price of the securities the underlying investment company is obligated to repurchase and the interest received on the cash exchanged for the securities. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act.
Short Sales. To the extent consistent with their respective investment policies and limitations, each Portfolios underlying investment companies may enter into short sales. Short sales are transactions in which an underlying investment company sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that security. To complete such a transaction, the underlying investment company must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The underlying investment company then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the underlying investment company. Until the security is replaced, the underlying investment company is required to pay to the lender amounts equal to any dividend which accrues during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the underlying investment company also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
Until an underlying investment company replaces a borrowed security in connection with a short sale, the underlying investment company will: (a) maintain daily a segregated account, containing cash, cash equivalents, or liquid marketable securities, at such a level that the amount
deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short or (b) otherwise cover its short position in accordance with positions taken by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).
An underlying investment company will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the underlying investment company replaces the borrowed security. The underlying investment company will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those dates. This result is the opposite of what one would expect from a cash purchase of a long position in a security. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of any premium or amounts in lieu of interest the underlying investment company may be required to pay in connection with a short sale.
Short Sales Against the Box. In addition to the short sales discussed above, an underlying investment company may make short sales against the box, a transaction in which a fund enters into a short sale of a security that the fund owns or has the right to obtain at no additional cost. The proceeds of the short sale will be held by a broker until the settlement date at which time the underlying investment company delivers the security to close the short position. The underlying investment company receives the net proceeds from the short sale.
Structured Securities. The Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolios underlying investment companies may invest in structured securities. The value of the principal of and/or interest on structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, commodities, securities, indices or other financial indicators (the Reference) or the relative change in two or more References. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Examples of structured securities include, but are not limited to, notes where the principal repayment at maturity is determined by the value of the relative change in two or more specified securities or securities indices.
The terms of some structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, an underlying investment company could suffer a total loss of its investment. 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 rate or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of the changes in the value of the Reference. Consequently, structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of securities. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities due to their derivative nature.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 underlying investment companies 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 Portfolio invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude an underlying investment companys, and thus a Portfolios, 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 underlying investment companies holdings.
Cyber Security Risk. The Portfolios and their service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a Portfolio to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting a Portfolio or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact a Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact a Portfolios ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject a Portfolio to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Portfolios may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which a Portfolio may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Portfolios investment in such companies to lose value.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Portfolios, a policy relating to the disclosure of each Portfolios portfolio securities to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interest of Portfolio shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Portfolios portfolio securities are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Portfolios operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Portfolio. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of a Portfolios portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure and the recipients are subject to a duty of confidentiality that includes a duty not to trade based on the selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Portfolios portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Portfolios portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers of the Company, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian for the Portfolios; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; and Merrill Corporation, the financial printer. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Portfolios. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions). Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in a Portfolios portfolio.
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to (i) certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of a Portfolio as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Portfolio shareholders. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Portfolios portfolios.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Portfolios.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
Portfolio Turnover. Changes may be made to a Portfolios portfolio consistent with the investment objective and policies of such Portfolio whenever such changes are believed to be in the best interests of the Portfolio and its shareholders. The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities by the average monthly value of a Portfolios portfolio securities. For purposes of this calculation, portfolio securities exclude all securities having a maturity when purchased of one year or less. High portfolio turnover may result in increased brokerage costs to a Portfolio. Under normal circumstances each of the Portfolios expects to have a low portfolio turnover rate.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address,
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Position(s)
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Term of
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships
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INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
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Julian A. Brodsky
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Director |
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1988 to present |
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From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
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23 |
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AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies) |
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J. Richard Carnall
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Director |
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2002 to present |
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Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
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23 |
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None |
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Gregory P. Chandler
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Director |
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2012 to present |
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Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
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23 |
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Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
Name, Address,
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Position(s)
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Term of
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships
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Nicholas A. Giordano
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Director |
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2006 to present |
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Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
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23 |
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Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices) |
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Arnold M. Reichman
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Chairman
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2005 to present
1991 to present |
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Since 2006, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lifebooker, LLC. |
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23 |
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None |
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Robert A. Straniere
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Director |
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2006 to present |
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Since 2009, Administrative Law Judge, New York City; since 1980, Founding Partner, Straniere Law Group. |
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23 |
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Reich and Tang Group (asset management). |
Name, Address,
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Position(s)
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Term of
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships
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INTERESTED DIRECTORS(2) |
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Jay F. Nusblatt
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Director |
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2012 to present |
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Since July 2010, Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing; from 2006 to July 2010, Senior Vice President, Fund Accounting and Administration, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
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23 |
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None |
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Robert Sablowsky
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Director |
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1991 to present |
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Since July 2002, Senior Vice President and prior thereto, Executive Vice President, of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (a registered broker-dealer). |
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23 |
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Kensington Funds (registered investment company) (until 2009) |
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OFFICERS |
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Salvatore Faia, JD,
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President Chief Compliance Officer |
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President 2009 to present
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Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Joel Weiss
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Treasurer |
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2009 to present |
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Since 1993 Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
Name, Address,
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Position(s)
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Term of
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships
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Diane Drake
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Secretary |
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2014 to present |
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Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010, Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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James G. Shaw
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Assistant
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2005 to present |
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Since 1995, Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Michael P. Malloy
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Assistant Secretary |
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1999 to present |
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Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
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N/A |
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N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and has served on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Giordano, Reichman, Sablowsky and Chandler. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Reichman, Sablowsky, Straniere and Nusblatt. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Reichman, Sablowsky and Nusblatt. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the
Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Portfolios and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him) as of December 31, 2013. Shares of the Portfolios are offered only to Separate Accounts of Participating Insurance Companies for the purpose of funding various annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies and are not available for direct investment by the Directors.
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001 - $50,000 |
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001 - $50,000 |
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its
President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Portfolios in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
745.32 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,617.64 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,624.55 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
1,803.02 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
1,800.89 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
2,419.34 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,614.98 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,372.04 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA
|
|
$ |
9,014.72 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
*The Portfolios commenced operations on February 18, 2014.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from each of the Portfolios in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Matson Money
|
|
Matson Money
|
|
Matson Money
|
|
|||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
248.16 |
|
$ |
246.83 |
|
$ |
250.33 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
538.94 |
|
$ |
537.17 |
|
$ |
541.53 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
$ |
600.73 |
|
$ |
598.99 |
|
$ |
603.30 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
600.02 |
|
$ |
598.19 |
|
$ |
602.68 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
806.14 |
|
$ |
804.16 |
|
$ |
809.04 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
538.09 |
|
$ |
536.58 |
|
$ |
540.31 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
457.04 |
|
$ |
455.28 |
|
$ |
459.72 |
|
Officers: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA,
|
|
$ |
3,004.70 |
|
$ |
3,003.36 |
|
$ |
3,006.66 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014, to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of each Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio |
|
JP Morgan Chase Bank Cust. FBO Intelligent Variable Annuity TIAA-CREF Life SEP A/C VA-1 of TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company 8625 Andrew Carnegie Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28262 |
|
410,008 |
|
100 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio |
|
JP Morgan Chase Bank Cust. FBO Intelligent Variable Annuity TIAA-CREF Life SEP A/C VA-1 of TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company 8625 Andrew Carnegie Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28262 |
|
319,148 |
|
100 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio |
|
JP Morgan Chase Bank Cust. FBO Intelligent Variable Annuity TIAA-CREF Life SEP A/C VA-1 of TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company 8625 Andrew Carnegie Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28262 |
|
525,686 |
|
100 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, the Directors and officers as a group owned 2.70% of the Schneider Value Fund, 2.04% of the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each other portfolio and class within the Company.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by each Portfolio to the Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Portfolios. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Portfolios investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser has adopted proxy voting procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Portfolios. A copy of the Advisers Proxy Voting Policies is included with this SAI. Please see Appendix B to this SAI for further information.
Information regarding how the Portfolios voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-261-4073 or by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Investment Adviser
The Adviser renders advisory services to the Portfolio pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (Advisory Agreement). The Adviser is not a subsidiary of or under the control of any other company. Mark E. Matson, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Adviser, owns approximately 90% of the Advisers voting stock, and members of Mr. Matsons family own all of the remaining shares of the Advisers voting stock.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Portfolio including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Portfolio, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, or sold by the Portfolio, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales made for the Portfolio. The Adviser will provide the services rendered by it in accordance with the Portfolios investment goal, restrictions and policies as stated in the Prospectus and in this SAI. The Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment, mistake of law, or for any loss suffered by the Portfolio in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement.
For its services to the Portfolio the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee at an annual rate of 0.50% of the first $1 billion of each Portfolios average daily net assets, 0.49% of each Portfolios average daily net assets over $1 billion to $5 billion and 0.47% of each Portfolios average daily net assets over $5 billion. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in order to limit total annual Portfolio operating expenses to 1.13%, 1.35% and 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio, respectively. In determining the Advisers obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and certain of these expenses could cause net Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses to exceed 1.13%, 1.35% and 1.00%, as applicable: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest or taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived management fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Companys Board of Directors.
The advisory fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the period February 18, 2014 through August 31, 2014 are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Advisory Fees (after waivers
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio |
|
$ |
(55,147 |
) |
$ |
11,304 |
|
$ |
55,147 |
|
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio |
|
$ |
(50,532 |
) |
$ |
7,847 |
|
$ |
50,532 |
|
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio |
|
$ |
(61,193 |
) |
$ |
16,126 |
|
$ |
61,193 |
|
The Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. Each Portfolio bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Portfolio include, but are not limited to the following (or the Portfolios share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by the Portfolio and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of the Portfolio by the Adviser; (c) filing fees and expenses relating to the registration and qualification of the Company and the Portfolios shares under federal and/or state securities laws and maintaining such registrations and qualifications; (d) fees and salaries payable to the Companys Directors and officers; (e) taxes (including any income or franchise taxes) and governmental fees; (f) costs of any liability and other insurance or fidelity bonds; (g) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Portfolio for violation of any law; (h) legal, accounting and auditing expenses, including legal fees of special counsel for the independent Directors; (i) charges of custodians and other agents; (j) expenses of setting in type and printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto for existing shareholders, reports, statements, and confirmations to shareholders and proxy material that are not attributable to a class; (k) costs of mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto to existing shareholders, as well as reports to shareholders and proxy materials that are not attributable to a
class; (1) any extraordinary expenses; (m) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (n) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; (o) costs of independent pricing services to value a portfolios securities; and (p) the costs of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Portfolios investment advisory agreement is included in the Portfolios semi-annual report to shareholders dated February 28, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (866) 780-0357 Ext. 3863 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov. The Advisory Agreement is terminable by vote of the Companys Board of Directors or by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio, at any time without penalty, on 60 days written notice to the Adviser. The Advisory Agreement may be terminated by the Adviser at any time, without payment of any penalty, on 60 days written notice to the Portfolio. The Advisory Agreement terminates automatically in the event of its assignment.
The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall at all times have all rights in and to the Portfolios name and all investment models used by or on behalf of the Portfolio. The Adviser may use the Portfolios name or any portion thereof in connection with any other mutual fund or business activity without the consent of any shareholder, and the Company has agreed to execute and deliver any and all documents required to indicate its consent to such use.
The Advisory Agreement further provides that no public reference to, or description of, the Adviser or its methodology or work shall be made by the Company, whether in the Prospectus, SAI or otherwise, without the Advisers prior written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. In each case, the Company has agreed to provide the Adviser a reasonable opportunity to review any such reference or description before being asked for such consent.
Portfolio Managers
Description of Compensation . The Portfolio managers currently and will continue to receive a base salary, a year-end incentive bonus based on company profitability and may receive a quarterly bonus based on services provided to the Adviser. Compensation of a portfolio manager is determined at the discretion of the Portfolio managers supervisor and is based on a portfolio managers experience, responsibilities, the perception of the quality of his or her work efforts and other subjective factors. The compensation of portfolio managers is not directly based upon the performance of the Portfolios or other accounts that they manage. The Portfolio managers supervisor reviews the compensation of each portfolio manager annually and may make modifications in compensation as it deems necessary to reflect changes in the market.
Other Accounts . The table below discloses accounts, other than the Portfolios, for which each Portfolio Manager is primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management, as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total Assets |
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. Daniel J. List |
|
Other Portfolios of the Company: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
49,323 |
|
5.871 billion |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. Mark E. Matson |
|
Other Portfolios of the Company: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
49,323 |
|
5.871 billion |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3. Steven B. Miller |
|
Other Portfolios of the Company: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
49,323 |
|
5.871 billion |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
The portfolio managers utilize a team based approach to other accounts managed. The portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of a portion of the total assets and number of accounts shown.
Conflicts of Interest. Matson Money reviewed its conflicts of interest and risk factors and has attempted to develop policies and procedures to address these matters. Matson Money does not engage in transactions on behalf of client accounts with any affiliates. Matson Money does not have custody of any client securities or funds. Neither Matson Money nor any of its related persons act as general partners or managing members of any unregistered pooled investment vehicle. Matson Money does not manage its own proprietary account. Moreover, none of Matson Moneys officers or employees engage in any outside business activities that conflict with Matson Moneys duties to its clients. Finally, Matson Money does not purchase IPOs or individual securities for clients. Thus, Matson Moneys conflicts and risk factors are in the following areas: solicitation practices, suitability of Matson Moneys services for a client, trade errors, marketing practices, compliance with any client guidelines and restrictions, valuation of client accounts and calculation of fees, safeguarding of client assets, safeguarding of the privacy of client information, disaster recovery, accurate disclosure of information to clients and regulators, and accurate creation and secure maintenance of client records. Matson Moneys Compliance Manual is available upon request, which has more detailed explanations of policies and procedures currently in place to safeguard against potential conflicts/risks.
Securities Ownership . As of the date of this SAI, no Portfolio Manager owned shares of any Portfolio. Shares of the Portfolios are only offered to Separate Accounts of Participating Insurance Companies for the purpose of funding various annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies and are not available for direct investment by the Portfolio Managers.
Custodian Agreement
The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, serves as the custodian of the Portfolios assets pursuant to a custodian agreement between BNY and the Company dated as of July 18, 2011, as amended, and supplemented (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, BNY: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of each Portfolio; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of each Portfolio; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of each Portfolio; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of each Portfolios portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Portfolios operations. BNY is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Portfolios, provided that BNY remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Company harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian . The Portfolio has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Portfolios under the Custodian Agreement, BNY Mellon receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Portfolios average gross assets; exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Portfolios.
Transfer Agency Agreement
BNY Mellon, with corporate offices at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Portfolios pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (collectively, the Transfer Agency Agreement). Under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of each Portfolio; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Portfolios to record owners of Shares of the Portfolio, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Portfolios. For its services to the Portfolios under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Portfolios, subject to a minimum fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Customer Identification Program, including the verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Portfolios will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
Administration and Accounting Services Agreement
BNY Mellon also serves as the Portfolios administrator and fund accounting agent pursuant to an Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (the Administration Agreement). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Portfolios statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Portfolios. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard. For its services to each Portfolio, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.045% of the Portfolios first $1.5 billion of aggregate average net assets; 0.035% of the Portfolios next $1.5 billion of aggregate average net assets; 0.030% of the Portfolios next $2 billion of aggregate average net assets; and 0.020% of the Portfolios aggregate average net assets in excess of $5 billion.
The minimum monthly fee is $5,208 per month for each Portfolio, exclusive of costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
For the period February 18, 2014 through August 31, 2014, each Portfolio paid BNY Mellon administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees and related out of pocket expenses as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Administration, Accounting
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio |
|
$ |
10,322 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio |
|
$ |
9,979 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio |
|
$ |
10,718 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or a Portfolio in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Companys registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
From September 1, 2011 to June 1, 2013, for its services to each Fund, BNY Mellon was entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.065% of each Funds first $250 million of average net assets; 0.055% of each Funds next $250 million of average net assets; 0.040 of each Funds next $200 million of average net assets; 0.030% of each Funds average net assets in excess of $700 million.
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
Distribution Agreement
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Portfolios pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Portfolios.
Under the Distribution Agreement with the Company, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Portfolios. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Portfolio on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Portfolio shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Portfolios. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Portfolios and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Portfolios.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Portfolios through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary.
The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Portfolios for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Portfolios outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Portfolios on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, the Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Portfolios. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Portfolios, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
No Portfolio has any obligation to deal with any broker or group of brokers in the execution of portfolio transactions. The Adviser may, consistent with the interests of the Portfolios and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, select brokers on the basis of the research, statistical and pricing services they provide to the Portfolios and other clients of the Adviser. Information and research received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the Adviser under its respective contracts. A commission paid to such brokers may be higher than that which another qualified broker would have charged for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the transaction or the overall responsibility of the Adviser to a Portfolio and its other clients and that the total commissions paid by a Portfolio will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to a Portfolio over the long-term.
Investment decisions for each Portfolio and for other investment accounts managed by the Adviser are made independently of each other in the light of differing conditions. However,
the same investment decision may be made for two or more of such accounts. In such cases, simultaneous transactions are inevitable. Purchases or sales are then averaged as to price and allocated as to amount according to a formula deemed equitable to each such account. While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the security as far as a Portfolio is concerned, in other cases it is believed to be beneficial to a Portfolio.
No Portfolio paid brokerage commissions on portfolio transactions for the past three fiscal years.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist that make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of a Portfolios shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing that Portfolios NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that each Portfolio is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Portfolio. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions.)
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Portfolio from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
Each Portfolio has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the
particular Portfolio for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Portfolio you previously purchased or subscribed for.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Portfolio, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than Foreside Distributors), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with Individual Retirement Account or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
In order to assist in the determination of fair value, the Companys Board of Directors may authorize the Portfolios to employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on a Portfolios books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Portfolios Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
Shares of the Portfolios are offered to Separate Accounts that fund variable annuity contracts and variable insurance policies issued by Participating Insurance Companies. See the prospectuses for such contracts for a discussion of the special taxation of insurance companies with respect to the Separate Accounts, the variable annuity contracts, variable insurance policies and the holders thereof.
The following summarizes certain tax considerations generally affecting the Portfolios, the underlying investment companies, and Portfolio shareholders that are not fully described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Portfolios, the underlying investment companies, or Portfolio shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The holders of variable life insurance policies or annuity contracts should not be subject to tax with respect to distributions made on, or redemptions of, Portfolio shares, assuming that the variable life insurance policies and annuity contracts qualify under the Code, as life insurance or annuities, respectively, and that the Separate Accounts (rather than the holders of such policies or contracts) are treated as owners of the Portfolio shares. Thus, this summary does not describe the tax consequences to a holder of a life insurance policy or annuity contract as a result of the ownership of such policies or contracts. Policy or contract holders must consult the prospectuses of their respective policies or contracts for information concerning the federal income tax consequences of owning such policies or contracts. This summary also does not describe the tax consequences applicable to the owners of the Portfolio shares because the Portfolio shares will be sold only to insurance companies. Thus, purchasers of Portfolio shares must consult their own tax advisers regarding the federal, state, and local tax consequences of owning Portfolio shares.
Each Portfolio and each underlying investment company intends to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, each Portfolio and underlying investment company generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, each Portfolio and underlying investment company must meet three important tests each year.
First, each Portfolio and underlying investment company must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or
foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities, or currencies or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of each Portfolios and each underlying investment companys taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Portfolios and the underlying investment companies assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies and securities of other issuers (as to which the Portfolio or underlying investment company has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of such issuer and as to which the Portfolio or underlying investment company does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer), and no more than 25% of the value of each Portfolios and each underlying investment companys total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Portfolio or underlying investment company controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, each Portfolio and underlying investment company must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of the Portfolios or underlying investment companys investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
Each Portfolio and underlying investment company intends to comply with these requirements. If a Portfolio or underlying investment company were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Portfolio or underlying investment company could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year a Portfolio or underlying investment company were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders in a Portfolio or underlying investment company would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Portfolios or underlying investment companys current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). Each Portfolio and underlying investment company intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
Each Portfolio intends to comply with the diversification requirements imposed by Section 817(h) of the Code and the regulations thereunder. Under Code Section 817(h), a variable life insurance or annuity contract will not be treated as a life insurance policy or annuity contract, respectively, under the Code, unless the Separate Account upon which such contract or
policy is based is adequately diversified. A Separate Account will be adequately diversified if it satisfies one of two alternative tests set forth in the Treasury regulations. Specifically, the Treasury regulations provide that, except as permitted by the safe harbor discussed below, as of the end of each calendar quarter (or within 30 days thereafter) no more than 55% of the Separate Accounts total assets may be represented by any one investment, no more than 70% by any two investments, no more than 80% by any three investments and no more than 90% by any four investments. For this purpose, all securities of the same issuer are considered a single investment, and each U.S. government agency and instrumentality is considered a separate issuer. As a safe harbor, a Separate Account will be treated as being adequately diversified if the diversification requirements under Subchapter M are satisfied and no more than 55% of the value of the accounts total assets are cash and cash items, U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies. In addition, a Separate Account with respect to a variable life insurance contract is treated as adequately diversified to the extent of its investment in securities issued by the United States Treasury.
For purposes of these alternative diversification tests, a Separate Account investing in shares of a regulated investment company generally will be entitled to look through the regulated investment company to its pro rata portion of the regulated investment companys assets, provided that the shares of such regulated investment company are generally held only by insurance companies in their general account or in Separate Accounts and certain fund managers (a Closed Account). Public access to such regulated investment company is available exclusively through the purchase of a variable contract. Each Portfolio will be a Closed Portfolio.
If the Separate Account upon which a variable contract is based is not adequately diversified under the foregoing rules for each calendar quarter, then the variable contract is not treated as a life insurance contract or annuity contract under the Code for all subsequent periods during which such account is not adequately diversified and the taxation and treatment of a policy or contract holder may be other than described in the applicable prospectus of such policy or contract.
In addition, if a Portfolio did not constitute a Closed Portfolio or the holders of the contracts and annuities which invest in the Portfolio through a Separate Account were able, or were treated as able, to direct the Portfolios investment in any particular asset, those holders might be treated as owners of Portfolio shares and might be subject to tax on distributions made by the Portfolio. The IRS may consider several factors in determining whether a contract holder has an impermissible level of investor control over the Portfolio. One factor the IRS considers when a Separate Account invests in one or more regulated investment companies is whether a regulated investment companys investment strategies are sufficiently broad to prevent a contract holder from being deemed to be making particular investment decisions through its investment in the Separate Account. Current IRS guidance indicates that typical regulated investment company investment strategies, even those with a specific sector or geographic focus, are generally considered sufficiently broad to prevent a contract holder from being deemed to be making particular investment decisions through its investment in a Separate Account. Another factor that the IRS examines concerns actions of contract holders. Under the IRS pronouncements, a contract holder may not select or control particular investments, other than
choosing among broad investment choices such as selecting a particular regulated investment company. A contract holder thus may not select or direct the purchase or sale of a particular investment of the Portfolio. The relationship between the Portfolio and the variable contracts is designed to satisfy the current expressed view of the IRS on this subject, such that the investor control doctrine should not apply.
The Portfolios requested and received a private letter ruling from the IRS that the contract holders will not be treated as the owners of the Portfolios shares for federal income tax purposes based on the structure and intended operation of the Portfolios. However, it is possible that the Treasury Department may issue future pronouncements addressing the circumstances in which a contract holders control of the investments of a Separate Account may cause the contract holder, rather than the insurance company, to be treated as the owner of the assets held by the Separate Account. It is not known what standards will be set forth in any such pronouncements or when, if at all, these pronouncements may be issued. If such pronouncements are issued, the Portfolios would seek to modify the structure of the Portfolios.
State and Local Taxes
Although each Portfolio and underlying investment company expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, a Portfolio or an underlying investment company may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by a Portfolio or an underlying investment company, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause a Portfolio or an underlying investment company to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Portfolio or the underlying investment company to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which a Portfolio or an underlying investment company invests, the Portfolio or the underlying investment company may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Portfolio or the underlying investment company fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in a Portfolio has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Portfolio with each other share that represents an interest in such Portfolio, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Portfolio. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights.
When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders collectively owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of Common Stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of each Portfolio will vote in the aggregate on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Portfolios Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Portfolios independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated by reference into this SAI. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be
vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG
ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term
rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
PROXY POLICY STATEMENT
INTRODUCTION
STATEMENT OF POLICY
Matson Money, Inc. (formerly known as Abundance Technologies, Inc.) views the fiduciary act of managing plan assets to include the voting of proxies appurtenant to shares held in the plan. As a rule, Matson Money, Inc. strives to ensure that all proxies are received from the custodian in a timely manner and then exercises its right to vote all proxies. In keeping with the ERISA definition of fiduciary responsibility and the Department of Labor directives, all proxy voting decisions are made solely in the best interest of the clients plan participants and beneficiaries.
This document represents what the firm believes to be important elements of sound corporate governance and social responsibility. In our opinion, good corporate governance should maintain an appropriate balance between the rights of shareholders (the owners of the corporation) and the needs of management to direct the corporations affairs devoid of distracting short-term pressures. As a responsible long term investment manager, Matson Money, Inc. acknowledges its responsibility to strive for improved corporate governance and performance discipline. Matson Money, Inc. offers this policy as a basis for dialogue with the objective of improving corporate governance and social practices. This statement identifies Matson Moneys voting guidelines on numerous proxy issues. These guidelines are not an exhaustive list of every issue that may arise. Proxy issues that are not described herein will be considered in light of the relevant facts and circumstances.
CRITERIA AND STANDARDS
Each proxy issue is reviewed on its own merits, on a case-by-case basis. Every proxy voting decision, whether on Corporate Governance or Social Issues, is made with the exclusive purpose of maximizing the economic value of the clients investment. Matson Money, Inc. gives special consideration to out of the ordinary matters and may vote against management on specific issues which are deemed to impair shareholder rights or value. Furthermore, Matson Money, Inc. would oppose any proposal which would entrench or protect management interest contrary to the financial interests of the stockholder.
PROXY ADMINISTRATION
The portfolio manager and compliance officer are primarily responsible for monitoring corporate actions, making voting decisions and ensuring that proxies are submitted timely, consistent with this policy. Matson Money, Inc. may form special committees, from time to time, to address unusual proxy voting issues or conflicts.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
All conflicts of interest will be resolved in the interest of the clients. Occasionally, Matson Money, Inc. may be subject to conflicts of interest in the voting of proxies due to business or personal relationships it maintains with persons having an interest in the outcome of certain votes. In situations where Matson Money, Inc. perceives a material conflict of interest, Matson Money, Inc. may disclose the conflict to the relevant clients; defer to the voting recommendation of the clients or of an independent third party provider of proxy services; send the proxy directly to the clients for a voting decision; abstain from voting; or take such other action in good faith, in consultation with counsel, to determine the appropriate method to resolve the conflict in the interest of clients, based upon the particular facts and circumstances. With respect to investment company clients, conflicts may arise as to votes involving the investment adviser, the underwriter, their affiliates or affiliates of the investment company. In such cases, Matson Money, Inc. will follow the voting guidelines described herein, including the process for handling conflicts. Under normal circumstances, if a conflict is determined not to be material, Matson Money, Inc. will vote the proxy in accordance with this policy. The method selected by Matson Money, Inc. to vote proxies in the presence of a conflict may vary depending upon the facts and circumstances of each situation and the requirements of applicable law.
I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:
A. BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
A companys board of directors represents the focal point of corporate governance. The board is a group of elected individuals which oversees the operation and direction of the company on behalf of its owners. The principal responsibility of the board is to further the long term success of the corporation while remaining true to its fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. Matson Money, Inc. supports the primary authority of the board; however, at the same time, the firm believes that directors must remain accountable to the shareholders. Consequently, Matson Moneys guidelines are as follows:
1. Election of Directors: While Matson Money, Inc. normally votes for the boards nominees, the firm may decline to vote for unopposed candidates when their record indicates that their election to the board would not be in the interest of shareholders. Likewise, Matson Money, Inc. may vote for alternative candidates when its analysis indicates that these candidates will better represent shareholder interests.
2. Independent Directors: In Matson Moneys opinion, the ideal board should be comprised primarily of independent (non-management) directors who are both willing and qualified to serve in such capacity. In this context, independence means no present or former employment by the company or its management which could interfere with the directors loyalty to the shareholders.
3. Cumulative Voting: This voting procedure entitles each stockholder to as many votes as shall equal the number of shares owned multiplied by the number of directors to be elected. Such votes may all be cast for a single candidate or for any two or more as the stockholder sees fit. Matson Money, Inc. believes this method is an important democratic means of
electing directors and allows shareholders to obtain representation on the board by significant vote. Consequently, Matson Money, Inc. generally supports the practice of cumulative voting.
4. Classified Board: A classified board is a staggered board arrangement in which each director is elected for an established term of two, three, or four years, depending on the number of classes established. Only those directors in the class up for election can be approved or rejected by shareholders in any given year. In Matson Moneys opinion, a classified board serves to entrench management and limit shareholders ability to effect favorable change. Consequently, Matson Money, Inc. generally opposes classified boards.
5. Director Liability and Indemnification: A proper director liability policy should balance the need to hold directors accountable for improper actions with the need to attract competent and diligent individuals for board positions. The Corporation should be free to indemnify directors for legal expenses and judgments in connection with their service as directors and eliminate the directors liability for ordinary negligence. However, directors should be held liable to the corporation for violations of their fiduciary duty involving gross negligence. Similarly, proposals that indemnify directors who have committed fraud or dereliction of duty would be opposed.
6. Director Compensation: Normally, the remuneration of Directors is considered a routine item of business. Therefore, it is not usually submitted for a shareholder vote. However, non-employee director compensation has become a shareholder issue recently. Generally, Matson Money, Inc. would prefer to see more of the directors compensation based upon shareholder returns as measured by stock price appreciation or some other meaningful performance measure. Furthermore, Matson Money, Inc. encourages corporations to phase out pension or retirement plans for their non-employee directors. Most non-employee directors have retirement benefits from their primary employer; however, Matson Money, Inc. recognizes that a blanket vote to eliminate all such retirement plans could negatively impact a companys access to potentially valuable directors. Consequently, Matson Money, Inc. will not vote in favor of unilaterally eliminating retirement benefits.
7. General: Matson Money, Inc. recognizes the responsibilities of the board to organize its function and conduct its business in an efficient manner. Therefore, barring unusual circumstances, Matson Money, Inc. would favor management proposals related to board size and oppose shareholder resolutions calling for the separation of the CEO and Chairman positions, establishing age limits for directors, special interest representation, and the formation of shareholder advisory committees, or term limits for directors. Matson Money, Inc. is also against restricting the date or location of the annual meeting.
B. CAPITALIZATION ISSUES: Capitalization related proposals pertain to the creation, repurchase, or reclassification of securities. Matson Money, Inc. may support the authorization of additional stock if management provides a satisfactory explanation of its plans for the stock; however, Matson Money, Inc.
will oppose large unexplained increases in common stock. Matson Money, Inc. will also oppose the issuance of blank check preferred or convertible stock which could potentially be used as a takeover deterrent or dilute/jeopardize the clients common stock ownership.
1. Increase Authorized Common Stock: Matson Money, Inc. considers a proposal to increase the number of authorized but unissued shares of common stock on case-by-case basis. Matson Money, Inc. takes into account the size of the requested increase, its stated purpose, and how much authorized but unissued common stock remains. The firm generally supports a stock split or a reasonable replenishment after a stock split. Likewise, Matson Money, Inc. may approve an increase to support a shareholder value enhancing acquisition, to provide the necessary flexibility to maintain an optimal capital structure, or to fund stock option and stock purchase plans. Requests to significantly increase the number of authorized shares (those resulting in greater than 10% dilution) without a stated reason or demonstrated need would be opposed. Similarly, Matson Money, Inc. would oppose an increase when additional shares are to be used for anti-takeover measures.
2. Authorize Blank Check Preferred Stock: This proposal would grant authority to the board to create and issue a new class of preferred stock with unspecified terms and conditions. Blank check preferred stock could be granted special voting rights and be used to entrench management or deter takeover attempts. Matson Money, Inc. generally opposes proposals to vest the board with such power.
3. Authorize Convertible Stock: Matson Money, Inc. would review the rationale on a case-by-case basis taking into account the companys current capitalization structure, the stated purpose for the security and the potential dilution effect this security would have on existing common shareholders upon conversion. Matson Money, Inc. would oppose any request which is blank check in nature, where the companys rationale is unclear, and where the request appears to blunt possible takeover attempts.
C. SHAREHOLDERS RIGHTS AND PROXY VOTING: The proxy vote is the key mechanism by which shareholders render their opinion in corporate governance. In exercising its votes, Matson Money, Inc. believes:
1. Confidential Voting should be adopted by all corporations on all matters brought before the shareholders. Such provisions would protect the importance of the proxy vote and eliminate the appearance of any impropriety.
2. Multiple Classes of Common Stock with disparate voting rights should not exist. Rather, the board should adhere to the principle of one share-one vote.
3. Super-majority rules or requirements which interfere with the shareholders right to elect directors and ratify corporate actions should be opposed.
4. Changes in Corporations Domicile should only be proposed for valid business reasons, not to obtain protection against unfriendly takeovers.
5. Change of Control occurs when a third party becomes, or obtains the right to become, the beneficial owner of Company securities having 50%
or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of the company. Change of Control also would occur when the directors prior to a given event cease to constitute a majority of the Board as a result of the event.
6. Fair Price Provisions and measures to limit the corporations ability to buy back shares from a particular shareholder at higher than market prices are generally supported.
7. Pre-emptive Rights allow shareholders the option to buy part of any new issue prior to its public offering. This provision allows existing shareholders to maintain their original ownership percentage. However, pre-emptive rights often raise the cost of capital by increasing both the time and expense of issuing new shares. Therefore, pre-emptive rights should generally be eliminated, except where Matson Moneys analysis concludes such rights have value to the shareholders.
8. Anti-Takeover measures should be submitted for shareholder approval. Matson Money, Inc. is generally against such measures.
9. Bundled Proposals: Occasionally management will attempt to tie a non-routine issue to one that is routine, attempting to pass both items in the form of a bundled proposal. Disparate issues should not be combined and presented for a single vote. Such proposals are generally not well received and must be carefully reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
10. Special Meetings of the Board of Directors, on such issues as takeovers and changes in the make-up of the Board, by its shareholders is permitted at most companies. Matson Money, Inc. is generally against limitations on the calling of Special Meetings.
D. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION: The board and its compensation committee should set executive compensation levels adequate to attract and retain qualified executives. These managers should be rewarded in direct relationship to the contribution they make in maximizing shareholder value. Matson Money, Inc. readily admits it is not qualified to thoroughly evaluate the specific issues of executive compensation for each of its portfolio holdings; however the firm does evaluate the reasonableness of compensation policies, criteria and formulas. Likewise, Matson Money, Inc. decides what constitutes adequate disclosure of executive compensation. Matson Money, Inc. generally supports sound pay for performance plans which ensure equitable treatment of both corporate management and shareholders. Compensation should include both salary and performance components. The salary should have a defined relationship to salaries in an industry peer group. Similarly, performance measures should relate to key industry success measurements and be judged over adequate time periods.
1. Incentive Plans should be set forth annually in the proxy statement. The criteria used to evaluate the performance of senior executives should be clearly stated. Terms of the awards, such as type, coverage and option price should be specified. Excess discretion will not be approved. Matson Money, Inc. generally supports management if the company defines their performance goals. However, Matson Money, Inc. opposes incentive plans where no specific goals are defined. Without specific performance goals, there is no assurance that awards will be paid based upon realistic performance criteria. Matson Money, Inc. also votes against plans where
performance hurdles are, in its opinion, set too low. Total potential dilution from existing and proposed compensation plans should not exceed 10% over the duration of the plan(s). Finally, Matson Money, Inc. generally opposes plans which grant reload options (favorable repricing of options) or where options become immediately exercisable following a change of control defined as anything less than 50%.
2. Stock/Stock Option Plans: Matson Money, Inc. generally votes against a plan if the exercise price is unspecified or below 90% of the fair market value on the date of the grant.
3. Golden Parachutes should always be put to shareholder vote because they often exceed ordinary compensation practices. We are generally against Golden Parachutes.
E. ROUTINE CORPORATE ISSUES: Proposals in this category, which have been seen repeatedly on an historical basis, are usually non-controversial. Generally, these issues revolve around items that are related to the normal operating procedures of the company. Matson Money, Inc., however, votes against a management proposal to approve any other business that properly comes before the meeting. As a fiduciary, Matson Money, Inc. opposes any attempt by management to get a blanket approval without full disclosure. Conversely, each of the proposals listed below are generally supported, unless compelling reasons exist to question why it is not in the best interest of shareholders.
1. Appointment of Auditors
2. Corporate Name and/or Ticker Change
3. Approval of Articles of Incorporation
4. Changes to the Articles of Incorporation
5. Changes in the Date, Time and/or Location of Annual Meeting
6. Stock Splits
7. Acceptance of Directors Report
8. Approval of Corporate Dividend
II. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES: Matson Money, Inc. acknowledges its duty both as a corporate citizen and as a manager of investment funds to address important social issues. The intention of our firm is not to impose its moral or social views upon clients. Nor should Matson Money, Inc. restrict in any way the day-to-day operating procedures of a corporation unless, in so doing, the economic value of the clients investment is enhanced.
DOCUMENTATION OF VOTING DECISIONS
Matson Money, Inc. maintains accurate records of each corporate proxy received and voted along with documentation of the proxy voting decisions on each issue. The records will be retained for such period of time as is required to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
REPORTING
In order to facilitate a clients monitoring of proxy decisions made and actions taken by Matson Money, Inc., a report summarizing each corporate issue and corresponding proxy vote is available to clients upon request.
STATEMENT OF
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
BOSTON PARTNERS INVESTMENT FUNDS
of
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Institutional Class
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II - BPSIX
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund - BPAIX
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund - BPLSX
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund - BPIRX
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund - WPGTX
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund BPGIX
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund - BGLSX
Investor Class
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II BPSCX
Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund BPAVX
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund BPLEX
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund BPRRX
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund BPGRX
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund BGRSX
(formerly, Robeco Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Robeco Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund)
December 31, 2014
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides information about the Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II (the Small Cap Value Fund), Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund (the All-Cap Value Fund), Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund (the Long/Short Equity Fund), Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund (the Long/Short Research Fund), Boston Partners Global Equity Fund (the Global Equity Fund), , Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund (the Global Long/Short Fund) (collectively, the Boston Partners Funds) and the WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund (the WPG Fund), (each, a Fund, two or more together, the Funds). The Funds are series of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This information is in addition to the information contained in the Institutional Class and Investor Class shares Prospectuses of the Funds dated December 31, 2014 (each, a Prospectus and together, the Prospectuses).
This SAI is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectuses and the Funds Annual Report dated August 31, 2014. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. Copies of the Prospectuses and Annual Report may be obtained by calling toll-free (888) 261-4073. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION |
1 |
|
|
INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND POLICIES |
1 |
|
|
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
24 |
|
|
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
32 |
|
|
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
33 |
|
|
CODE OF ETHICS |
40 |
|
|
PROXY VOTING |
40 |
|
|
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
41 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
46 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISER |
46 |
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS |
50 |
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENTS |
54 |
|
|
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS |
56 |
|
|
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT AND PLANS OF DISTRIBUTION |
56 |
|
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS |
59 |
|
|
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
61 |
|
|
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
63 |
|
|
VALUATION OF SHARES |
63 |
|
|
TAXES |
63 |
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS |
66 |
|
|
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
66 |
|
|
APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
|
|
APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the Institutional Class and Investor Class shares representing interests in the Boston Partners Investment Funds, which are offered by the Prospectuses. Each of the Funds except for the Global Equity Fund and the Global Long/Short Fund is diversified. Robeco Investment Management Inc. (the Adviser) serves as the investment adviser to the Boston Partners Funds and the WPG Fund.
INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectuses concerning the investment objectives and policies of the Funds. To the extent an investment policy is discussed in this SAI but not in the Prospectuses, such policy is not a principal policy of the Funds. Except as indicated, the information below relates only to those Funds that are authorized to invest in the instruments or securities described below.
The Small Cap Value Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital primarily through investment in equity securities. Current income is a secondary objective.
The All-Cap Value Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital primarily through investment in equity securities. Current income is a secondary objective.
The Long/Short Equity Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while reducing exposure to general equity market risk. The Fund seeks a total return greater than that of the S&P 500 ® Index over a full market cycle.
The Long/Short Research Fund seeks to provide long-term total return.
The WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks, securities convertible into common stocks and in special situations.
The Global Equity Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth.
The Global Long/Short Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
The Adviser may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectuses and this SAI, or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
Asset-Backed Securities. The Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund and Global Long/Short Fund may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities may also be collateralized by a portfolio of U.S. government securities, but are not direct obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Such asset pools are securitized through the use of privately-formed trusts or special purpose corporations. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be guaranteed up to certain amounts and for a certain time period by a letter of credit or a pool insurance policy issued by a financial institution unaffiliated with the trust or corporation, or other credit enhancements may be present; however privately issued obligations collateralized by a portfolio of privately issued asset-backed securities do not involve any government-related guarantee or insurance. Asset-backed securities present credit risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities. That is because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets.
Bank and Corporate Obligations. Each Fund may purchase obligations of issuers in the banking industry, such as short-term obligations of bank holding companies, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and time deposits issued by U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion. Investment in obligations of foreign banks or foreign branches of U.S. banks may entail risks that are different from those of investments in obligations of U.S. banks due to differences in political, regulatory and economic systems and conditions. The Funds may also make interest-bearing savings deposits in commercial and savings banks in amounts not in excess of 5% of its total assets.
The activities of banks are subject to extensive regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans that may be made and the interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and costs 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 play an important part in the operation of this industry.
Each of the Boston Partners Funds may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations that are rated at the time of purchase within the three highest ratings categories of Standard & Poors ® (S&P), Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) or Moodys Investors, Inc. (Moodys) (or which, if unrated, are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality). Unrated securities will be determined to be of comparable quality to rated debt obligations if, among other things, other outstanding obligations of the issuers of such securities are rated A or better. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value.
Borrowing. Each Fund may borrow up to 33 1/3 percent of its respective total assets. The Adviser intends to borrow only for temporary or emergency purposes, including to meet portfolio redemption requests so as to permit the orderly disposition of portfolio securities, or to facilitate settlement transactions on portfolio securities. Investments will not be made when borrowings exceed 5% of a Funds total assets. Although the principal of such borrowings will be fixed, a Funds assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Each Fund expects that some of its borrowings may be made on a secured basis. In such situations, either the custodian will segregate the pledged assets for the benefit of the lender or arrangements will be made with a suitable subcustodian, which may include the lender. If the securities held by a Fund should decline in value while borrowings are outstanding, the net asset value (NAV) of the Funds outstanding shares will decline in value by proportionately more than the decline in value suffered by the Funds securities. As a result, a Funds share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. A Funds short sales and related borrowings are not subject to the restrictions outlined above. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days.
Contracts for Differences . The Global Long/Short Fund and Long/Short Research Fund (for this section only, each a Fund) may enter into Contracts for Differences (CFDs). CFDs are leveraged derivative instruments that allow a Fund to take a position on the change in the market price of an underlying asset, such as a stock, or the value of an index or currency exchange rate. With a long CFD, a Fund is looking to profit from increases in the market price of a particular asset. With a short CFD a Fund is seeking to profit from falls in the market price of the asset. CFDs are subject to liquidity risk because the liquidity of CFDs is based on the liquidity of the underlying instrument, and are subject to counterparty risk, i.e., the risk that the counterparty to the CFD transaction may be unable or unwilling to make payments or to otherwise honor its financial obligations under the terms of the contract. It is also possible that the market price of the CFD will move between the time the order is placed by a Fund and when it is executed by the issuer, which can result in the trade being executed at a less favorable price. CFDs, like many other derivative instruments, involve the risk that, if the derivative security declines in value, additional margin would be required to maintain the margin level. The seller may require a Fund to deposit additional sums to cover this, and this may be at short notice. If additional margin is not provided in time, the seller may liquidate the positions at a loss for which a Fund is liable. Most CFDs are traded over-the-counter. CFDs are not registered with the SEC or any U.S. regulator, and are not subject to U.S. regulation.
Convertible Securities and Preferred Stocks. Each Fund may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to nonconvertible debt securities in that they ordinarily provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stocks of the same or similar issuers. Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporations capital structure but are usually subordinated to comparable nonconvertible securities. While no securities investment is completely without risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than the corporations common stock, although the extent to which such risk is reduced depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security sells above its value as a fixed income security. Convertible securities have unique investment characteristics in that they generally: (1) have higher yields than common stocks, but lower yields than comparable non-convertible securities; (2) are less subject to fluctuation in value than the underlying stock since they have fixed income characteristics; and (3) 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 securitys 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 declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline. The credit standing of the issuer and other factors also may have an effect on the convertible securitys 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. Generally the conversion value decreases as the convertible security approaches maturity. 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 might be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible securitys governing instrument. If a convertible security held by a Fund is called for redemption, that 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. The Small Cap Value Fund and WPG Fund do not presently intend to invest more than 5% (10% with respect to the All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund) of each Funds respective net assets, in convertible securities, or securities received by a Fund upon conversion thereof.
Preferred stocks are securities that represent an ownership interest in a company and provide their owner with claims on the companys earnings and assets prior to the claims of owners of common stocks but after those of bond owners. Preferred stocks in which the Long/Short Equity Fund, WPG Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may invest include sinking fund, convertible, perpetual fixed and adjustable rate (including auction rate) preferred stocks. There is no minimum credit rating applicable to a Funds investment in preferred stocks and securities convertible into or exchangeable for common stock.
Currency Swaps and Total Return Swaps. The Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may enter into currency swaps and total return swaps.
The Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may enter into swap transactions for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. As examples, a Fund may enter into swap transactions for the purpose of attempting to obtain or preserve a particular return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets, to protect against currency fluctuations, as a duration management technique, to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date, or to gain exposure to certain markets in an economical way.
Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized
on particular predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are generally calculated with respect to a notional amount, i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a particular foreign currency or security, or in a basket of securities representing a particular index. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the parties respective rights to make or receive payments in specified currencies. Total return swaps are contracts that obligate a party to pay or receive interest in exchange for payment by the other party of the total return generated by a security, a basket of securities, an index, or an index component.
A great deal of flexibility is possible in the way swap transactions are structured. However, generally a Fund will enter into total return swaps on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with a Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Total return swaps do not normally involve the delivery of securities, other underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to total return swaps is normally limited to the net amount of payments that a Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a total return swap defaults, a Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. In contrast, currency swaps may involve the delivery of the entire principal amount of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Therefore, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued the concept release Use of Derivatives by Investment Companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which discusses, among other matters, whether current market practices involving derivatives are consistent with the leverage provisions of the Act. Accordingly, investors should be aware that the SEC may offer additional guidance in the future that may impact the manner in which a Fund operates.
To the extent that a Funds exposure in a transaction involving a swap is covered by the segregation of cash or liquid assets, or is covered by other means in accordance with SEC guidance, the Fund and the Adviser believe that the transactions do not constitute senior securities under the Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to the Funds borrowing restrictions.
The Global Equity Fund and Global Long/Short Fund will not enter into any swap transactions unless the unsecured commercial paper, senior debt or claims-paying ability of the other party thereto is rated investment grade by S&Ps or Moodys, or, if unrated by such rating organization, determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Global Equity Fund and Global Long/Short Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.
The use of swaps is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of a swap requires an understanding not only of the referenced asset, reference rate, or index but also of the swap itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the swap under all possible market conditions. If the Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, credit quality, interest rates and currency exchange rates, the investment performance of the Funds would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment instruments were not used.
Equity Markets. The Funds invest primarily in equity markets at all times. Equity markets can be highly volatile, so that investing in the Funds involves substantial risk. As a result, investing in the Funds involves the risk of loss of capital.
European Currency Unification. As of January 1, 1999, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) introduced a new single currency called the euro. The euro has replaced the national currencies of many European countries. The new European Central Bank has control over each member countrys monetary policies. Therefore, the member countries no longer control their own monetary policies by directing independent interest rates for their currencies. The national governments of the participating countries, however, have retained the authority to set tax and spending policies and public debt levels.
European countries can be significantly affected by the tight fiscal and monetary controls that the EMU imposes for membership. Europes economies are diverse, its governments are decentralized, and its cultures vary
widely. Several European Union (EU) countries, including Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal have faced budget issues, some of which may have negative long-term effects for the economies of those countries and other EU countries. There is continued concern about national-level support for the euro and the accompanying coordination of fiscal and wage policy among EMU member countries. Member countries are required to maintain tight control over inflation, public debt, and budget deficit to qualify for membership in the EMU. These requirements can severely limit the ability of EMU member countries to implement monetary policy to address regional economic conditions. Also, it is possible that the EUs single currency, the euro, could be abandoned in the future by countries that have already adopted its use. These or other events, including political and economic developments, could cause market disruptions, and could affect adversely the values of securities held by the Funds. Because of the number of countries using this single currency, a significant portion of the assets held by certain Funds may be denominated in the euro.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Each Fund may invest in open-end investment companies whose shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange or the Nasdaq Market System. ETF shares typically trade like shares of common stock and provide investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the component stocks of a widely recognized index such as the S&P 500 ® Index. There can be no assurance, however, that this can be accomplished as it may not be possible for an ETF to replicate the composition and relative weightings of the securities of its corresponding index. ETFs are subject to risks of an investment in a broadly based portfolio of common stocks, including the risk that the general level of stock prices may decline, thereby adversely affecting the value of such investment. Individual shares of an ETF are generally not redeemable at their net asset value, but trade on an exchange during the day at prices that are normally close to, but not the same as, their net asset value. There is no assurance that an active trading market will be maintained for the shares of an ETF or that market prices of the shares of an ETF will be close to their net asset values.
Investments in securities of ETFs beyond the limitations set forth in Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act are subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an exemptive order issued by the SEC to the exchange-traded fund. Section 12(d)(1)(A) states that a mutual fund may not acquire shares of other investment companies, such as ETFs, in excess of: 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the investment company; 5% of its total assets invested in the investment company; or more than 10% of the funds total assets were to be invested in the aggregate in all investment companies. The purchase of shares of ETFs may result in duplication of expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to a mutual funds own expenses.
Each Fund may also acquire investment company shares received or acquired as dividends, through offers of exchange or as a result of reorganization, consolidation or merger. The purchase of shares of other investment companies may result in duplication of expenses such that investors indirectly bear a proportionate share of the expenses of such mutual funds including operating costs and investment advisory and administrative fees.
Foreign Securities. Each Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers either directly or through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) or International Depositary Receipts (IDRs). ADRs are securities, typically issued by a U.S. financial institution (a depository), that evidence ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a foreign issuer and deposited with the depository. ADRs may be listed on a national securities exchange or may trade in the over-the-counter market. ADR prices are denominated in U.S. dollars; the underlying security may be denominated in a foreign currency. GDRs, EDRs and IDRs are securities that represent ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a non-U.S. or U.S. corporation. Depositary receipts may be available through sponsored or unsponsored facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Investments in depositary receipts do not eliminate the risks in investing in foreign issuers. The underlying security may be subject to foreign government taxes, which would reduce the yield on such securities.
Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign
investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Volume and liquidity in most foreign bond markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility or price can be greater than in the United States. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Inability to dispose of Fund securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to a Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities, or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth or gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.
Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the Funds endeavor to achieve the most favorable net results on their portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed companies than in the United States.
Settlement mechanics (e.g., mail service between the United States and foreign countries) may be slower or less reliable than within the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. 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 a portion of the assets of a Fund is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the Funds to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities.
Although the Funds may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, each Fund values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the NAV of a Funds shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the Funds securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which a Fund makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price of the Funds securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of a Funds securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, each Fund is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency.
Each Fund may invest in obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks (Eurodollars) and U.S. branches of foreign banks (Yankee dollars) as well as foreign branches of foreign banks. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities of U.S. banks, including potential unfavorable political and economic developments, different tax provisions, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest. The Funds may also invest in Yankee bonds, which are issued by foreign governments and their agencies and foreign corporations, but pay interest in U.S. dollars and are typically issued in the United States.
Investing in Emerging Countries, including Asia and Eastern Europe. The Global Equity Fund and Global Long/Short Fund may invest in securities of issues located in emerging countries. The securities markets of emerging countries are less liquid and subject to greater price volatility, and have a smaller market capitalization, than the U.S. securities markets. In certain countries, there may be fewer publicly traded securities and the market may be dominated by a few issues or sectors. Issuers and securities markets in such countries are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial and other reporting requirements or as comprehensive government regulations as are issuers and securities markets in the U.S. In particular, the assets and profits appearing on the financial statements of emerging country issuers may not reflect their financial position or results of operations in the same manner as financial statements for U.S. issuers. Substantially less information may be publicly available about emerging country issuers than is available about issuers in the United States.
Emerging country securities markets are typically marked by a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high
concentration of ownership of such securities by a limited number of investors. The markets for securities in certain emerging countries are in the earliest stages of their development. Even the markets for relatively widely traded securities in emerging countries may not be able to absorb, without price disruptions, a significant increase in trading volume or trades of a size customarily undertaken by institutional investors in the securities markets of developed countries. The limited size of many of these securities markets can cause prices to be erratic for reasons apart from factors that affect the soundness and competitiveness of the securities issuers. For example, prices may be unduly influenced by traders who control large positions in these markets. Additionally, market making and arbitrage activities are generally less extensive in such markets, which may contribute to increased volatility and reduced liquidity of such markets. The limited liquidity of emerging country securities may also affect the Funds ability to accurately value its portfolio securities or to acquire or dispose of securities at the price and time it wishes to do so or in order to meet redemption requests.
With respect to investments in certain emerging market countries, antiquated legal systems may have an adverse impact on the Fund. For example, while the potential liability of a shareholder in a U.S. corporation with respect to acts of the corporation is generally limited to the amount of the shareholders investment, the notion of limited liability is less clear in certain emerging market countries. Similarly, the rights of investors in emerging market companies may be more limited than those of shareholders in U.S. corporations.
Transaction costs, including brokerage commissions or dealer mark-ups, in emerging countries may be higher than in the United States and other developed securities markets. In addition, existing laws and regulations are often inconsistently applied. As legal systems in emerging countries develop, foreign investors may be adversely affected by new or amended laws and regulations. In circumstances where adequate laws exist, it may not be possible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of the law.
Foreign investment in the securities markets of certain emerging countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit a Funds investment in certain emerging countries and may increase the expenses of the Fund. Certain emerging countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit investment by foreign persons to only a specified percentage of an issuers outstanding securities or a specific class of securities which may have less advantageous terms (including price) than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals. In addition, the repatriation of both investment income and capital from emerging countries may be subject to restrictions which require governmental consents or prohibit repatriation entirely for a period of time. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects of the operation of the Funds. The Funds may be required to establish special custodial or other arrangements before investing in certain emerging countries.
Emerging countries may be subject to a substantially greater degree of economic, political and social instability and disruption than is the case in the United States, Japan and most Western European countries. This instability may result from, among other things, the following: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision making, including changes or attempted changes in governments through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic or social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection or conflict; and (vi) the absence of developed legal structures governing foreign private investments and private property. Such economic, political and social instability could disrupt the principal financial markets in which the Funds may invest and adversely affect the value of the Funds assets. The Funds investments can also be adversely affected by any increase in taxes or by political, economic or diplomatic developments.
The Global Equity Fund and Global Long/Short Fund may seek investment opportunities within former east bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Most Eastern European countries had a centrally planned, socialist economy for a substantial period of time. The governments of many Eastern European countries have more recently been implementing reforms directed at political and economic liberalization, including efforts to decentralize the economic decision-making process and move towards a market economy. However, business entities in many Eastern European countries do not have an extended history of operating in a market-oriented economy, and the ultimate impact of Eastern European countries attempts to move toward more market-oriented economies is currently unclear. In addition, any change in the leadership or policies of Eastern European countries may halt the expansion of or reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring and adversely affect existing investment opportunities.
The economies of emerging countries may differ unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources, self-sufficiency and balance of payments. Many emerging countries have experienced in the past, and continue to experience, high rates of inflation. In certain countries inflation has at times accelerated rapidly to hyperinflationary levels, creating a negative interest rate environment and sharply eroding the value of outstanding financial assets in those countries. Other emerging countries, on the other hand, have recently experienced deflationary pressures and are in economic recessions. The economies of many emerging countries are heavily dependent upon international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners. In addition, the economies of some emerging countries are vulnerable to weakness in world prices for their commodity exports. A Funds income and, in some cases, capital gains from foreign stocks and securities will be subject to applicable taxation in certain of the countries in which it invests, and treaties between the U.S. and such countries may not be available in some cases to reduce the otherwise applicable tax rates.
Forward Commitment and When-Issued Transactions. Each Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis (subject to its investment policies and restrictions). These transactions involve a commitment by a Fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date (ordinarily one or two months later). 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 commitments are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges. A Fund will not enter into such transactions for the purpose of leverage.
When-issued purchases and forward commitments enable a Fund to lock in what is believed by the Adviser to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, a Fund might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, a Fund might sell securities it owns and purchase the same or a similar security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. When-issued securities or forward commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date.
The value of securities purchased on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation of a Funds NAV starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the securities, and the Fund is subject to the rights and risks of ownership of the securities on that date. A Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until they are paid for and delivered on the settlement date. When a Fund makes a forward commitment to sell securities it owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are included in the Funds assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities are not reflected in the Funds NAV as long as the commitment to sell remains in effect. Settlement of when-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions generally takes place within two months after the date of the transaction, but a Fund may agree to a longer settlement period.
A Fund will make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued basis or to 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, a Fund may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment. A Fund also may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Fund on the settlement date. A Fund may realize a capital gain or loss in connection with these transactions, and its distributions from any net realized capital gains will be taxable to shareholders.
When a Fund purchases securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, the Fund or its custodian will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities having a value (determined daily) at least equal to the amount of the Funds purchase commitments. These procedures are designed to ensure that the Fund will maintain sufficient assets at all times to cover its obligations under when-issued purchases and forward commitments.
Forward Foreign Currency Transactions. Each of the Long/Short Research Fund, WPG Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may, to the extent that it invests in foreign securities, enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates. The Funds will conduct their foreign currency exchange transactions either on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or through entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. 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 (usually less than one year) 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 conducted directly between traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. Although foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the spread) between the price at which they are buying and selling various currencies.
A Fund is permitted to enter into forward contracts for foreign currency under two circumstances. First, when a Fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security quoted or denominated in a foreign currency, it may desire to lock in the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed number of U.S. dollars, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the Fund will be able to insulate itself from a possible loss resulting from a 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 and the date on which payment is made or received.
Second, when the Adviser believes that the currency of a particular foreign country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, it may cause a Fund to enter a forward contract to sell, for a fixed U.S. dollar amount, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of a Funds 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 since 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 the forward contract is entered into and the date it matures. There is no current intention to hedge the currency exposure of any of the Funds.
Although the Funds have no current intention to do so, they may engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in one currency to hedge against fluctuations in the value in securities denominated or quoted in a different currency if the Adviser determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the two currencies. Cross-hedging may also include entering into a forward transaction involving two foreign currencies, using one foreign currency as a proxy for the U.S. dollar to hedge against variations in the other U.S. foreign currency, if the Adviser determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the proxy currency and the U.S. dollar.
The Funds will not enter into forward contracts to sell currency or maintain a net exposure to such contracts if the consummation of such contracts would obligate the Funds to deliver an amount of foreign currency in excess of the value of the Funds respective portfolio securities or other assets quoted or denominated in that currency. At the consummation of the forward contract, the Funds may either make delivery of the foreign currency or terminate its contractual obligation by purchasing an offsetting contract obligating it to purchase at the same maturity date, the same amount of such foreign currency. If a Fund chooses to make delivery of foreign currency, it may be required to obtain such delivery through the sale of portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such currency or through conversion of other assets of a Fund into such currency. If a Fund engages in an offsetting transaction, the Fund will realize a gain or a loss to the extent that there has been a change in forward contract prices. Closing purchase transactions with respect to forward contracts are usually effected with the currency trader who is party to the original forward contract.
The Funds transactions in forward contracts will be limited to those described above. Of course, a Fund is not required to enter into such transactions with regard to its foreign currency quoted or denominated securities, and a Fund will not do so unless deemed appropriate by the Adviser.
When entering into a forward contract, the Funds will segregate either cash or liquid securities quoted or denominated in any currency in an amount equal to the value of the Funds total assets committed to the consummation of forward currency exchange contracts which require the Funds to purchase a foreign currency. If the value of the segregated securities declines, additional cash or securities will be segregated by the Funds on a daily basis so that the value of the segregated securities will equal the amount of the Funds commitments with respect to such contracts.
This method of protecting the value of the Funds 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 can be achieved 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 Funds foreign assets. It also reduces any potential gain which may have otherwise occurred had the currency value increased above the settlement price of the contract.
While the Funds may enter into forward contracts to seek to reduce currency exchange rate risks, transactions in such contracts involve certain other risks. Thus, while the Funds may benefit from such transactions, unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the Funds than if it had not engaged in any such transactions. Moreover, there may be an imperfect correlation between the Funds portfolio holdings or securities quoted or denominated in a particular currency and forward contracts entered into by the Funds. Such imperfect correlation may cause the Funds to sustain losses, which will prevent the Funds from achieving a complete hedge, or expose the Funds to the risk of foreign exchange loss.
Forward contracts are subject to the risks 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 clearing house, a default on the contract would deprive the Funds of unrealized profits, transaction costs or the benefits of a currency hedge or force the Funds to cover its purchase or sale commitments, if any, at the current market price.
The Funds foreign currency transactions (including related options, futures and forward contracts) may be limited by the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) for qualification as a regulated investment company.
Initial Public Offerings. Each of the Funds may purchase stock in an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a companys first offering of stock to the public. Risks associated with IPOs may include considerable fluctuation in the market value of IPO shares due to certain factors, such as the absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, a limited number of shares available for trading, lack of information about the issuer and limited operating history. The purchase of IPO shares may involve high transaction costs. When a Funds asset base is small, a significant portion of the Funds performance could be attributable to investments in IPOs, because such investments would have a magnified impact on the Fund. As a Funds assets grow, the effect of the Funds investments in IPOs on the Funds performance probably will decline, which could reduce the Funds performance. Because of the price volatility of IPO shares, a Fund may choose to hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. This may increase the turnover of the Funds portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, the Adviser cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
Investment Company Securities. Each Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, each Funds investments in such securities currently are limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Funds total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Funds total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. Investments in the securities of other investment companies will involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act permits a Fund to invest an unlimited amount of its uninvested cash in a money market fund so long as, among other things, said investment is consistent with the Funds investment objectives and policies. As a shareholder in an investment company, a Fund would bear its pro rata portion of the investment companys expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
Lending of Portfolio Securities. Each Fund may lend its portfolio securities to financial institutions in accordance with the investment restrictions described below. Such loans would involve risks of delay in receiving additional collateral in the event the value of the collateral decreased below the value of the securities loaned or of delay in recovering the securities loaned or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, loans will be made only to borrowers deemed by the Adviser to be of good standing and only when, in the Advisers judgment, the income to be earned from the loans justifies the attendant risks. Any loans of a Funds securities will be fully collateralized and marked to market daily. The Funds do not have the right to vote loaned securities. A Fund will attempt to call all loaned securities back to permit the exercise of voting rights, if time and jurisdictional restrictions permit. There is no guarantee that all loans can be recalled.
Leveraging. The Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may employ leverage in accordance with the fundamental investment limitations described below. Leveraging the Fund creates an opportunity for increased net income, but, at the same time, creates special risk considerations. For example, leveraging may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of the Funds shares and in the yield on the Funds portfolio. Although the principal of such borrowings will be fixed, the Funds assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Leveraging creates interest expenses for the Fund which could exceed the income from the assets retained. To the extent the income derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest that the Fund will have to pay, the Funds net income will be greater than if leveraging were not used. Conversely, if the income from the assets retained with borrowed funds is not sufficient to cover the cost of leveraging, the net income of the Fund will be less than if leveraging were not used, and therefore the amount available for distribution to stockholders as dividends will be reduced. Because the SEC staff believes both reverse repurchase agreements and dollar roll transactions are collateralized borrowings, the SEC staff believes that they create leverage, which is a speculative factor. The requirement that such transactions be fully collateralized by assets segregated by the Funds custodian imposes a practical limit on the leverage these transactions create.
Market Fluctuation. The market value of each Funds investments, and thus each Funds NAV, will change in response to market conditions affecting the value of its portfolio securities. When interest rates decline, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of fixed rate obligations can be expected to decline. In contrast, as interest rates on adjustable rate loans are reset periodically, yields on investments in such loans will gradually align themselves to reflect changes in market interest rates, causing the value of such investments to fluctuate less dramatically in response to interest rate fluctuations than would investments in fixed rate obligations. Because the investment alternatives available to each Fund may be limited by the specific objective of that Fund, investors should be aware that an investment in a particular Fund may be subject to greater market fluctuation than an investment in a portfolio of securities representing a broader range of investment alternatives. In view of the specialized nature of the investment activities of each Fund, an investment in any single Fund should not be considered a complete investment program.
Micro-Cap, Small-Cap and Mid-Cap Stocks. Each Fund may invest in securities of companies with micro-, small- and mid-size capitalizations which tend to be riskier than securities of companies with large capitalizations. This is because micro-, small- and mid-cap companies typically have smaller product lines and less access to liquidity than large cap companies, and are therefore more sensitive to economic downturns. In addition, growth prospects of micro-, small- and mid-cap companies tend to be less certain than large cap companies, and the dividends paid on micro-, small- and mid-cap stocks are frequently negligible. Moreover, micro-, small- and mid-cap stocks have, on occasion, fluctuated in the opposite direction of large cap stocks or the general stock market. Consequently, securities of micro-, small- and mid-cap companies tend to be more volatile than those of large-cap companies. The market for micro- and small-cap securities may be thinly traded and as a result, greater fluctuations in the price of micro- and small-cap securities may occur.
Options on Securities and Securities Indices The All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund, WPG Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may each write covered call and secured put options on any securities in which it may invest or on any domestic stock indices based on securities in which it may invest. A Fund may purchase and write such options on securities that are listed on national domestic securities exchanges or foreign securities exchanges or traded in the over-the-counter market. A call option written by a Fund obligates the Fund to sell specified securities to the holder of the option at a specified price if the option is exercised at any time before the expiration date, regardless of the market price of the security. All call options written by a Fund are covered, which means that the Fund will own the securities subject to the option so long as the option is outstanding or use the other methods described below. The purpose of a Fund in writing covered call options is to realize greater income than would be realized in portfolio securities transactions alone. However, in writing covered call options for additional income, a Fund may forego the opportunity to profit from an increase in the market price of the underlying security.
A put option written by a Fund obligates the Fund to purchase specified securities from the option holder at a specified price if the option is exercised at any time before the expiration date, regardless of the market price for the security. The purpose of writing such options is to generate additional income. However, in return for the option premium, the Fund accepts the risk that it will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the securities market value at the time of purchase.
All call and put options written by a Fund are covered. A written call option or put option may be covered by (i) maintaining cash or liquid securities, either of which, in the case of the WPG Fund, may be quoted or denominated in any currency, in a segregated account noted on the Funds records or maintained by the Funds custodian with a value at least equal to the Funds obligation under the option, (ii) entering into an offsetting forward commitment and/or (iii) purchasing an offsetting option or any other option which, by virtue of its exercise price or otherwise, reduces the Funds net exposure on its written option position.
A Fund may terminate its obligations under an exchange-traded call or put option by purchasing an option identical to the one it has written. Obligations under over-the-counter options may be terminated only by entering into an offsetting transaction with the counterparts to such option. Such purchases are referred to as closing purchase transactions and do not result in the ownership of an option. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be effected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying security from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying security or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying security. The cost of such a liquidation purchase plus transaction costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event the Fund will have incurred a loss in the transaction.
A Fund may also write (sell) covered call and put options on any securities index composed of securities in which it may invest. Options on securities indices are similar to options on securities, except that the exercise of securities index options requires cash settlement payments and does not involve the actual purchase or sale of securities. The amount of this settlement will be equal to the difference between the closing price of the of the securities index at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars, times a specified amount. In addition, securities index options are designed to reflect price fluctuations in a group of securities or segment of the securities market rather than price fluctuations in a single security.
The Funds may cover call options on a securities index by owning securities whose price changes are expected to be similar to those of the underlying index or by having an absolute and immediate right to acquire such securities without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account) upon conversion or exchange of other securities in its portfolio. A Fund may also cover call and put options on a securities index by using the other methods described above.
The All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund, WPG Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may each purchase put and call options on any securities in which it may invest or on any securities index based on securities in which it may invest, and a Fund may enter into closing sale transactions in order to realize gains or minimize losses on options it had purchased.
A Fund would normally purchase call options in anticipation of an increase, or put options in anticipation of a decrease (protective puts) in the market value of securities of the type in which it may invest. The purchase of a call option would entitle a Fund, in return for the premium paid, to purchase specified securities at a specified price during the option period. A Fund would ordinarily realize a gain on the purchase of a call option if, during the option period, the value of such securities exceeded the sum of the exercise price, the premium paid and transaction costs; otherwise the Fund would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the call option. The purchase of a put option would entitle a Fund, in exchange for the premium paid, to sell specified securities at a specified price during the option period. The purchase of protective puts is designed to offset or hedge against a decline in the market value of a Funds securities. Put options may also be purchased by a Fund for the purpose of affirmatively benefiting from a decline in the price of securities which it does not own. A Fund would ordinarily realize a gain if, during the option period, the value of the underlying securities decreased below the exercise price sufficiently to cover the premium and transaction costs; otherwise the Fund would realize either no gain or a loss on the purchase of the put option. Gains and losses on the purchase of put options may be offset by countervailing changes in the value of the underlying portfolio securities.
A Fund may purchase put and call options on securities indices for the same purposes as it may purchase options on securities. Options on securities indices are similar to options on securities, except that the exercise of securities index options requires cash payments and does not involve the actual purchase or sale of securities. In addition, securities index options are designed to reflect price fluctuations in a group of securities or segment of the securities market rather than price fluctuations in a single security.
Transactions by a Fund in options on securities and securities indices will be subject to limitations established by each of the exchanges, boards of trade or other trading facilities on which such options are traded governing the maximum number of options in each class which may be written or purchased by a single investor or group of investors acting in concert, regardless of whether the options are written or purchased on the same or different exchanges, boards of trade or other trading facilities or are held or written in one or more accounts or through one or more brokers. Thus, the number of options that a Fund may write or purchase may be affected by options written or purchased by other investment advisory clients of the Adviser. An exchange, board of trade or other trading facility may order the liquidation of positions found to be in excess of these limits, and it may impose certain other sanctions.
Although the Funds may use option transactions to seek to generate additional income and to seek to reduce the effect of any adverse price movement in the securities or currency subject to the option, they do involve certain risks that are different in some respects from investment risks associated with similar mutual funds, which do not engage in such activities. These risks include the following: for writing call options, the inability to effect closing transactions at favorable prices and the inability to participate in the appreciation of the underlying securities above the exercise price; for writing put options, the inability to effect closing transactions at favorable prices and the obligation to purchase the specified securities or to make a cash settlement on the securities index at prices which may not reflect current market values; and for purchasing call and put options, the possible loss of the entire premium paid. In addition, the effectiveness of hedging through the purchase or sale of securities index options, including options on the S&P 500 ® Index, will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of the securities portfolio being hedged correlate with the price movements in the selected securities index. Perfect correlation may not be possible because the securities held or to be acquired by a Fund may not exactly match the composition of the securities index on which options are written. If the forecasts of the Adviser regarding movements in securities prices or interest rates are incorrect, a Funds investment results may have been better without the hedge transactions.
There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on a domestic or foreign options exchange will exist for any particular exchange-traded option or at any particular time. If a Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to covered options it has written, the Fund will not be able to sell the underlying securities or dispose of assets held in a segregated account until the options expire or are exercised. Similarly, if a Fund is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options it has purchased, it would have to exercise the options in order to realize any profit and will incur transaction costs upon the purchase or sale of underlying securities or currencies.
Reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an exchange include the following: (i) there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; (ii) restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; (iii) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options; (iv) unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; (v) the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or (vi) one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist although outstanding options on that exchange that had been issued by the Options Clearing Corporation as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
A Funds ability to terminate over-the-counter options is more limited than with exchange-traded options and may involve the risk that broker-dealers participating in such transactions will not fulfill their obligations. The Adviser will monitor the liquidity of over-the-counter options and, if it determines that such options are not readily marketable, a Funds ability to enter such options will be subject to the Funds limitation on investments on illiquid securities.
The writing and purchase of options is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The successful use of options for hedging purposes depends in part on the Advisers ability to predict future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets.
Pay-in-Kind Securities, Zero Coupon and Capital Appreciation Bonds. To the extent consistent with its investment objective, the All-Cap Value Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in pay-in-kind (PIK) securities. PIK securities may be debt obligations or preferred shares that provide the issuer with the option of paying interest or dividends on such obligations in cash or in the form of additional securities rather than cash. Similarly, zero coupon and capital appreciation bonds are debt securities issued or sold at a discount from their face value and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified date. The amount of the discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. These securities also may take the form of debt securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves or receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations or coupons. A portion of the discount with respect to stripped tax-exempt securities or their coupons may be taxable. Such securities are designed to give an issuer flexibility in managing cash flow. PIK securities that are debt securities can either be senior or subordinated debt and generally trade flat (i.e., without accrued interest). The trading price of PIK debt securities generally reflects the market value of the underlying debt plus an amount representing accrued interest since the last interest payment.
PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds involve the additional risk that, unlike securities that periodically pay interest to maturity, the Fund will realize no cash until a specified future payment date unless a portion of such securities is sold and, if the issuer of such securities defaults, the Fund may obtain no return at all on its investment. In addition, even though such securities may not provide for the payment of current interest in cash, the Fund is nonetheless required to accrue income on such investments for each taxable year and generally is required to distribute such accrued amounts (net of deductible expenses, if any) to avoid being subject to tax. Because no cash is generally received at the time of the accrual, the Fund may be required to liquidate other portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to satisfy federal tax distribution requirements applicable to the Fund. Additionally, the market prices of PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds generally are more volatile than the market prices of interest bearing securities and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than interest bearing securities having similar maturities and credit quality.
Portfolio Turnover. Those investment strategies that require periodic changes to portfolio holdings with the expectation of outperforming equity indices are typically referred to as active strategies. These strategies contrast with passive (index) strategies that buy and hold only the stocks in the equity indices. Passive strategies tend to trade infrequentlyonly as the stocks in the indices change (largely due to changes in the sizes of the companies in the indices, takeovers or bankruptcies). Most equity mutual funds pursue active strategies, which have higher turnover than passive strategies.
The generally higher portfolio turnover of active investment strategies can adversely affect taxable investors, especially those in higher marginal tax brackets, in two ways. First, short-term capital gains, which often accompany higher turnover investment strategies, are currently taxed at ordinary income rates. Ordinary income tax rates are higher than long-term capital gain tax rates for middle and upper income taxpayers. Thus, the tax liability is often higher for investors in active strategies. Second, the more frequent realization of gains caused by higher turnover investment strategies means that taxes will be paid sooner. Such acceleration of the tax liability is financially more costly to investors. Less frequent realization of capital gains allows the payment of taxes to be deferred until later years, allowing more of the gains to compound before taxes are paid. Consequently, after-tax compound rates of return will generally be higher for taxable investors using investment strategies with very low turnover, compared with high turnover strategies. The difference is particularly large when the general market rates of return are higher than average.
There are no limitations on the length of time that securities must be held by any Fund and a Funds annual portfolio turnover rate may vary significantly from year to year. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) involves correspondingly greater transaction costs, which must be borne by the applicable Fund and its shareholders.
In determining such portfolio turnover, U.S. government securities and all other securities (including options) which have maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less (short-term securities) are excluded. The annual portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the cost of purchases or proceeds from sales of portfolio securities for the year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the applicable Fund during the year. The monthly average is calculated by totaling the values of the portfolio securities as of the beginning and end of the first month of the year and as of the end of the succeeding 11 months and dividing
the sum by 13. A turnover rate of 100% would occur if all of a Funds portfolio securities (other than short-term securities) were replaced once in a period of one year. If a Fund were to write a substantial number of options, which are exercised, the portfolio turnover rate of that Fund would increase. Increased portfolio turnover results in increased brokerage costs, which a Fund must pay, and the possibility of more short-term gains, distributions of which are taxable as ordinary income.
The Funds will trade their portfolio securities without regard to the length of time for which they have been held. To the extent that a Funds portfolio is traded for short-term market considerations and portfolio turnover rate exceeds 100%, the annual portfolio turnover rate of the Fund could be higher than most mutual funds.
Real Estate Investment Trust Securities. Each Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs generally invest directly in real estate, in mortgages or in some combination of the two. Individual REITs may own a limited number of properties and may concentrate in a particular region or property type. A REIT is a corporation, or a business trust that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation, which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level Federal income tax and making the REIT a pass-through vehicle for Federal income tax purposes. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things, invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs) or cash and government securities, derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property, and distribute to shareholders annually a substantial portion of its otherwise taxable income.
Generally, REITs can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity and mortgage REITs. The values of securities issued by REITs are affected by tax and regulatory requirements and by perceptions of management skill. They also are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers or tenants, self-liquidation and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status under the Code or to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act. Unexpected high rates of default on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a mortgage REIT. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. To the extent that a mortgage REITs portfolio is exposed to lower-rated, unsecured or subordinated instruments, the risk of loss may increase, which may have a negative impact on the Fund.
The REITs in which the Funds may invest may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. REITs are sensitive to factors such as changes in real estate values, property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, occupancy rates, government regulations affecting zoning, land use and rents, and management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Companies in the real estate industry may also be subject to liabilities under environmental and hazardous waste laws. REITS whose underlying assets include long-term health care properties; such as nursing, retirement and assisted living homes, may be impacted by federal regulations concerning the health care industry. Each Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses, including management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests in addition to the expenses of the Fund. Each Fund is also subject to the risk that the REITs in which it invests will fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code, and/or fail to qualify for an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. A REITs return may be adversely affected when interest rates are high or rising.
Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® .
Restricted and Illiquid Securities. Each Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Illiquid securities include: repurchase agreements and time deposits with a
notice or demand period of more than seven days; interest rate; currency, mortgage and credit default swaps; interest rate caps; floors and collars; municipal leases; certain restricted securities, such as those purchased in a private placement of securities, unless it is determined, based upon a review of the trading markets for a specific restricted security, that such restricted security is liquid; and certain over-the-counter options. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation. With respect to each Fund, repurchase agreements subject to demand are deemed to have a maturity equal to the notice period.
Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of restricted or other illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
Each Fund may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act (Restricted Securities). These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in a Fund during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The Adviser will monitor the liquidity of Restricted Securities held by a Fund under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors. In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Restricted Securities normally reflect a discount from the price at which such securities trade when they are not restricted, since the restriction makes them less liquid. The amount of the discount from the prevailing market price is expected to vary depending upon the type of security, the character of the issuer, the party who will bear the expenses of registering the Restricted Securities and prevailing supply and demand conditions.
Risk Considerations of Medium Grade Securities. Obligations in the lowest investment grade (i.e., BBB or Baa), referred to as medium grade obligations, have speculative characteristics, and changes in economic conditions and other factors are more likely to lead to weakened capacity to make interest payments and repay principal on these obligations than is the case for higher rated securities. In the event that a security purchased by a Fund is subsequently downgraded below investment grade, the Adviser will consider such event in its determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold the security.
Risk Considerations of Lower Rated Securities. The WPG Fund and the All-Cap Value Fund may invest in fixed income securities that are not investment grade but are rated as low as B by Moodys or B by S&P (or their equivalents or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser to be of comparable credit quality). In the case of a security that is rated differently by two or more rating services, the higher rating is used in connection with the foregoing limitation. In the event that the rating on a security held in a Funds portfolio is downgraded by a rating service, such action will be considered by the Adviser in its evaluation of the overall investment merits of that security, but will not necessarily result in the sale of the security. The widespread expansion of government, consumer and corporate debt within the U.S. economy has made the corporate sector, especially cyclically sensitive industries, more vulnerable to economic downturns or increased interest rates.
An economic downturn could severely disrupt the market for high yield fixed income securities and adversely affect the value of outstanding fixed income securities and the ability of the issuers to repay principal and interest.
The Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund and Global Long/Short Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in high yield fixed income obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. The Funds will invest in high yield fixed income instruments when the Funds believe
that such instruments offer a better risk/reward profile than comparable equity opportunities. High yield fixed income securities (commonly known as junk bonds) are considered speculative investments and, while generally providing greater income than investments in higher rated securities, involve greater risk of loss of principal and income (including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities) and may involve greater volatility of price (especially during periods of economic uncertainty or change) than securities in the higher rating categories. However, since yields vary over time, no specific level of income can ever be assured.
The prices of high yield fixed income securities have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress, which would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals, and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a fixed income security owned by a Fund defaulted, the Fund could incur additional expenses to seek recovery. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high yield fixed income securities and a Funds net asset value, to the extent it holds such securities.
High yield fixed income securities also present risks based on payment expectations. For example, high yield fixed income securities may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a declining interest rate market, a Fund may, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities, have to replace the securities with a lower yielding security, which may result in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high yield fixed income securitys value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of a Funds assets, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities.
In addition, to the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield fixed income securities, and this may have an impact on the Advisers ability to accurately value such securities and a Funds assets and on the Funds ability to dispose of such securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield fixed income securities, especially in a thinly traded market.
New laws proposed or adopted from time to time may have an impact on the market for high yield securities.
Finally, there are risks involved in applying credit or dividend ratings as a method for evaluating high yield securities. For example, ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest or dividend payments, not market value risk of high yield securities. Also, since rating agencies may fail to timely change the credit ratings to reflect subsequent events, a Fund will continuously monitor the issuers of high yield securities in its portfolio, if any, to determine if the issuers will have sufficient cash flow and profits to meet required principal and interest payments, and to assure the securitys liquidity so the Fund can meet redemption requests.
Special Situation Companies. Each Fund, except the Small Cap Value Fund, may invest in Special Situations. The term Special Situation shall be deemed to refer to a security of a company in which an unusual and possibly non-repetitive development is taking place which, in the opinion of the investment adviser of the Fund, may cause the security to attain a higher market value independently, to a degree, of the trend in the securities market in general. The particular development (actual or prospective), which may qualify a security as a Special Situation, may be one of many different types.
Such developments may include, among others, a technological improvement or important discovery or acquisition which, if the expectation for it materialized, would effect a substantial change in the companys business; a reorganization; a recapitalization or other development involving a security exchange or conversion; a merger, liquidation or distribution of cash, securities or other assets; a breakup or workout of a holding company; litigation which, if resolved favorably, would improve the value of the companys stock; a new or changed management; or material changes in management policies. A Special Situation may often involve a comparatively small company, which is not well known, and which has not been closely watched by investors generally, but it may also involve a large company. The fact, if it exists, that an increase in the companys earnings, dividends or business is expected, or that a given security is considered to be undervalued, would not in itself be sufficient to qualify as a Special Situation. A Fund may invest in securities (even if not Special Situations) which, in the opinion of the investment adviser of the Fund, are appropriate investments for the Fund, including securities which the investment adviser of the Fund believes are undervalued by the market. A Fund shall not be required to invest any minimum
percentage of its aggregate portfolio in Special Situations, nor shall it be required to invest any minimum percentage of its aggregate portfolio in securities other than Special Situations.
Securities of Unseasoned Issuers. Each of the Funds may invest in securities of unseasoned issuers, including equity securities of unseasoned issuers which are not readily marketable, to the extent consistent with each Funds primary investment strategies as set forth in the Prospectuses and with each Funds policy on investments in illiquid securities. The aggregate investment in such securities will not exceed (a) 25% of net assets for the Long/Short Equity Fund, WPG Fund and Global Long/Short Fund, or (b) 5% of net assets for each of the Small Cap Value and All-Cap Value Funds. The term unseasoned refers to issuers which, together with their predecessors, have been in operation for less than three years.
Short Sales. The All-Cap Value, Long/Short Equity, Long/Short Research and Global Long/Short Funds may enter into short sales. Short sales are transactions in which a Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that security. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay to the lender amounts equal to any dividend which accrues during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
Until a Fund replaces a borrowed security in connection with a short sale, the Fund will: (a) maintain daily a segregated account, containing cash, cash equivalents, or liquid marketable securities, at such a level that the amount deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short or (b) otherwise cover its short position in accordance with positions taken by the staff of the SEC.
A Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. The Fund will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those dates. This result is the opposite of what one would expect from a cash purchase of a long position in a security. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of any premium or amounts in lieu of interest the Fund may be required to pay in connection with a short sale. A Fund may purchase call options to provide a hedge against an increase in the price of a security sold short by the Fund. See the section entitled Options above.
Short Sales Against the Box. In addition to the short sales discussed above, the All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund and Global Long/Short Fund may each make short sales against the box, transactions in which a Fund enters into a short sale of a security that the Fund owns or has the right to obtain at no additional cost. The proceeds of the short sale will be held by a broker until the settlement date at which time the Fund delivers the security to close the short position. The Fund receives the net proceeds from the short sale.
Structured Securities. The All-Cap Value Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may invest in structured securities. The value of the principal of and/or interest on structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, commodities, securities, indices or other financial indicators (the Reference) or the relative change in two or more References. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Examples of structured securities include, but are not limited to, notes where the principal repayment at maturity is determined by the value of the relative change in two or more specified securities or securities indices. The All-Cap Value Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in structured securities.
The terms of some structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, a Fund could suffer a total loss of its investment. 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 rate or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of the changes in the value of the Reference. Consequently, structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of securities. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities due to their derivative nature.
U.S. Government Obligations. Each Fund may purchase U.S. government agency and instrumentality obligations that are debt securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and federal agencies. Some obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or by U.S. Treasury guarantees, such as securities of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and the Federal Housing Authority; others, by the ability of the issuer to borrow, provided approval is granted, from the U.S. Treasury, such as securities of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and others, only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation, such as securities of Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs). Such guarantees of U.S. government securities held by a Fund do not, however, guarantee the market value of the shares of the Fund. There is no guarantee that the U.S. government will continue to provide support to its agencies or instrumentalities in the future. U.S. government obligations that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are subject to greater risks than those that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. All U.S. government obligations are subject to interest rate risk.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Housing finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
Each Funds net assets may be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, including, if applicable, options and futures on such obligations. The maturities of U.S. government securities usually range from three months to thirty years. Examples of types of U.S. government obligations include U.S. Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes and Treasury Bonds and the obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Fannie Mae, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Freddie Mac, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Maritime Administration, the Asian-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. U.S. government securities may include inflation-indexed fixed income securities, such as U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). The interest rate of TIPS, which is set at auction, remains fixed throughout the term of the security and the principal amount of the security is adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted principal is not paid until maturity.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. Each Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
The Small Cap Value and All-Cap Value Funds do not presently intend to invest more than 5% of each Funds respective net assets in U.S. government obligations.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 Funds 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 a Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that are unforeseeable. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude a Funds 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 Funds holdings.
NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS
Commercial Paper. Each Fund may purchase commercial paper rated (at the time of purchase) A-1 by S&P ® or Prime-1 by Moodys or, when deemed advisable by the Adviser, issues rated A-2 or Prime-2 by S&P ® or Moodys, respectively. These rating categories are described in Appendix A to this SAI. The Funds may also purchase unrated commercial paper provided that such paper is determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser pursuant to guidelines approved by the Companys Board of Directors. Commercial paper issues in which a Fund may invest include securities issued by corporations without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act) in reliance on the exemption from such registration afforded by Section 3(a) (3) thereof, and commercial paper issued in reliance on the so-called private placement exemption from registration, which is afforded by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act (Section 4(2) paper). Section 4(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws in that any resale must similarly be made in an exempt transaction. Section 4(2) paper is normally resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of investment dealers who make a market in Section 4(2) paper, thus providing liquidity. Each Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in commercial paper.
Cyber Security Risk. The Funds and their service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting a Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact a Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact a Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject a Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Funds may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which a Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Futures Contracts. The Long/Short Research Fund, WPG Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may invest in 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, a Fund can seek to offset a decline in the value of its current portfolio securities through the sale of futures contracts. When interest rates are falling or securities prices are rising, a 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.
To seek to increase total return, to equalize cash or to hedge against changes in interest rates or securities prices a Fund may purchase and sell various kinds of futures contracts, and purchase and write call and put options on any of such futures contracts. A Fund may also enter into closing purchase and sale transactions with respect to any of such contracts and options. The futures contracts may be based on various securities (such as U.S. government securities), securities indices, and any other financial instruments and indices. A Fund will engage in futures and related options transactions for bona fide hedging purposes as described below or for purposes of seeking to increase total return, in each case, only to the extent permitted by regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). All futures contracts entered into by a Fund are traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that are licensed and regulated by the CFTC or on foreign exchanges.
The Funds will limit investments in futures to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds).
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets.
Positions taken in the futures markets are not normally held to maturity but are instead liquidated through offsetting transactions, which may result in a profit or a loss. While futures contracts on securities will usually be liquidated in this manner, a Fund may instead make, or take, delivery of the underlying securities or currency whenever it appears economically advantageous to do so. A clearing corporation associated with the exchange on which futures on securities are traded guarantees that, if still open, the sale or purchase will be performed on the settlement date. Hedging, by use of futures contracts, seeks to establish with more certainty than would otherwise be possible the effective price or rate of return on portfolio securities or securities that a Fund proposes to acquire or the exchange rate of currencies in which portfolio securities are quoted or denominated. A 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 that would adversely affect the value of the Funds portfolio securities. Such futures contracts may include contracts for the future delivery of securities held by a Fund or securities with characteristics similar to those of the Funds portfolio securities. If, in the opinion of the Adviser, there is a sufficient degree of correlation between price trends for a Funds 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 its hedging strategy. Although under some circumstances prices of securities in a Funds portfolio may be more or less volatile than prices of such futures contracts, the 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 seeking to achieve only a partial hedge against price changes affecting the Funds 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 a Funds portfolio securities would be substantially offset by a decline in the value of the futures position.
On other occasions, a Fund may take a long position by purchasing futures contracts. This would be done, for example, when a Fund anticipates the subsequent purchase of particular securities when it has the necessary cash, but expects the prices then available in the applicable market to be less favorable than prices that are currently available.
Options on Futures Contracts. The WPG Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may purchase and sell various kinds of futures contracts, and purchase and write call and put options on any of such futures contracts. The acquisition of put and call options on futures contracts will give the Funds 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, a 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 Funds assets. By writing a call option, a Fund becomes obligated, in exchange for the premium, (upon exercise of the option) to sell a futures contract if the option is exercised, which may have a value higher than the exercise price. Conversely, 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, a Fund becomes obligated (upon 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 a Fund in writing options on futures is potentially unlimited and may exceed the amount of the premium received. A 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 Funds ability to establish and close out positions on such options will be subject to the development and maintenance of a liquid market.
The Funds will engage in futures and related options transactions for bona fide hedging and to seek to increase total return as permitted by the CFTC regulations. The Funds will determine that the price fluctuations in the futures contracts and options on futures used for hedging purposes are substantially related to price fluctuations in securities held by the Funds or securities or instruments which it expects to purchase. Except as stated below, the Funds futures transactions will be entered into for traditional hedging purposes i.e., futures contracts will be sold to protect against a decline in the price of securities that the Funds own or futures contracts will be purchased to protect the Funds against an increase in the price of securities it intends to purchase. As evidence of this hedging intent, each Fund expects that on 75% or more of the occasions on which it takes a long futures or option position (involving the purchase of futures contracts), the Fund will have purchased, or will be in the process of purchasing, equivalent amounts of related securities in the cash market at the time when the futures or option position is closed out. However, in particular cases, when it is economically advantageous for the Fund to do so, a long futures position may be terminated or an option may expire without the corresponding purchase of securities or other assets.
The Funds will engage in transactions in currency forward contracts, futures contracts and options only to the extent such transactions are consistent with the requirements of 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 some cases, may require the applicable Fund to establish a segregated account consisting of cash or liquid securities in an amount equal to the underlying value of such contracts and options.
The use of futures contracts entails certain risks, including but not limited to the following: no assurance that futures contracts transactions can be offset at favorable prices; possible reduction of the Funds income due to the use of hedging; possible reduction in value of both the securities hedged and the hedging instrument; possible lack of liquidity due to daily limits on price fluctuations; imperfect correlation between the contract and the securities being hedged; and potential losses in excess of the amount initially invested in the futures contracts themselves. If the expectations of the Adviser regarding movements in securities prices or interest rates are incorrect, the Fund may have experienced better investment results without hedging. The use of futures contracts and options on futures contracts requires special skills in addition to those needed to select portfolio securities.
While transactions in futures contracts and options on futures may reduce certain risks, such transactions themselves entail certain other risks. Thus, while a Fund may benefit from the use of futures and options on futures, unanticipated changes in interest rates or securities prices may result in a poorer overall performance for a Fund than if it had not entered into any futures contracts or options transactions. 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 a Fund may be exposed to risk of loss.
Perfect correlation between a Funds futures positions and portfolio positions will be impossible to achieve. There are no futures contracts based upon individual securities, except certain U.S. government securities. Other futures contracts available to hedge the Funds portfolio investments generally are limited to futures on various securities indices.
Holding Company Depository Receipts. The Funds may invest in Holding Company Depository Receipts (HOLDRS). HOLDRS represent trust-issued receipts that represent individual and undivided beneficial ownership interests in the common stock or ADRs of specific companies in a particular industry, sector or group. Each of the Funds do not presently intend to invest more than 5% of their respective net assets in HOLDRS.
Indexed Securities. The Funds may invest in indexed securities whose value is linked to securities indices. Most such securities have values which rise and fall according to the change in one or more specified indices, and may have characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying securities. Depending on the index, such securities may have greater volatility than the market as a whole. Each of the Funds do not presently intend to invest more than 5% of their respective net assets in indexed securities.
Money Market Instruments. Each Fund may invest a portion of its assets in short-term, high-quality instruments for purposes of temporary defensive measures, which instruments include, among other things, bank obligations. Bank obligations include bankers acceptances, negotiable certificates of deposit, and non-negotiable time deposits earning a specified return and issued by a U.S. bank which is a member of the Federal Reserve System or insured by the Bank Insurance Fund of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), or by a savings and loan association or savings bank which is insured by the Savings Association Insurance Fund of the FDIC. Such deposits are not FDIC insured and a Fund bears the risk of bank failure. Bank obligations also include U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks and obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks. Such investments may involve risks that are different from investments in securities of domestic branches of U.S. banks. These risks may include future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions which might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held in a Fund. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. A Fund will invest in obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks only when the Adviser believes that the risks associated with such investment are minimal. The value of money market instruments tends to fall when current interest rates rise. Money market instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than longer-term securities.
Purchase Warrants. Each Fund may invest in purchase warrants and similar rights. Purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security. These Funds may not invest more than 5% of each Funds respective net assets in purchase warrants and similar rights.
Repurchase Agreements. The Funds may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price (repurchase agreements). The securities held subject to a repurchase agreement may have stated maturities exceeding 397 days, provided the repurchase agreement itself matures in less than 13 months. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose a Fund to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
The repurchase price under the repurchase agreements described above generally equals the price paid by a Fund plus interest negotiated on the basis of current short-term rates (which may be more or less than the rate on the securities underlying the repurchase agreement). The financial institutions with whom the Funds may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks which the Adviser considers creditworthy pursuant to criteria approved by the Board of Directors and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities that are listed on the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks list of reporting dealers. The Adviser will consider the creditworthiness of a seller in determining whether to have a Fund enter into a repurchase agreement. The seller under a repurchase agreement will be required to maintain the value of the securities subject to the agreement at not less than the repurchase price plus accrued interest. The Adviser will mark to market daily the value of the securities, and will, if necessary, require the seller to maintain additional securities, to ensure that the value is not less than the repurchase price.
Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose a Fund to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Funds may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities for temporary purposes (such as to obtain cash to meet redemption requests) when the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed disadvantageous or inconvenient by the Adviser. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by a Fund subject to the Funds agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Such agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act, and may be entered into only for temporary or emergency purposes. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, a Fund will maintain in a segregated account with the Funds custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement and will monitor the account to ensure that such value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase and the interest received on the cash exchanged for the securities.
Temporary Investments. Although the Funds invest primarily in equity securities, for temporary defensive purposes, the Funds may hold cash or invest in a variety of money market instruments and short-term and medium-term debt securities including: (a) obligations of the United States or foreign governments, their respective agencies or instrumentalities; (b) bank deposits and bank obligations (including certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers acceptances) of U.S. or foreign banks denominated in any currency; (c) floating rate securities and other instruments denominated in any currency issued by international development agencies; (d) finance company and corporate commercial paper and other short-term corporate debt obligations of U.S. and foreign corporations; and (e) repurchase agreements with banks and broker-dealers with respect to such securities.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Funds have adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to the Funds without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectuses, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of a Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the particular Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such Fund are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such Fund. Each Funds investment goals and strategies described in the Prospectuses may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without the approval of the Funds shareholders.
Each Boston Partners Fund other than the Long/Short Research Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund, may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that each Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements, and the Small Cap Value Fund, All-Cap Value Fund and Global Long/Short Fund may enter into dollar rolls for temporary purposes in amounts up to one-third of the value of each Funds respective total assets at the time of such borrowing and provided that, for any borrowing with respect to the All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund and Global Long/Short Fund there is at least 300% asset coverage for the borrowings of the Fund. A Fund may not mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing. However, with respect to the All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund and Global Long/Short Fund the amount shall not be in excess of lesser of the dollar amounts borrowed or 33 1/3% of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing, provided that for the All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund and Global Long/Short Fund: (a) short sales and related borrowings of securities are not subject to this restriction; and (b) for the purposes of this restriction, collateral arrangements with respect to options, short sales, stock index, interest rate, currency or other futures, options on futures contracts, collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin and collateral arrangements with respect to swaps and other derivatives are not deemed to be a pledge or other encumbrance of assets, and provided that for the All-Cap Value Fund, any collateral arrangements with respect to the writing of options, futures contracts and options on futures contracts and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets. The Small Cap Value and All-Cap Value Funds will not purchase securities while aggregate borrowings
(including reverse repurchase agreements, dollar rolls and borrowings from banks) are in excess of 5% of total assets. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with a Funds investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation; (For purposes of this Limitation No. 1, any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets).
2. Issue any senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act; (For purposes of this Limitation No. 2, neither the collateral arrangements with respect to options and futures identified in Limitation No. 1, nor the purchase or sale of futures or related options are deemed to be the issuance of senior securities).
3. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the Securities Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
5. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that a Fund may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures;
6. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan; or
7. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers in any particular industry (excluding the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities).
Additionally, each Boston Partners Fund other than the Long/Short Research Fund, Global Equity Fund, and Global Long/Short Fund may not:
Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 1, collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets and neither such arrangements nor the purchase or sale of futures or related options are deemed to be the issuance of a senior security for purposes of Investment Limitation No. 2. Neither the purchase nor the sale of futures or related options will be deemed to be the issuance of senior securities because such transactions will be covered by the segregation of cash or liquid assets or by other means in compliance with applicable SEC guidance.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Long/Short Equity Fund may not:
Purchase any securities which would cause 25% or more of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of purchase to be invested in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that (a) there is no limitation with respect to (i) instruments issued or guaranteed by the United States, any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any of their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, and (ii) repurchase agreements secured by the instruments described in clause (i); (b) wholly-owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents; and (c) utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Long/Short Equity Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations. These non-fundamental restrictions may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Long/Short Equity Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by the Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management; or
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, transactions in currencies or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
The Long/Short Research Fund may not:
1. Borrow money except that (a) the Fund may borrow from banks or through reverse repurchase agreements in amounts up to 33 1 / 3 % of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed); and (b) the Fund may engage in transactions in mortgage dollar rolls which are accounted for as financings. For purposes of this limitation, investment strategies which either obligate the Fund to purchase securities or require the Fund to segregate assets are not considered to be borrowings. Asset coverage of at least 300% is required for all borrowings, except where the Fund has borrowed money for temporary purposes in amounts not exceeding 5% of its total assets;
2. Issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act, except as permitted by rule, regulation or order of the SEC;
3. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the Securities Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
5. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures;
6. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan;
7. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers in any particular industry (excluding the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities); or
8. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Long/Short Research Fund may not:
Purchase any securities which would cause 25% or more of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of purchase to be invested in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that (a) there is no limitation with respect to (i) instruments issued or guaranteed by the United States, any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any of their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, and (ii) repurchase agreements secured by the instruments described in clause (i); (b) wholly-owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents; (c) utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry; (d) and the Fund may invest up to 30% in ETFs to the extent permitted for the 1940 Act and applicable SEC orders.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Long/Short Research Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations. These non-fundamental restrictions may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Long/Short Research Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by the Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management; or
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, transactions in currencies or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
3. Pledge, manage or hypothecate assets, except as permitted by the 1940 Act.
Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.
The Global Equity Fund may not:
1. Borrow money except that a Fund may borrow from banks or through reverse repurchase agreements in amounts up to 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed). For purposes of this limitation, investment strategies which either obligate a Fund to purchase securities or require the Fund to segregate assets are not considered to be borrowings. Asset coverage of at least 300% is required for all borrowings, except where a Fund has borrowed money for temporary purposes in amounts not exceeding 5% of its total assets;
2. Issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act, except as permitted by rule, regulation or order of the SEC;
3. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the Securities Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on
purchases of restricted securities;
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
5. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that a Fund may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures;
6. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan; or
7. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers in any particular industry (excluding the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities); or
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Global Equity Fund may not:
Purchase any securities which would cause 25% or more of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of purchase to be invested in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that (a) there is no limitation with respect to (i) instruments issued or guaranteed by the United States or any of its authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, and (ii) repurchase agreements secured by the instruments described in clause (i); (b) wholly-owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents; and (c) utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Global Equity Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations. These non-fundamental restrictions may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by a Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management; or
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that a Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, transactions in currencies or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
3. Pledge, manage or hypothecate assets, except as permitted by the 1940 Act.
4. Hold illiquid securities in an amount exceeding, in the aggregate, 15% of the Funds net assets.
Any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, short sales and other similar instruments, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets.
Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.
The Global Long/Short Fund may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements for temporary purposes in amounts up to one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing and provided that there is at least 300% asset coverage for the borrowings of the Fund. The Fund may not mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing. However, the amount shall not be in excess of lesser of the dollar amounts borrowed or 33 1/3% of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing, provided that: (a) short sales and related borrowings of securities are not subject to this restriction; and (b) for the purposes of this restriction, collateral arrangements with respect to options, short sales, stock index, interest rate, currency or other futures, options on futures contracts, collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin and collateral arrangements with respect to swaps and other derivatives are not deemed to be a pledge or other encumbrance of assets. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with the Funds investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation; (For purposes of this Limitation No. 1, any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets);
2. Issue any senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act; (For purposes of this Limitation No. 2, neither the collateral arrangements with respect to options and futures identified in Limitation No. 1, nor the purchase or sale of futures or related options are deemed to be the issuance of senior securities);
3. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the Securities Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
5. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures;
6. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan; or
7. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers in any particular industry (excluding the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities).
For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 1, collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets and neither such arrangements nor the purchase or sale of futures or related options are deemed to be the issuance of a senior security for purposes of Investment Limitation No. 2. Neither the purchase nor the sale of futures or related options will be deemed to be the issuance of senior securities because such transactions will be covered by the segregation of cash or liquid assets or by other means in compliance with applicable SEC guidance.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Global Long/Short Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations. These non-fundamental restrictions may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by the Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management; or
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, transactions in currencies or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
3. Hold illiquid securities in an amount exceeding, in the aggregate, 15% of the Funds net assets.
The Boston Partners Funds may invest in securities issued by other investment companies within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. As a shareholder of another investment company, a Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment companys expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that a Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.
Securities held by the Boston Partners Funds generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser or its affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act. Neither the Company nor the Adviser has obtained such an exemptive order.
If a percentage restriction under one of the Boston Partners Funds investment policies or limitations or the use of assets is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities issued by the Fund).
The WPG Fund may not:
1. Purchase securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activity in the same industry, if immediately after such purchase the value of its investments in such industry would exceed 25% or more of its total assets provided that this restriction shall not apply to securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities; provided, however, that the Fund may invest all or part of its investable assets in an open-end investment company with substantially the same investment objective, policies and restrictions as the Fund.
2. With respect to 75% of its total assets, the Fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or authorities or repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities and other investment companies), if:
(a) such purchase would cause more than 5% of the Funds total assets taken at market value to be invested in the securities of such issuer; or
(b) such purchase would at the time result in more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer being held by the Fund; provided, however, that the Fund may invest all or part of its investable assets in an open-end investment company with substantially the same investment objective, policies and restrictions as the Fund.
3. Lease, acquire, purchase, sell or hold real estate, but it may lease office space for its own use and invest in marketable securities of companies holding real estate or interests in real estate, including real estate investment trusts.
4. Purchase or sell commodities or commodities contracts, except futures contracts, including but not limited to contracts for the future delivery of securities and contracts based on securities indices and options on such futures contracts, and forward foreign currency exchange contracts.
5. Lend money, except that it may (i) invest in all or a portion of an issue of bonds, debentures and other obligations distributed publicly or of a type commonly purchased by financial institutions (e.g., certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances or other short-term debt obligations) or other debt obligations in accordance with its objectives or (ii) enter into repurchase agreements; provided that the
Fund will not enter into repurchase agreements of more than one weeks duration if more than 15% of its net assets would be invested therein together with other illiquid or not readily marketable securities.
6. Lend its portfolio securities unless the borrower is a broker, dealer, bank or other qualified financial institution; provided that the terms, the structure and the aggregate amount of such loans are not inconsistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and regulations or interpretations of the SEC thereunder.
7. Engage in the business of underwriting the securities of others, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act when it purchases or sells portfolio securities; provided, however, that the Fund may invest all or part of its investable assets in an open-end investment company with substantially the same investment objective, policies and restrictions as the Fund.
8. Borrow money except as a temporary measure to facilitate the meeting of redemption requests or for extraordinary or emergency purposes, provided that the aggregate amount of such borrowings may not exceed 33% of the value of the Funds total assets (including the amount borrowed), at the time of such borrowing.
9. Issue senior securities except as permitted under the 1940 Act and except that the Fund may issue shares of beneficial interest in multiple classes or series.
The Fund may, notwithstanding any other fundamental or non-fundamental investment restriction or policy, invest all of its assets in the securities of a single open-end investment company with substantially the same investment objectives, restrictions and policies as that Fund.
For purposes of the above fundamental investment restrictions regarding industry concentration, the Adviser generally classifies issuers by industry in accordance with classifications established by nationally recognized third-party statistical information services, such as S&P. In the absence of such classification or if the Adviser determines in good faith based on its own information that the economic characteristics affecting a particular issuer make it more appropriately considered to be engaged in a different industry, the Adviser may classify an issuer according to its own sources.
In addition to the fundamental policies mentioned above, the Board has adopted the following non-fundamental policies which may be changed or amended by action of the Board without approval of shareholders. So long as these non-fundamental restrictions are in effect, the Fund may not:
(a) Invest in the securities of an issuer for the purpose of exercising control or management, but it may do so where it is deemed advisable to protect or enhance the value of an existing investment.
(b) Purchase securities of any other investment company except as permitted by the 1940 Act.
(c) Purchase securities on margin, except any short-term credits, which may be necessary for the clearance of transactions and the initial, or maintenance margin in connection with options and futures contracts and related options.
(d) Invest more than 15% of its net assets in securities which are illiquid.
(e) Purchase additional securities if the Funds borrowings exceed 5% of its net assets.
Except with respect to the WPG Funds fundamental investment restriction regarding borrowings, any investment limitation of the WPG Fund that is expressed as a percentage is determined at the time of investment by the Fund. An increase or decrease in a Funds net asset value or a companys market capitalization subsequent to a Funds initial investment will not affect the Funds compliance with the percentage limitation or the companys status as small, medium or large cap. From time to time, the Adviser may include as small, medium or large cap certain companies having market capitalizations outside the definitions described in the Prospectuses. Under the 1940 Act, the WPG Fund will be required to maintain continuous asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the applicable Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage, within three days (not including weekends and holidays) or such longer period as the rules and regulations of the SEC prescribe. In addition, under the 1940 Act, the WPG Fund may not invest more than 5% of its assets in the securities of any issuer that derives more than 15% of its gross revenue from a securities-related business, unless an exemption is available under the 1940 Act or the rules thereunder.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Funds, a policy relating to the disclosure of each Funds portfolio securities to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interest of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of a Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Adviser currently makes the Funds complete portfolio holdings, top ten holdings, sector weightings and other portfolio characteristics publicly available on its web site, www.boston-partners.com as disclosed in the following table:
Information Posting |
|
Frequency of Disclosure |
|
Date of Web Posting |
Complete Portfolio Holdings |
|
Monthly/Quarterly* |
|
15 days after the end of each calendar month for the Funds |
|
|
|
|
|
Top 10 Portfolio Holdings and
|
|
Monthly/Quarterly |
|
10 days after the end of each calendar month for the Funds |
* For the All-Cap Value Fund, Long/Short Equity Fund, Long/Short Research Fund and Global Long/Short Fund, the complete long positions only for the Funds will be publicly available on the Advisers website at www.boston-partners.com.
The scope of the information relating to the Funds portfolios that is made available on the web site may change from time to time without notice. The Adviser or its affiliates may include each Funds portfolio information that has already been made public through a Web posting or SEC filing in marketing literature and other communications to shareholders, advisors or other parties, provided that, in the case of information made public through the Web, the information is disclosed no earlier than the day after the date of posting to the Web site.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers of the Company, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; Merrill Corporation and Command Financial, the financial printers; and RiskMetrics Group, the Funds proxy voting service. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Funds. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions). Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in a Funds portfolio.
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15-day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement
and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolios.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Funds.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Product Development, Contract, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky
|
|
Director |
|
1988 to present |
|
From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
|
23 |
|
AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall
|
|
Director |
|
2002 to present |
|
Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler
|
|
Director |
|
2012 to present |
|
Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
|
23 |
|
Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano
|
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
|
23 |
|
Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices). |
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
Diane Drake 301
|
|
Secretary |
|
2014 to present |
|
Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010, Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw
|
|
Assistant
|
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Senior Director and Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy
|
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
|
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed. |
|
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company. |
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and also serves on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr.
Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened twice during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Giordano, Reichman, Sablowsky and Chandler. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee convened once during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Reichman, Sablowsky, Straniere and Nusblatt. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Reichman, Sablowsky and Nusblatt. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened twice during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Funds and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013.
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Over $100,000 |
J. Richard Carnall |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
$1-$10,000 |
|
$1-10,000 |
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
Robert Sablowsky |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Over $100,000 |
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the
Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director (except Mr. Nusblatt) a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services. Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Funds in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
27,058.16 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
27,852.97 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
30,762.33 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
30,256.90 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
34,676.92 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
25,969.80 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
None |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
None |
|
||
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
29,380.94 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
131,017.09 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from each of the Funds in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Boston
|
|
Boston
|
|
Boston
|
|
Boston
|
|
||||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,548.74 |
|
$ |
4025.21 |
|
$ |
4,940.88 |
|
$ |
14,753.60 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,849.70 |
|
$ |
4,061.81 |
|
$ |
4,731.81 |
|
$ |
14,233.27 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
$ |
2,074.66 |
|
$ |
4,509.29 |
|
$ |
5,223.04 |
|
$ |
15,555.23 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
2,045.65 |
|
$ |
4,422.70 |
|
$ |
5,189.27 |
|
$ |
15,284.16 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
2,526.23 |
|
$ |
5,084.22 |
|
$ |
5,869.58 |
|
$ |
16,793.75 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,777.00 |
|
$ |
3,795.10 |
|
$ |
4,390.99 |
|
$ |
13,060.38 |
|
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Boston
|
|
Boston
|
|
Boston
|
|
Boston
|
|
||||
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
None |
|
None |
|
||||
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,855.40 |
|
$ |
4,315.65 |
|
$ |
5,030.94 |
|
$ |
15,385.72 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
14,287.55 |
|
$ |
19,871.06 |
|
$ |
22,631.61 |
|
$ |
43,278.98 |
|
Name of Director/Officer |
|
WPG Partners
|
|
Boston Partners
|
|
Boston Partners
|
|
|||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
786.52 |
|
$ |
751.01 |
|
$ |
252.20 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,224.59 |
|
$ |
1,208.05 |
|
$ |
543.74 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
$ |
1,401.87 |
|
$ |
1,392.31 |
|
$ |
605.93 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
1,366.58 |
|
$ |
1,343.34 |
|
$ |
605.20 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
1,802.92 |
|
$ |
1,787.58 |
|
$ |
812.64 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,207.43 |
|
$ |
1,196.38 |
|
$ |
542.52 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|||
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,170.96 |
|
$ |
1,160.39 |
|
$ |
461.88 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA, Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
12,545.92 |
|
$ |
12,380.29 |
|
$ |
6,021.68 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by each Fund to the Funds Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, each Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Funds. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser has adopted proxy voting procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Funds. The Adviser employs a third party service provider, RiskMetrics Group, to assist in the voting of proxies. These procedures have been provided to the service provider, who analyzes the proxies and makes recommendations, based on the Advisers policy, as to how to vote such proxies. A copy of the Advisers Proxy Voting Policy is included with this SAI. Please see Appendix B to this SAI for further information.
Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-261-4073 or by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014 , to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of each Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund and |
|
Number of Shares Owned |
|
Percentage of Shares Owned |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
as of December 1, 2014 |
|
as of December 1, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC |
|
179,590.011 |
|
8.10 |
% |
REINVEST ACCOUNT |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN: MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT |
|
|
|
|
|
101 MONTGOMERY STREET |
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94101-0000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE |
|
129,144.157 |
|
5.82 |
% |
FENNER & SMITH |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN: TRANSFER SUPERVISOR |
|
|
|
|
|
MUTUAL FUNDS OPERATIONS |
|
|
|
|
|
4800 DEER LAKE DR EAST - 3RD FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
JACKSONVILLE FL 32246 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II Institutional Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC |
|
1,981,029.085 |
|
34.51 |
% |
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCOUNT FOR |
|
|
|
|
|
BENE OF CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
101 MONTGOMERY ST |
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94104-4122 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES |
|
1,820,926.254 |
|
31.72 |
% |
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR |
|
|
|
|
|
CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
499 WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PLUMBERS AND STEAMFITTERS |
|
642,316.988 |
|
11.19 |
% |
LOCAL NO 7 PENSION FUND |
|
|
|
|
|
ROBERT W VALENTY ADMINSTRATOR |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
499 WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC |
|
1,576,477.864 |
|
16.68 |
% |
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCOUNT FOR |
|
|
|
|
|
BENE OF CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
101 MONTGOMERY ST |
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94104-4122 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TD AMERITRADE INC FOR THE |
|
694,083.795 |
|
7.34 |
% |
EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CLIENTS |
|
|
|
|
|
PO BOX 2226 |
|
|
|
|
|
OMAHA NE 68103-2226 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund Institutional Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC |
|
87,701,271.781 |
|
24.33 |
% |
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR |
|
|
|
|
|
CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
499 WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC |
|
59,155,441.755 |
|
16.41 |
% |
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCOUNT FOR |
|
|
|
|
|
BENE OF CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
101 MONTGOMERY ST |
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94104-4122 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MLPF&S INC |
|
55,051,697.408 |
|
15.27 |
% |
FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
4800 DEER LAKE DR E |
|
|
|
|
|
JACKSONVILLE FL 32246-648 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund Investor Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC |
|
5,193,440.788 |
|
25.65 |
% |
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCOUNT FOR |
|
|
|
|
|
BENE OF CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
101 MONTGOMERY ST |
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94104-4122 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC |
|
4,941,076.579 |
|
24.41 |
% |
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR |
|
|
|
|
|
CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
499 WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. FBO |
|
1,292,893.517 |
|
6.39 |
% |
CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK, CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
HAWAII LABORERS PENSION FUND |
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC |
|
162,650.500 |
|
28.1685 |
|
SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCOUNT FOR |
|
|
|
|
|
BENE OF CUST |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
101 MONTGOMERY ST |
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94104-4122 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DCGT AS TTEE AND/OR CUST |
|
123,240.237 |
|
21.34 |
% |
FBO PLIC VARIOUS RETIREMENT PLANS |
|
|
|
|
|
OMNIBUS |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN NPIO TRADE DESK |
|
|
|
|
|
711 HIGH STREET |
|
|
|
|
|
DES MOINES, IA 50303 |
|
|
|
|
|
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Portfolio of the Company except for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund of which they owned 2.04% and Schneider Value Fund of which they owned 2.70%.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Investment Adviser
The Adviser, located at 909 Third Avenue, 32 nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, is a subsidiary of Robeco Groep N.V., a Dutch public limited liability company (Robeco Groep). Founded in 1929, Robeco Groep is one of the worlds oldest asset management organizations. Robeco Groep is primarily owned by ORIX Corporation, an integrated financial services group based in Tokyo, Japan. The Adviser provides investment management and investment advisory services to other institutional and proprietary accounts.
The Adviser has investment discretion for the Funds and will make all decisions affecting the assets of those Funds under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors and in accordance with each Funds stated policies. The Adviser will select investments for the Funds.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Funds, including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Funds, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained or sold by the Funds, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales made for the Funds. The Adviser will provide the services rendered by it in accordance with the Funds investment goals, restrictions and policies as stated in the Prospectuses and in this SAI.
For its services to the Boston Partners Funds under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee computed at an annual rate of 1.00% of the Small Cap Value Funds average daily net assets, 2.25% of the Long/Short Equity Funds average daily net assets, 1.25% of the Long/Short Research Funds average daily net assets, 0.80% of the All-Cap Value Funds average daily net assets, 0.90% of the Global Equity Funds average daily net assets, and 1.50% of the Global Long/Short Funds average daily net assets, respectively.
The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain the following expense ratios (excluding certain items noted below) for the Boston Partners Funds:
|
|
Institutional |
|
Investor |
|
Long/Short Equity Fund |
|
2.50 |
% |
2.75 |
% |
All-Cap Value Fund |
|
0.70 |
% |
0.95 |
% |
Long/Short Research Fund |
|
1.50 |
% |
1.75 |
% |
Global Long/Short Fund |
|
2.00 |
% |
2.25 |
% |
Global Equity Fund |
|
0.95 |
% |
1.20 |
% |
Small Cap Value Fund |
|
1.10 |
% |
1.35 |
% |
These limits are calculated daily based on the Funds average daily net assets. These limitations are effected in waivers of advisory fees and reimbursements of expenses exceeding the advisory fee as necessary. The contractual limitations are in effect until at least December 31, 2015, (December 31, 2016 with respect to Small Cap Value Fund) and may not be terminated without approval of the Companys Board of Directors.
For the Long/Short Research Fund, Global Long/Short Fund and Global Equity Fund, effective as of the effective date of a Funds first advisory agreement with the Adviser, if at any time, the Funds total annual operating expenses for that year are less than 1.50% for the Institutional Class and 1.75% for the Investor Class of the Long/Short Research Fund, or 2.00% for the Institutional Class and 2.25% for the Investor Class of the Global Long/Short Fund, or 0.95% for the Institutional and 1.20% for the Investor Class of the Global Equity Fund, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by such Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to such Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made.
The Adviser may not recoup any of its waived investment advisory fees with respect to Long/Short Equity Fund and All-Cap Value Fund.
For Small Cap Value Fund, from September 1, 2013 through May 27, 2014, Boston Partners had contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) exceeds 1.30% and 1.55%, of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares, respectively. Effective May 28, 2014, Boston Partners has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the total annual Fund operating expenses exceeds 1.10% and 1.35%, of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares, respectively. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2016 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board of Directors. If at any time during the three years from May 28, 2014 to May 28, 2017 in which the Funds Advisory Agreement is in effect, the Funds total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding certain items discussed below) for that year are less than 1.10% for the Institutional Class and 1.35% for the Investor Class, Boston Partners is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees foregone and other payments remitted by Boston Partners to the Fund during such three-year period.
For its services to the WPG Fund, for the period September 1, 2013 through May 27, 2014, the Adviser was entitled to receive advisory fees, accrued daily and paid monthly, as follows:
· 0.90% of average daily net assets up to $300 million
· 0.80% of average daily net assets $300 million to $500 million
· 0.75% of average daily net assets in excess of $500 million
Effective May 28, 2014, for its services to the WPG Fund, the Adviser was entitled to receive advisory fees, accrued daily and paid monthly, as follows:
· 0.80% of average daily net assets up to $500 million
· 0.75% of average daily net assets in excess of $500 million
From September 1, 2013 through May 27, 2014, the Adviser had contractually agreed to limit the WPG Funds total annual fund operating expenses (excluding certain items noted below) to 1.70% of the WPG Funds average daily net assets. Effective May 28, 2014, the Adviser contractually agreed to limit the WPG Funds total annual fund operating expenses (excluding certain items below) to 1.10% of the WPG Funds average daily net assets. The contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2016 and may not be terminated without approval of
the Companys Board of Directors. If at any time during the three years from May 28, 2014 to May 28, 2017 in which the WPG Funds Advisory Agreement is in effect, the Funds total annual Fund operating expenses for that year are less than 1.10%, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees waived and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund during such three year period. .
In determining the Advisers obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause a Funds net annualized expense ratio to exceed the applicable expense limitation: acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes and other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time. .
The Global Long/Short Fund did not pay Robeco any advisory fees for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2013 and August 31, 2012 because the Fund had not yet commenced operations. For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, the Boston Partners Funds paid Robeco advisory fees and Robeco waived advisory fees as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Advisory Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
1,924,149 |
|
$ |
41,219 |
|
$ |
|
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
18,970,872 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
4,342,167 |
|
$ |
1,880,600 |
|
$ |
|
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
46,092,928 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
Global Equity |
|
$ |
245,536 |
|
$ |
217,404 |
|
$ |
|
|
Global Long/Short* |
|
$ |
86,187 |
|
$ |
87,459 |
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
August 31, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
1,448,490 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
17,532,119 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
2,179,642 |
|
$ |
1,110,198 |
|
$ |
|
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
10,047,138 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
(313,040 |
) |
Global Equity |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
104,236 |
|
$ |
98,007 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
August 31, 2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
1,066,567 |
|
$ |
70,808 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
12,904,500 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
1,246,620 |
|
$ |
870,649 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
1,931,592 |
|
$ |
57,012 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Equity |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
63,818 |
|
$ |
70,002 |
|
* The Institutional Class and Investor Class of the Global Long/Short Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2013 and April 11, 2014, respectively.
For services provided by the Adviser to the WPG Fund for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, the following advisory fees were paid:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Advisory Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
WPG Fund |
|
$ |
367,147 |
|
$ |
27,146 |
|
$ |
|
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
WPG Fund |
|
$ |
367,417 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
WPG Fund |
|
$ |
323,721 |
|
$ |
228 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Each class of the Funds bears its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by a portfolio include, but are not limited to the expenses listed in the Prospectuses and the following (or a portfolios share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by a portfolio and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of a portfolio by the Adviser; (c) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or a portfolio for violation of any law; (d) any extraordinary expenses; (e) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (f) the cost of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers; (g) organizational costs; (h) fees to the investment advisers and BNY Mellon; (i) fees and expenses of officers and Directors who are not affiliated with a portfolios investment adviser or Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (Foreside Distributors); (j) taxes; (k) interest; (l) legal fees; (m) custodian fees; (n) auditing fees; (o) brokerage fees and commissions; (p) certain of the fees and expenses of registering and qualifying the portfolios and their shares for distribution under federal and state securities laws; (q) expenses of preparing prospectuses and statements of additional information and distributing annually to existing shareholders that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (r) the expense of reports to shareholders, shareholders meetings and proxy solicitations that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (s) fidelity bond and directors and officers liability insurance premiums; (t) the expense of using independent pricing services; and (u) other expenses which are not expressly assumed by a portfolios investment adviser under its advisory agreement with the portfolio. Each class of the Funds pays its own distribution fees, if applicable, and may pay a different share than other classes of other expenses (excluding advisory and custodial fees) if those expenses are actually incurred in a different amount by such class or if it receives different services.
Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Funds or the Company in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of their respective duties or from reckless disregard of their duties and obligations there under.
At a regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company held on May 13, 2014(with regard to all Funds), the Board of Directors of the Company, including a majority of those Directors who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of such parties, approved the Advisory Agreement.
The Advisory Agreement is terminable with respect to each Fund by vote of the Companys Board of Directors or by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, at any time without penalty, on 60 days written notice to Robeco. The Advisory Agreement may also be terminated by Robeco on 60 days written notice to the Company. The Advisory Agreement terminates automatically in the event of assignment thereof. Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Funds Advisory Agreement may be reviewed in the Funds annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (888) 261-4073 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
Portfolio Managers
Description of Compensation . Portfolio managers compensation generally is comprised of a base salary and a discretionary bonus. The discretionary bonus is based upon the unique structure of each team and consideration may be given to one or more of the following criteria, depending on the team.
· Individual Contribution: a subjective evaluation of the professionals individual contribution based on the individuals goals and objectives established at the beginning of each year;
· Product Investment Performance: the performance of the investment product(s) with which the individual is involved versus the pre-designed index based on the excess return and the level of risk, or tracking error, of the product;
· Investment Team Performance: the financial results of the Portfolio Managers investment group; and
· Firm-Wide Performance: the overall financial performance of the firm.
Compensation for portfolio managers who are also members of the Advisers senior management team is typically derived from a base salary and a discretionary bonus. The bonus is largely tied to firm financial performance against established goals and aligned with the primary focus on investment performance results versus benchmarks.
The Adviser offers a profit participation plan that is centered on investment professionals and enables them to participate in the firms performance. The incentive plan provides for the issuance of restricted shares and options that represent 20% of the Advisers equity. The restricted shares and options vest over three to five years and are perpetual; when shares are redeemed, new shares may be issued. This feature ties investment professionals incentive to multi-period time frames.
Other Accounts . The table below discloses accounts, other than the Funds, for which each Portfolio Manager is primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management, as of August 31, 2014.
Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total # of
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
||
David M. Dabora* |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
5 |
|
$ |
488 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
116 |
|
George Gumpert* |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
5 |
|
$ |
488 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
116 |
|
Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total # of
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
||
Duilio Ramallo |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
1 |
|
$ |
7,582 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
44 |
|
$ |
3,925 |
|
2 |
|
$ |
376 |
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total # of
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
||
Joseph F. Feeney. Jr.* |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
2 |
|
$ |
58 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Eric Connerly* |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
2 |
|
$ |
58 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total # of
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
||
Robert T. Jones |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
1 |
|
$ |
125 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Ali Motamed |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
1 |
|
$ |
125 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Boston Partners Global Equity Fund
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total # of
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
||
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
2 |
|
$ |
601 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Christopher K. Hart |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
2 |
|
$ |
601 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Joshua Jones |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
2 |
|
$ |
601 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total # of
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
||
Richard A. Shuster* |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
4 |
|
$ |
246 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
1 |
|
$ |
111 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
8 |
|
$ |
513 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
116 |
|
Gregory N. Weiss* |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
4 |
|
$ |
246 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
1 |
|
$ |
111 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
8 |
|
$ |
513 |
|
1 |
|
$ |
116 |
|
Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total # of
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
||
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Christopher K. Hart |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Joshua Jones |
|
Other Registered Investment Company |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* The portfolio managers utilize a team based approach to other accounts managed. The portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of a portion of the total assets and number of accounts shown.
Conflict of Interest . Investment decisions for the Funds portfolios are made in conjunction with decisions for other accounts and/or funds for the same strategy. The adviser recognizes that potential conflicts may arise with respect to the side-by-side management of registered investment companies and investment accounts, which include privately offered funds, separately managed accounts of high net worth individuals and institutional investors, and the other funds. These risks include, but may not be limited to: differing fee structures (including performance based fees), differing investments selected for various vehicles, and inequitable allocation and aggregation trading practices. Private investment partnerships, registered funds and separately managed accounts are generally invested pari passu thus mitigating many of the perceived risk associated with simultaneous management if possible. Additionally, the Compliance Department has developed comprehensive monitoring policies and procedures designed to mitigate any actual or perceived conflicts.
Securities Ownership . The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager in the Fund or Funds managed by such Portfolio Manager as of August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares
|
Small Cap Value Fund II |
|
|
David Dabora |
|
Over $1,000,000 |
George Gumpert |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
All-Cap Value Fund |
|
|
Duilio Ramallo |
|
Over $1,000,000 |
Long/Short Equity Fund |
|
|
Robert Jones |
|
Over $1,000,000 |
Ali Motamed |
|
Over $1,000,000 |
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares
|
Long/Short Research Fund |
|
|
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. |
|
$500,001-$1,000,000 |
Eric Connerly |
|
$500,001-$1,000,000 |
Global Equity Fund |
|
|
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. |
|
Over $1,000,000 |
Christopher K. Hart |
|
$500,001-$1,000,000 |
Joshua Jones |
|
$0 |
|
|
|
WPG Partners Small /Micro Cap Value Fund |
|
|
Richard A. Shuster |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Gregory N. Weiss |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Global Long/Short Fund |
|
|
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr. |
|
$100,001-$500,000 |
Christopher K. Hart |
|
$501,000-$1,000,000 |
Joshua Jones |
|
$100,001-$500,000 |
Custodian Agreement
The Bank of New York Mellon, One Wall Street, New York, New York 10286 (the Custodian), is custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a Custodian Agreement dated July 18, 2011. Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of each Fund; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of each Fund; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of each Fund; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of each Funds portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Funds, provided that the Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Funds harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Funds have made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Funds under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian receives a fee based on each Funds average daily gross assets calculated daily and payable monthly, or a minimum monthly fee for each Fund, exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
Transfer Agency Agreement
BNY Mellon, 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Funds pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of each Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Funds to record owners of the shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Funds. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any other affiliate of BNY Mellon. For its services to the Funds under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Funds, subject to a minimum fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis, and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee, based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Funds Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Funds will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
Administration and Accounting Agreement
BNY Mellon serves as administrator to the Funds pursuant to administration and accounting services agreements (the Administration Agreements). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Funds statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Funds. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies and prepare materials required by the SEC or any state securities commission having jurisdiction over the Funds. The Administration Agreements provide that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard. For its services to the Boston Partners Funds and the WPG Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of:
· 0.08% of each Funds first $250 million of average daily net assets;
· 0.065% of each Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets;
· 0.055% of each Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets;
· 0.040% of each Funds next $750 million of average daily net assets; and
· 0.03% of each Funds average daily net assets in excess of $1.5 billion.
The minimum monthly fee will be $5,417 for each of the Funds, exclusive of Rule 38a-1 base compliance support services fees, costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
The Administration Agreements provide that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or a Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Funds registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, the Boston Partners Funds paid BNY Mellon administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees and related out-of-pocket expenses as follows:
Fund |
|
Administration,
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
185,362 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
636,603 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
1,714,055 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
All Cap Value |
|
$ |
565,371 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Fund |
|
Administration,
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Global Equity |
|
$ |
91,302 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Long/Short |
|
$ |
36,661 |
|
$ |
15,901 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
141,293 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
607,010 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
575,781 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
All Cap Value |
|
$ |
352,048 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Equity |
|
$ |
81,214 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Global Long/Short** |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
117,591 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
496,923 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
172,220 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
All Cap Value |
|
$ |
251,621 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Equity* |
|
$ |
34,847 |
|
$ |
16,251 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Global Long/Short** |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* The Global Equity Fund commenced operations on December 30, 2011.
**The Global Long/Short Fund had not yet commenced operations as of August 31, 2013.
For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, BNY Mellon provided administrative services to the WPG Fund. The WPG Fund paid BNY Mellon administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees and related out-of-pocket expenses as follows:
Fund Name |
|
Administration,
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
79,304 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
77,774 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
78,588 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
Distribution Agreement and Plans of Distribution
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Funds pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Funds.
Under the Distribution Agreement with the Company, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Funds. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Funds on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The
Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Funds. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Funds and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Funds.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Funds through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Funds for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Funds on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Institutional Class. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, Foreside Distributors will use best efforts to distribute each Funds shares. Foreside Distributors does not receive compensation from the Company for the distribution of the Funds Institutional Class shares; however, the Adviser pays an annual fee to Foreside Distributors as compensation for underwriting services rendered to the Funds pursuant to the Distribution Agreement.
Investor Class. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement and the related Plans of Distribution, as amended, for the Investor Class (together, the Investor Class Plans), which were adopted by the Company in the manner prescribed by Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, Foreside Distributors will use best efforts to distribute each Funds shares. Payments to Foreside Distributors under the Investor Class Plans are to compensate it for distribution assistance and expenses assumed and activities intended to result in the sale of shares of the Investor Class including advertising, printing and mailing of prospectuses to others than current shareholders, compensation to underwriters, compensation to broker-dealers, compensation to sales personnel, and interest, carrying or other financing changes. As compensation for its distribution services, Foreside Distributors receives, pursuant to the terms of the Distribution Agreement, a distribution fee under the Investor Class Plans, to be calculated daily and paid monthly by the Investor Class of each of the Funds at the annual rate set forth in the Investor Class Prospectus.
For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 the Investor Class of each of the Funds paid Foreside Distributors fees as follows:
Fund |
|
Distribution Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
268,530 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
527,477 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
397,495 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Equity |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
529,610 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Long/Short |
|
$ |
1,294 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
196,938 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
508,812 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
100,302 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Equity |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
204,881 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Long/Short** |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
185,721 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
370,309 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
62,426 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Equity* |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
84,371 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Global Long/Short** |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* The Global Equity Fund commenced operations on December 30, 2011.
**The Global Long/Short Fund had not yet commenced operations as of August 31, 2013.
For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 the Funds paid fees to broker-dealers and Foreside Distributors received fees as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Fees Paid to Broker
|
|
Fees Received by the
|
|
||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
1,624,152 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
663,268 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
622,202 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Among other things, the Plans provide that: (1) Foreside Distributors shall be required to submit quarterly reports to the Directors of the Company regarding all amounts expended under the Plans and the purposes for which such expenditures were made, including commissions, advertising, printing, interest, carrying charges and any allocated overhead expenses; (2) the Plans will continue in effect only so long as they are approved at least annually, and any material amendment thereto is approved, by the Companys Directors, including a majority of those Directors who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plans or any agreements related to the Plans, acting in person at a meeting called for said purpose; (3) the aggregate amount to be spent by each Fund on the distribution of the Funds shares of a Class under the Plans shall not be materially increased without shareholder approval; and (4) while the Plans remain in effect, the selection and nomination of the Companys Directors who are not interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) shall be committed to the discretion of such Directors who are not interested persons of the Company.
Mr. Sablowsky, a Director of the Company, had an indirect interest in the operation of the Plans by virtue of his position with Oppenheimer Co., Inc., formerly Fahnestock Co., Inc., a broker-dealer.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Funds Plan expenses were spent for the following purposes:
Investor Class |
|
Small Cap
|
|
Long/
|
|
All-Cap
|
|
Long/Short
|
|
Global
|
|
Global
|
|
||||||
Compensation to broker/dealers |
|
$ |
255,043 |
|
$ |
538,897 |
|
$ |
348,443 |
|
$ |
481,098 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
670 |
|
Compensation to sales personnel |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Advertising |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Printing and mailing of prospectuses to other than current shareholders |
|
$ |
3,717 |
|
$ |
7,730 |
|
$ |
3,726 |
|
$ |
5,231 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Compensation to underwriters |
|
$ |
79,504 |
|
$ |
162,776 |
|
$ |
114,121 |
|
$ |
159,910 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Interest, financing charges |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
* |
$ |
0 |
|
Other |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
* |
$ |
0 |
|
* The Global Equity Fund is currently offered as Institutional Class Shares only, excluding it from 12b-1 fees.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Distribution Agreement, a distribution fee under the Investor Class Plans, to be calculated daily and paid monthly by the Investor Class of each of the Funds at the annual rate set forth in the Investor Class Prospectus.
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, each Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Funds. In executing portfolio transactions, each Adviser seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Funds, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While each Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
No Fund has any obligation to deal with any broker or group of brokers in the execution of portfolio transactions. Each Adviser may, consistent with the interests of the Funds and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, select brokers on the basis of the research, statistical and pricing services they provide to the Funds and other clients of each Adviser. Information and research received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by each Adviser under its respective contracts. A commission paid to
such brokers may be higher than that which another qualified broker would have charged for effecting the same transaction, provided that each Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the transaction or the overall responsibility of each Adviser to a Fund and its other clients and that the total commissions paid by a Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to a Fund over the long-term.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Funds paid the following commissions to brokers on account of research services:
Fund |
|
2014 |
|
|
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
34,327 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
1,152,554 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
3,135,978 |
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
137,164 |
|
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value |
|
$ |
95,952 |
|
Global Equity |
|
$ |
40,692 |
|
Global Long/Short |
|
$ |
17,045 |
|
The following chart shows the aggregate brokerage commissions paid by each Boston Partners Fund for the past three fiscal years ended August 31:
Fund |
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
2012 |
|
|||
Small Cap Value |
|
$ |
58,201 |
|
$ |
60,980 |
|
$ |
56,732 |
|
Long/Short Equity |
|
$ |
2,543,943 |
|
$ |
2,510,185 |
|
$ |
2,474,919 |
|
Long/Short Research |
|
$ |
5,920,754 |
|
$ |
2,101,286 |
|
$ |
459,707 |
|
All-Cap Value |
|
$ |
243,586 |
|
$ |
196,367 |
|
$ |
150,906 |
|
Global Equity |
|
$ |
101,062 |
|
$ |
17,948 |
|
$ |
31,114 |
|
Global Long/Short* |
|
$ |
43,175 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
*The Global Long/Short Fund had not yet commenced operations as of August 31, 2013.
The following chart shows the aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the WPG Fund for the past three fiscal years ended August 31:
Fund |
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
2012 |
|
|||
WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value Fund |
|
$ |
176,038 |
|
$ |
187,132 |
|
$ |
200,335 |
|
The Funds are required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Funds as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. As of August 31, 2014, the following Funds held the following securities of their regular broker-dealers or their parents:
Fund |
|
Broker Dealer |
|
Market Value |
|
|
Small Cap Value Fund |
|
JMP GROUP INC |
|
$ |
508,017.30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long/Short Equity Fund |
|
CITIGROUP INC |
|
$ |
9,260,173.55 |
|
|
|
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO |
|
$ |
5,425,466.45 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All-Cap Value Fund |
|
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO |
|
$ |
29,525,842.50 |
|
|
|
CITIGROUP INC |
|
$ |
19,901,364.80 |
|
|
|
WELLS FARGO & CO |
|
$ |
14,977,784.80 |
|
|
|
STATE STREET CORP |
|
$ |
8,427,149.85 |
|
|
|
BB&T CORP |
|
$ |
11,639,867.30 |
|
|
|
RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL INC |
|
$ |
4,915,960.80 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long/Short Research Fund |
|
CITIGROUP INC |
|
$ |
42,579,175.35 |
|
|
|
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO |
|
$ |
43,772,202.70 |
|
|
|
WELLS FARGO & CO |
|
$ |
42,631,208.64 |
|
|
|
STATE STREET CORP |
|
$ |
38,228,265.81 |
|
|
|
BB&T CORP |
|
$ |
32,692,046.14 |
|
|
|
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC |
|
$ |
32,459,567.97 |
|
|
|
SUNTRUST BANKS INC |
|
$ |
11,377,123.52 |
|
|
|
RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL I |
|
$ |
15,438,149.52 |
|
|
|
MORGAN STANLEY |
|
$ |
13,007,881.68 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund |
|
FBR & CO |
|
$ |
514,297.10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Global Equity Fund |
|
WELLS FARGO & CO |
|
$ |
578,185.60 |
|
|
|
JP MORGAN CHASE & CO |
|
$ |
524,943.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Global Long/Short Equity Fund |
|
WELLS FARGO & CO |
|
$ |
385,337.04 |
|
|
|
JP MORGAN CHASE & CO |
|
$ |
349,744.35 |
|
Investment decisions for each Fund and for other investment accounts managed by the Adviser are made independently of each other in the light of differing conditions. However, the same investment decision may be made for two or more of such accounts. In such cases, simultaneous transactions are inevitable. Purchases or sales are then averaged as to price and allocated as to amount according to a formula deemed equitable to each such account. While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the security as far as a Fund is concerned, in other cases it is believed to be beneficial to a Fund.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of a Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing that Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that each Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge
relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectuses from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
Each Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the particular Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Automatic Investment Plan
The Automatic Investment Plan enables investors to make regular (monthly or quarterly) investments (Boston Partners Funds $5,000 minimum for Institutional Class and $100 minimum for Investor Class/ WPG Fund $50 minimum), in Institutional Class shares of any Fund through an automatic withdrawal from your designated bank account by simply completing the Automatic Investment Plan application. Please call the Transfer Agent at (888) 261-4073 to enroll. By completing the enrollment form, you authorize the Funds Custodians to periodically draw money from your designated account, and to invest such amounts in account(s) with the fund(s) specified. The transaction will be automatically processed to your mutual fund account on or about the first business day of the month or quarter you designate.
If you elect the Automatic Investment Plan, please be aware that: (1) the privilege may be revoked without prior notice if any check is not paid upon presentation; (2) the Funds Custodians are under no obligation to notify you as to the non-payment of any check, and (3) this service may be modified or discontinued by the Funds Custodians upon thirty (30) days written notice to you prior to any payment date, or may be discontinued by you by written notice to the Transfer Agent at least ten (10) days before the next payment date.
OTHER INFORMATION REGARDING MAXIMUM SALES CHARGE,
PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS
The following information supplements the information in the Prospectuses under the caption Shareholder Information. Please see the Prospectuses for more complete information.
Other Purchase Information
If shares of a Fund are held in a street name account with an Authorized Dealer, all recordkeeping, transaction processing and payments of distributions relating to the beneficial owners account will be performed by the Authorized Dealer, and not by the Fund and its Transfer Agent. Since the Funds will have no record of the beneficial owners transactions, a beneficial owner should contact the Authorized Dealer to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, to make changes in or give instructions concerning the account or to obtain information about the account. The transfer of shares in a street name account to an account with another dealer or to an account directly with the Fund involves special procedures and will require the beneficial owner to obtain historical purchase information about the shares in the account from the Authorized Dealer.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan
A systematic withdrawal plan (the Systematic Withdrawal Plan) is available to shareholders of the WPG Fund, and Investor Class Shares of the Boston Partners Funds whose shares are worth at least $10,000. The Systematic Withdrawal Plan provides for monthly payments to the participating shareholder of any amount not less than $100 ($50 with respect to the Long/Short Research and the WPG Funds).
Dividends and capital gain distributions on shares held under the Systematic Withdrawal Plan are reinvested in additional full and fractional shares of the applicable Fund at net asset value. The Transfer Agent acts as agent for the shareholder in redeeming sufficient full and fractional shares to provide the amount of the systematic withdrawal payment. The Systematic Withdrawal Plan may be terminated at any time. Withdrawal payments should not be considered to be dividends, yield or income. If periodic withdrawals continuously exceed new purchases and reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions, the shareholders original investment will be correspondingly reduced and ultimately exhausted. See Shareholder Information in the Prospectuses. In addition, each withdrawal constitutes a redemption of shares, and any gain or loss realized must be reported for federal and state income tax
purposes. A shareholder should consult his or her own tax adviser with regard to the tax consequences of participating in the Systematic Withdrawal Plan. For further information or to request a Systematic Withdrawal Plan, please write or call the Transfer Agent.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than BNY Mellon Distributors), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to the approval of the Companys Board of Directors, the Funds may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on a Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Funds and their shareholders that are not described in the Prospectuses. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Funds or their shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectuses are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectuses and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and any such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
Each Fund qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, each Fund generally is exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, each Fund must meet three important tests each year.
First, each Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities, or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, at least 50% of the value of each Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers (as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of such issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer), and no more than 25% of the value of each Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, each Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
Each Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If a Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year a Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, taxable shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). Each Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
Loss Carryforwards
For federal income tax purposes, each Fund is generally permitted to carry forward a net capital loss in any year to offset its own capital gains, if any, during the eight years following the year of the loss. For capital losses realized in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010, the eight-year limitation has been eliminated, so that any capital losses realized by a Fund in the taxable year beginning September 1, 2011 and in subsequent taxable years will be permitted to be carried forward indefinitely.
As of August 31, 2014, the Long/Short Equity Fund had a capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $843,234 which expires August 31, 2016 and a capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $161,107 which may be carried forward indefinitely as a short-term capital loss. These amounts are available to be carried forward to offset future capital gains to the extent permitted by the Code and applicable tax regulations.
Due to limitations imposed by section 382 of the Code, the $843,234 of capital loss carryforwards expiring August 31, 2016 of the Long/Short Equity Fund, which were acquired in its reorganization with the WPG 130/30 Large Cap Core Fund on April 17, 2009, can generally only be used at a rate of $421,617 per year through the applicable expiration date.
State and Local Taxes
Although each Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, a Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by a Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause a Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to
make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which a Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has approximately 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in a Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of Common Stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of each Fund will vote in the aggregate on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Ernst & Young LLP, One Commerce Square, Suite 700, 2005 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, and in that capacity audits the Funds financial statements.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements, financial highlights, and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report, which is incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
Robeco Investment Management
Proxy Voting Policies
As of March 2014
ROBECO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
ROBECO WEISS, PECK & GREER ROBECO
BOSTON PARTNERS
Proxy Voting Policies
March 2014
Robeco Investment Management
909 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022 Telephone 212-908-9500 www.robecoinvest.com
I. |
The Board of Directors |
1 |
A. |
Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections |
1 |
B. |
Majority Voting for Director Elections (U.S. and Canada) |
5 |
C. |
Chairman and CEO are the Same Person |
5 |
D. |
Majority of Independent Directors |
5 |
E. |
Stock Ownership Requirements |
5 |
F. |
Options Backdating |
5 |
G. |
Lack of nominating committee |
6 |
H. |
Term of Office |
6 |
I. |
Requiring two or more nominees |
6 |
J. |
Age Limits |
6 |
K. |
Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability Protection |
6 |
L. |
Succession Planning |
6 |
M. |
Limits for directors receiving 25% Withhold Votes |
6 |
N. |
Establish/Amend Nominee Qualifications |
7 |
O. |
Director Elections Non-U.S. Companies |
7 |
|
|
|
II. |
Proxy Contests |
20 |
A. |
Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections |
20 |
B. |
Reimburse Proxy Solicitation Expenses |
20 |
|
|
|
III. |
Auditors |
20 |
A. |
Ratifying Auditors |
20 |
B. |
Italy - Director and Auditor Indemnification |
21 |
C. |
Austria, Greece, Portugal and Spain: |
21 |
D. |
MSCI EAFE Companies - Auditor Fee Disclosure |
22 |
|
|
|
IV. |
Proxy Contest Defenses |
22 |
A. |
Board Structure: Staggered vs. Annual Elections |
22 |
B. |
Shareholder Ability to Remove Directors |
22 |
C. |
Cumulative Voting |
22 |
D. |
Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings |
23 |
E. |
Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent |
23 |
F. |
Shareholder Ability to Alter the Size of the Board |
23 |
|
|
|
V. |
Tender Offer Defenses |
24 |
A. |
Poison Pills |
24 |
B. |
Poison Pills (Japan) |
24 |
C. |
Anti-Takeover Proposals (France) |
25 |
D. |
Fair Price Provisions |
25 |
E. |
Greenmail |
25 |
F. |
Pale Greenmail |
25 |
G. |
Unequal Voting Rights |
25 |
H. |
Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Amend the Charter or Bylaws |
25 |
I. |
Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Approve Mergers |
26 |
J. |
White Squire Placements |
26 |
K. |
Protective Preference Shares |
26 |
|
|
|
VI. |
Miscellaneous Governance Provisions |
26 |
A. |
Confidential Voting |
26 |
B. |
Equal Access |
27 |
C. |
Bundled Proposals |
27 |
D. |
Shareholder Advisory Committees |
27 |
E. |
Charitable Contributions |
28 |
F. |
Adjourn Meeting Requests to Solicit Additional Proxies to Approve Merger Agreement |
28 |
G. |
Related-Party Transactions (France) |
28 |
H. |
Related Party Transaction Auditor Reports (France) |
28 |
I. |
Authority to Reduce Minimum Notice Period for Calling a Meeting (non-US Companies) |
28 |
|
|
|
VII. |
Capital Structure |
29 |
A. |
Common Stock Authorization |
29 |
B. |
Capital Issuance Requests |
30 |
C. |
Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends |
31 |
D. |
Reverse Stock Splits |
31 |
E. |
Preferred Stock |
31 |
F. |
Adjustments to Par Value of Common Stock |
32 |
G. |
Preemptive Rights |
32 |
H. |
Debt Restructurings |
32 |
I. |
Share Repurchase Programs |
32 |
J. |
Share Repurchase Programs to Fund Stock Option Plans |
33 |
K. |
Additional Share Repurchase Programs |
33 |
L. |
Netherlands - Remuneration Report |
33 |
M. |
Tracking Stock |
34 |
N. |
Going Dark Transactions |
34 |
|
|
|
VIII. |
Executive and Director Compensation |
34 |
A. |
General |
34 |
B. |
Management Proposals Seeking Approval to Reprice Options |
36 |
C. |
Director Compensation |
36 |
D. |
Employee Stock Purchase Plans |
36 |
E. |
OBRA-Related Compensation Proposals: |
37 |
F. |
Shareholder Proposals to Limit Executive and Director Pay |
37 |
G. |
Golden and Tin Parachutes |
38 |
H. |
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) |
38 |
I. |
401(k) Employee Benefit Plans |
38 |
J. |
Pension Plan Income and Performance-Based Compensation |
38 |
K. |
Indexed Options and Performance Vested Restricted Stock |
38 |
L. |
Burn Rate |
39 |
M. |
Transferable Stock Options |
39 |
N. |
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERPs) |
39 |
O. |
Pay-for-Superior-Performance |
39 |
P. |
Executive Compensation Advisory Proposal (Say on Pay) |
39 |
Q. |
Pre-Arranged Trading Plans (10b5-1 Plans) |
41 |
R. |
Share Buyback Holding Periods |
41 |
S. |
Tax Gross-Up Proposals |
42 |
T. |
Reimbursement of Expenses Incurred from Candidate Nomination Proposal |
42 |
U. |
Equity Based Compensation Plans are evaluated on a case-by-case basis |
42 |
V. |
Golden Coffin (Death Benefit) |
43 |
W. |
Hold Till (post) Retirement |
43 |
X. |
Termination of Employment Prior to Severance Payment and Eliminating Accelerated Vesting of Unvested Equity: |
43 |
Y. |
Compensation Issue in Non-US Companies |
43 |
Z. |
Canadian Equity Compensation Plans, TSX Issuers |
47 |
|
|
|
IX. |
State of Incorporation |
48 |
A. |
Voting on State Takeover Statutes |
48 |
B. |
Voting on Reincorporation Proposals |
48 |
|
|
|
X. |
Mergers and Corporate Restructurings |
49 |
A. |
Mergers and Acquisitions |
49 |
B. |
Corporate Restructuring |
49 |
C. |
Spin-offs |
49 |
D. |
Asset Sales |
50 |
E. |
Liquidations |
50 |
F. |
Appraisal Rights |
50 |
G. |
Changing Corporate Name |
50 |
H. |
Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs) |
50 |
|
|
|
XI. |
Mutual Funds |
50 |
|
|
|
XII. |
Corporate Governance and Conduct |
51 |
Robeco Investment Management
Proxy Voting Policies
As of March 2014
I. |
The Board of Directors |
|
A. Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections
1. Votes on director nominees are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, examining the following factors:
a. Long-term corporate performance record relative to a market index;
b. Composition of board and key board committees;
c. Corporate governance provisions and takeover activity;
d. Nominees attendance at meetings;
e. Nominees investment in the company;
f. Whether a retired CEO sits on the board;
g. Whether the chairman is also serving as CEO;
h. Whether the nominee is an inside director and the full board serves as the audit, compensation, or nominating committee or the company does not have one of these committees; AND
i. Whether the company has failed to meet a predetermined performance test for issuers within the Russell 3000 index;
j. For issuers within the Russell 3000 index, after evaluating the companys overall performance relative to its peers, taking into account situational circumstances including (but not limited to) changes in the board or management, and year-to-date total shareholder returns;
k. On members of the Audit Committee and/or the full board if poor accounting practices are identified which rise to a level of serious concern, such as: fraud; misapplication of GAAP; and material weaknesses identified in Section 404 disclosures taking into consideration the severity, breadth, chronological sequence and duration, as well as the companys efforts at remediation or corrective actions in determining whether negative vote recommendations are warranted.
l. If the board adopts a poison pill with a term of 12 months or less (short-term pill) without shareholder approval taking into account the following factors:
· The date of the pills adoption relative to the date of the next meeting of shareholders i.e. whether the company had time to put the pill on ballot for shareholder ratification given the circumstances;
· The issuers governance structure and practices; and
· The issuers track record of accountability to shareholders.
2. In the following situations, votes on director nominees will be WITHHELD:
a. Nominee attends less than 75% of the board and committee meetings without a valid excuse;
b. Nominee implements or renews a dead-hand or modified dead-hand poison pill;
c. Nominee ignores a shareholder proposal that is approved by a majority of shares outstanding;
d. Nominee has failed to act on takeover offers where the majority of the shareholders have tendered their shares;
e. Nominee is an inside director or affiliated outsider and sits on the audit, compensation, or nominating committees;
f. Nominee is an inside director or affiliated outsider and the majority of the board is not independent;
g. Nominee is an audit committee member when a companys non-audit fees are greater than 50% of all fees paid;
h. Nominee has enacted egregious corporate governance policies or failed to replace management as appropriate;
i. Nominee is CEO of a publicly traded company who serves on more than three public boards including his/her own board;
j. From the entire board (except new nominees) where the director(s) receive more than 50% WITHHOLD votes of those cast and the issue underlying the WITHHOLD vote has not been addressed;
k. From compensation committee members if there is a poor linkage between performance (1/3 yrs TSR) and compensation practices based on peer group comparisons;
l. From compensation committee members if they fail to submit one-time transferable stock options to shareholders for approval;
m. From compensation committee members if the company has poor compensation practices.
Poor disclosure will also be considered. Poor compensation practices include, but are not limited to:
· Egregious employment contracts including excessive severance provisions
· Excessive perks that dominate compensation (base salary will be used as a relative measure to determine excessiveness)
· Huge bonus payouts without justifiable performance
· Performance metrics that are changed during the performance period
· Egregious SERP payouts
· New CEO with overly generous new hire package
· Internal pay disparity
· Poor practices (unless contractually bound) have not been remedied despite the previous application of cautionary language
· Multi-year base salary increases guaranteed as part of an employment contract
· Perks for former executives including car allowances and personal use of corporate aircraft
· Excessive severance/change in control arrangements now include any new or materially amended arrangements that include provisions for the payment of excise tax gross-ups (including modified gross-ups) and/or modified single-triggers (which allow an executive to receive change-in-control severance upon voluntary resignation during a window period following the change in control);
· Liberal change in control definition in individual contracts or equity plans which could result in payments to executives without an actual change in control occurring;
· Tax reimbursements of any executive perquisites or other payments will be considered a poor pay practice;
· Payment of dividends or dividend equivalents on unearned performance awards will be considered a poor practice;
n. From any nominee, with the exception of new nominees, if the company has a classified board and a continuing director is responsible for a problematic governance issue at the board/committee level;
3. In the following situations, votes on director nominees will be WITHHELD or voted AGAINST:
a. Incumbent director nominees at Russell 3000 companies, if there is a lack of accountability and oversight, along with sustained poor performance relative to their peers; and
b. Audit committee members when the company receives an Adverse Opinion on the companys financial statements from its auditors;
c. The board adopts a poison pill with a term of more than 12 months (long-term pill), or renews any existing pill, including any short-term pill (12 months or fewer), without shareholder approval. A commitment or policy that puts a newly-adopted pill to a binding shareholder vote may potentially offset an adverse vote recommendation. Review such companies with classified boards every year, and such companies with annually-elected boards at least once every three years, and vote AGAINST or WITHHOLD votes from all nominees if the company still maintains a non-shareholder-approved poison pill. This policy will apply to all companies adopting or renewing pills after the announcement of this policy (Nov. 19, 2009.)
d. The board makes a material, adverse change to an existing poison pill without shareholder approval.
e. The entire board of directors (except new nominees, who will be considered on a CASE-BY- CASE basis), if:
· For 2014, the board failed to act on a shareholder proposal that received the support of a majority of the shares cast in the previous year. Factors considered are:
· Disclosed outreach efforts by the board to shareholders in the wake of the vote;
· Rationale provided in the proxy statement for the level of implementation;
· The subject matter of the proposal;
· The level of support for and opposition to the resolution in past meetings;
· Actions taken by the board in response to the majority vote and its engagement with shareholders;
· The continuation of the underlying issue as a voting item on the ballot (as either shareholder or management proposals); and
· Other factors as appropriate.;
4. Under extraordinary circumstances, RIM will vote AGAINST or WITHHOLD from individual directors, members of a committee, or the entire board, due to:
a. Material failures of governance, stewardship, risk oversight, or fiduciary responsibilities at the company (including but not limited to: bribery; large or serial fines or sanctions from regulatory bodies; significant adverse legal judgments or settlements; hedging company stock or significant pledging of company stock
b. Failure to replace management as appropriate; or
c. Egregious actions related to a directors service on other boards that raise substantial doubt about his or her ability to effectively oversee management and serve the best interest of shareholders at any company.
5. RIM will vote AGAINST or WITHHOLD from the entire board of directors (except new nominees, who should be considered CASE-BY-CASE) if
a. The board implements an advisory vote on executive compensation on a less frequent basis than the frequency that received the majority of votes cast at the most recent shareholder meeting at which shareholders voted on the say-on-pay frequency.
6. RIM will vote CASE-BY-CASE on the entire board if:
a. The board implements an advisory vote on executive compensation on a less frequent basis than the frequency that received a plurality, but not a majority, of the votes cast at the most recent shareholder meeting at which shareholders voted on the say-on-play frequency, taking into account:
· The boards rationale for selecting a different frequency;
· The companys ownership structure and vote results;
· Analysis of whether there are compensation concerns or a history of problematic compensation practices; and
· The previous years support level on the companys say-on-pay proposal.
7. RIM will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on Compensation Committee members (or, in exceptional cases, the full board) and the Management Say-on-Pay proposal if the companys previous say-on-pay proposal received the support of less than 70 percent of votes cast, taking into account:
a. The companys response, including:
· Disclosure of engagement efforts with major institutional investors regarding the issues that contributed to the low level of support;
· Specific actions taken to address the issues that contributed to the low level of support;
· Other recent compensation actions taken by the company;
b. Whether the issues raised are recurring or isolated;
c. The companys ownership structure; and
d. Whether the support level was less than 50 percent, which would warrant the highest degree of responsiveness.
B. Majority Voting for Director Elections (U.S. and Canada)
Shareholder proposals calling for majority voting thresholds for director elections
We generally vote FOR these proposals unless the company has adopted formal corporate governance principles that present a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard and/or provide an adequate response to both new nominees as well as incumbent nominees who fail to receive a majority of votes cast.
C. Chairman and CEO are the Same Person
We vote FOR shareholder proposals that would require the positions of chairman and CEO to be held by different persons.
D. Majority of Independent Directors
1. We vote FOR shareholder proposals that request that the board be composed of a two-thirds majority of independent directors.
2. We vote FOR shareholder proposals that request that the board audit, compensation and/or nominating committees be composed exclusively of independent directors.
E. Stock Ownership Requirements
1. We vote AGAINST shareholder proposals requiring directors to own a minimum amount of company stock in order to qualify as a director or to remain on the board.
2. We vote FOR management and shareholder proposals requiring directors be partially or fully paid in stock.
F. Options Backdating
1. We may recommend WITHHOLDING votes from the compensation committee, depending on the severity of the practices and the subsequent corrective actions on the part of the board.
2. We will adopt a CASE-BY-CASE policy to the options backdating issue. In recommending withhold votes from the compensation committee members who oversaw the questionable options grant practices or from current compensation committee members who fail to respond to the issue proactively, we will consider several factors, including, but not limited to, the following:
a. Reason and motive for the options backdating issue, such as inadvertent vs. deliberate grant date changes;
b. Length of time of options backdating;
c. Size of restatement due to options backdating;
d. Corrective actions taken by the board or compensation committee, such as canceling or repricing backdated options, or recoupment of option gains on backdated grants;
e. Adoption of a grant policy that prohibits backdating, and creation of a fixed grant schedule or window period for equity grants going forward.
G. Lack of nominating committee
We will WITHHOLD votes from insiders and affiliated outsiders for failure to establish a formal nominating committee. Furthermore, WITHHOLD votes from insiders and affiliated outsiders on any company where the board attests that the independent directors serve the functions of a nominating committee.
H. Term of Office
We vote AGAINST shareholder proposals to limit the tenure of outside directors. Term limits pose artificial and arbitrary impositions on the board and could harm shareholder interests by forcing experienced and knowledgeable directors off the board.
I. Requiring two or more nominees
We vote AGAINST proposals to require two or more candidates for each board seat.
J. Age Limits
We vote AGAINST shareholder proposals to impose a mandatory retirement age for outside directors.
K. Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability Protection
1. Proposals concerning director and officer indemnification and liability protection are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
2. We vote AGAINST proposals to limit or eliminate director and officer liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care.
3. We vote AGAINST indemnification proposals that would expand coverage beyond just legal expenses to acts, such as negligence, that are more serious violations of fiduciary obligations than mere carelessness.
4. We vote FOR only those proposals that provide such expanded coverage in cases when a directors or officers legal defense was unsuccessful if: (a) the director was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that he reasonably believed was in the best interests of the company, and (b) only if the directors legal expenses would be covered.
L. Succession Planning
Shareholder proposal seeking the adoption of a documented CEO succession planning policy.
We will evaluate such proposals on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering the companys current practices and the scope of the proposal.
M. Limits for directors receiving 25% Withhold Votes Shareholder proposal seeking a policy that forbids any director who receives more than 25% withhold votes cast from serving on any key board committee for two years, and asks the board to find replacement directors for the committees if need be.
We will evaluate such proposals on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering the companys current practices and the scope of the proposal.
N. Establish/Amend Nominee Qualifications
We will vote CASE-BY-CASE on shareholder resolutions seeking a director nominee candidate who possesses a particular subject matter expertise, considering:
1. The companys board committee structure, existing subject matter expertise, and board nomination provisions relative to that of its peers;
2. The companys existing board and management oversight mechanisms regarding the issue for which board oversight is sought;
3. The company disclosure and performance relating to the issue for which board oversight is sought and any significant related controversies; and
4. The scope and structure of the proposal
O. Director Elections Non-U.S. Companies
1. Canada
In the following situations, votes will be WITHHELD:
a. From any director on the audit or compensation committee who served as the companys CEO or who, within the past five years, served as the companys CFO (This policy only applies to Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) companies).;
b. From audit committee members if audit fees are not disclosed in publicly filed documents or obtainable within a reasonable period of time prior to the shareholders meeting;
c. From audit committee members where other or non-audit related fees paid to the external auditor in the most recently completed fiscal year exceeded fees paid to that firm for all audit related services. In the case of slate ballots, a vote of WITHHOLD will be applied to the entire slate. (One-time fees disclosed as other that are paid for corporate reorganization services will be excluded from the calculation for determining whether non-audit fees exceed audit and audit- related fees paid to the external firm);
d. The individual director has attended fewer than 75 percent of the board and committee meetings held within the past year without a valid reason for his or her absence and the company has a plurality vote standard;
e. The individual director has attended fewer than 75 percent of the board and committee meetings held within the past year without a valid reason for his or her absence and a pattern of low attendance exists based on prior years meeting attendance, and the company has adopted a majority vote standard.
f. Generally WITHHOLD votes from all directors nominated by slate ballot at the annual/general or annual/special shareholders meetings. This policy will not apply to contested director elections.
g.
Votes from individual directors (and the whole slate if the slate includes such individual directors) who:
· Are insiders on the compensation or nominating committee and the committee is not majority independent.
h. Votes from individual directors (and the whole slate if the slate includes such individual directors) who:
· Are insiders and the entire board fulfills the role of a compensation or nominating committee and the board is not majority independent
RIM policies support a one-share, one-vote principle. In recognition of the substantial equity stake held by certain shareholders, on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, director nominees who are or who represent a controlling shareholder of a majority owned company, who will be designated as controlling insiders, may generally be supported under ISS board and committee independence policies, if the company meets all of the following independence and governance criteria:
a. Individually elected directors;
b. The number of related directors should not exceed the proportion of the common shares controlled by the controlling shareholder, to a maximum of two-thirds, however if the CEO is related to the controlling shareholder, then at least two-thirds of the directors should be independent of management;
c. If the CEO and chair roles are combined or the CEO is or is related to the controlling shareholder, then there should be an independent lead director and the board should have an effective and transparent process to deal with any conflicts of interest between the company, minority shareholders, and the controlling shareholder; and
d. A majority of the audit and nominating committees should be either independent directors or related directors who are independent of management. All members of the compensation committee should be independent of management, and, if the CEO is related to the controlling shareholder, no more than one member of the compensation committee should be a related director;
e. Prompt disclosure of detailed vote results following each shareholder meeting; and
f. Adoption of a majority vote standard with a director resignation policy for uncontested elections OR a public commitment to adopt a majority voting standard with a director resignation policy for uncontested elections if the controlling shareholder ceases to control 50 percent or more of the common shares.
RIM will also consider the following:
a. Nominating committee has process to receive and discuss suggestions from shareholders for potential director nominees; and
b. If the CEO is related to the controlling shareholder, the boards process to evaluate the performance, leadership, compensation, and succession of management should be led by independent directors.
RIM will also take into consideration any other concerns related the conduct of the subject director and any controversy or questionable actions on the part of the subject director that are deemed not to be in the best interests of all shareholders.
In the following situations, we will vote AGAINST:
a. We will vote AGAINST compensation committee members if the company has poor pay practices as defined above.
b. We will generally vote AGAINST the entire slate if individual director elections are not permitted and the company demonstrates poor pay practices as defined above.
c. We will generally vote AGAINST equity plans if plan is used as a vehicle for poor pay practices as defined above.
2. Europe
a. Directors term of office
For the markets of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland, we vote AGAINST the election or reelection of any director when their term is not disclosed or when it exceeds four years and adequate explanation for non- compliance has not been provided.
b. Executives on audit and remuneration committees
For the markets of Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, we vote AGAINST the election or reelection of any executive (as defined by RMGS director categorization guidelines), including the CEO, who serve on the audit and/or remuneration committees. We vote AGAINST if the disclosure is too poor to determine whether an executive serves or will serve on a committee.
c. Bundling of proposal to elect directors
For the markets of France and Germany, we vote AGAINST the election or reelection of any director if the company proposes a single slate of directors.
d. Majority-independent board (i.e., greater than 50%)
For the markets of Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands, we vote AGAINST the election or reelection of any non-independent director (excluding the CEO) if the proposed board is not at least 50 % independent (as defined by RMGS director categorization guidelines). For the markets of Finland, Sweden, Ireland, and Luxembourg, we vote AGAINST non-independent directors if there is not majority independence, but only for those companies that are part of the MSCI EAFE index.
Carve Outs: For the larger German companies where 50 % of the board must consist of labor representatives by law, we require one-third of the total board be independent.
France: We will vote FOR a non-independent, non-executive director, provided that two conditions are satisfied: future composition of the board of at least 33 percent of independents, AND improvements in board composition (e.g. independence increase from 25 to 40 percent).
e. Disclosure of names of nominees
For all European companies that are part of the MSCI EAFE index (Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Greece, and Sweden), we vote AGAINST the election or reelection of any directors when the names of the nominees are not disclosed in a timely manner prior to the meeting.. This policy will be applied to all companies in these markets, for bundled as well as unbundled items. In the case of Italy, once the list of nominees has been disclosed, we will evaluate each nominee on a CASE-BY- CASE basis. In the case of Poland and Turkey, RIM will vote FOR the election of directors in 2013 even if nominee names are not disclosed in a timely manner. Beginning in 2014, this grace period will cease.
f. All European Markets
RIM will vote AGAINST (re)election of a combined chair/CEO at core companies. However, with the company provides assurance that the chair/CEO would only serve in the combined role on an interim basis (no more than two years), with the intent of separating the roles within a given time frame, considerations should be given to these exceptional circumstances. In this respect,
the vote will be made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis. In order for RIM to consider a favorable vote for an interim combined chair/CEO the company will need to provide adequate control mechanisms on the board (such as a lead independent director, a high overall level of board independence, and a high level of independence on the boards key committees.
g. For companies with a majority shareholder, generally vote against the election or reelection of any non-independent directors (excluding the CEO) if the level of independence on the board will be lower than the minority shareholders percentage of equity ownership, or if the board will be less than one-third independent (whichever is higher.)
(In markets where the local corporate governance code addresses board independence at controlled companies, RIM will generally vote against the election or reelection of any non- independent directors (excluding the CEO) if the level of independence on the board is lower than the local code recommendation, but in any case , below 1/3.)
3. Ireland
We vote AGAINST on-independent directors if the majority board is not independent, but only for companies that are constituents of ISE 20.
4. Netherlands
We vote AGAINST nominees when their term is not disclosed or exceeds four years and an adequate explanation for noncompliance has not been provided.
5. Canada
a. Vote case-by-case on proposals to adopt an Advance Notice Board Policy or to adopt or amend bylaws containing or adding an advance notice requirement, giving support to those proposals which provide a reasonable framework for shareholders to nominate directors by allowing shareholders to submit director nominations as close to the meeting date as reasonably possible and within the broadest window possible, recognizing the need to allow sufficient notice for company, regulatory, and shareholder review, and to allow the board to waive any provision of the advance notice requirement.
To be reasonable, the companys deadline for notice of shareholders director nominations must not be more than 65 days and not fewer than 30 days prior to the meeting date. If notice of annual meeting is given fewer than 50 days prior to the meeting date, a provision to require shareholder notice by close of business on the 10th day following first public announcement of the annual meeting is supportable. In the case of a special meeting, a requirement that a nominating shareholder must provide notice by close of business on the 15th day following first public announcement of the special shareholders meeting is also acceptable.
In general, support additional efforts by companies to ensure full disclosure of a dissident shareholders economic and voting position in the company so long as the informational requirements are reasonable and aimed at providing shareholders with the necessary information to review any proposed director nominees within a timely manner.
Generally, vote against if:
· The board may only waive a portion of the advance notice provisions under the policy or by- law, in its sole discretion; or
· The company requires any proposed nominee to deliver a written agreement wherein the proposed nominee acknowledges and agrees that he or she will comply with all policies and guidelines of the company that are applicable to director.
b. Vote case-by-case on members of the Audit Committee and potentially the full board if adverse accounting practices are identified that rise to a level of serious concern, such as: accounting fraud, misapplication of applicable accounting standards, or material weaknesses identified in the internal process. Severity, breadth, chronological sequence, and duration as well as the companys efforts at remediation should be examined.
c. Under extraordinary circumstances, withhold from directors individually one or more committee members, or the entire board, due to:
· Material failures of governance, stewardship, risk oversight or fiduciary responsibilities at eh company;
· Failure to replace management as appropriate; or
· Egregious actions related to the director(s) service on other boards that raise substantial doubt about his or her ability to effectively oversee management and serve the best interests of shareholders.
d. Generally withhold from continuing individual directors, committee members, or the continuing members of the entire board if:
· At the previous board election, any director received more than 50% withhold votes of the votes cast under a majority voting/director resignation policy and the Nominating Committee has not required that the director leave the board after 90 days, or has not provided another form of acceptable response to the shareholder vote, which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis;
· At the previous board election, any director received more than 50% withhold votes of the votes cast under a plurality voting standard and the company has failed to address the issue(s) that caused the majority withheld vote; or
· The board failed to act on a shareholder proposal that received the support of the majority of the votes case For and Against at the previous shareholder meeting.
e. Generally withhold votes if director is overboarded and the individual director has attended fewer than 75% of his/her respective board and committee meetings within the past year without valid reason.
6. Australia
We vote AGAINST affiliated outsiders and insiders on remuneration and/or audit committees that are not majority independent.
7. Singapore
We vote AGAINST:
a. Election of one executive director and one substantial-shareholder nominee where independent directors represent less than one-third of the board;
b. Audit committee members who are former partners of the companys auditor;
c. Directors who have attended less than 75 percent of meetings, without a reasonable explanation for those absences. (Acceptable explanations include Medical issues; family emergencies, the director has served for less than one year; missing one meeting of a total of three or fewer.)
d. Election or reelection of non-independent nominees (including nominees who have been a partner of the companys auditor within the last three years or is on the audit committee of the company) if at least one-third of the board is not independent
e. Classify a director as non-independent where the director has served on the board for more than nine years and where the board either fails to provide any reason for considering the director to still be independent, or where the stated reasons raise concerns among investors as to the directors true level of independence..
We will NOT vote against the election of a CEO or a company founder who is integral to the company.
8. Hong Kong
RIM will generally vote FOR director nominees to the board, however, we will vote AGAINST any nominee who:
a. Is classified by the company as independent, but fails to meet the RIM criteria for independence
b. Has been a partner of the companys auditor within the last three years, and serves on the audit committee;
c. Had attended less than 75 percent of board meeting over the most recent two years, without a satisfactory explanation (Acceptable explanations include Medical issues; family emergencies, the director has served for less than one year; missing one meeting of a total of three or fewer.);
d. Is an executive director serving on the remuneration committee or nomination committee, and the committee is not majority independent; or
e. Is an executive director serving on the audit committee.
f. Classified by the company as independent but fails to meet the ISS criteria for independence.
Classify a director as non-independent where the director has served on the board for more than nine years, and where the board either fails to provide any reason for considering the director to still be independent, or where the stated reasons raise concerns among investors as to the directors true level of independence.
9. Hong Kong and Singapore: Generally vote AGAINST all members of the audit committee up for reelection if:
a. The non-audit fees paid to the auditor exceed audit fees without satisfactory explanation; or
b. The company did not disclose the audit fees and /or non-audit fees in the latest fiscal year.
c. Vote AGAINST director nominees who sit on a total of more than six public company boards.
10. Malaysia, Thailand
Typically vote for the reelection of directors unless:
a. The nominee is an executive director and serves on the audit, remuneration, or nomination committee; or
b. The nominee has attended fewer than 75% of the board and committee meetings over the most recent year without a satisfactory explanation (Acceptable explanations include Medical issues; family emergencies, the director has served for less than one year; missing one meeting of a total of three or fewer.); or
c. The nominee is a non-independent director and the board is less than 1/3 independent. d.
11. Korea
We vote AGAINST the election of an outside director to the board or to the audit committee where that director sits on a total of more than two public company boards.
12. South Korea
We vote AGAINST any nominee who is a non-independent director serving on the audit committee.
13. Korea, South Korea and South Africa
We vote AGAINST the reelection of any outside directors who have attended less than 75 % of board meetings.
14. South Korea, Philippines
a. We vote FOR the election of directors unless there are specific concerns about the company, the board or the nominees.
b. We vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis that shareholders cumulate their votes for the independent directors.
c. We vote AGAINST all director elections where insufficient information on nominees has been disclosed.
d. Where independent directors represent less than a majority of the board, we will vote
AGAINST the following directors:
· Executive directors who are neither the CEO nor a member of the founding family and/or the most recently appointed non-independent non-executive director who represents a substantial shareholder, where the percentage of board seats held by representatives of the substantial shareholder are disproportionate to their holdings in the company.
15. Philippines
a. Where independent directors represent less than the highest of three independent directors or 30 percent of the board, RIM will vote AGAINST the following directors:
· An executive director with exception of the CEO; or
· One non-executive non-independent director who represents a substantial shareholder where the number of seats held by the representatives is disproportionate to its holdings in the company.
16. Brazil
a. RIM will vote AGAINST proposals to elect directors if the post-election board is not at least 30 percent independent. This policy applies to Novo Mercado companies.
b. RIM will vote AGAINST proposals to elect directors if the post-election board is not at least 20 percent independent. This policy applies to Nivel 2 companies.
17. Austria
We vote AGAINST supervisory board elections if names of nominees are not disclosed, for companies that are part of the MSCI EAFE index and/or the Austrian ATX index.
18. France (MSCI EAFE Index) - Combined Chairman/CEO
On proposals to change the board structure from a two-tier structure to a one-tier structure with a combination of the functions of Chairman and CEO, and/or the election or the reelection of a combined Chairman and CEO:
We vote on a CASE-BY-CASE policy, accepting a combination generally only in the following cases:
a. If it is a temporary solution;
b. If his/her removal from the board would adversely impact the companys continuing operations;
c. If the company provides compelling argumentation for combining the two functions; or
d. If the company has put a sufficiently counterbalancing governance structure in place.
A counterbalancing structure may include the following:
· At least 50 percent of the board members are independent (one-third for companies with a majority shareholder) according to the RMG criteria;
· No executive serves on the audit committee and no executive serves on the remuneration committee (in the financial year under review if more up-to-date information is not available);
· The chairmen of audit, remuneration and nomination committees are independent directors; and
· All key governance committees have a majority of independent members.
If disclosure is not sufficient to determine the above, this will lead to a negative evaluation of the concerned criterion. We will apply this policy for all core companies in France. This policy will also apply for resolutions for the election or the reelection of a combined Chairman and CEO for companies of the MSCI EAFE index, which represents the worlds largest companies that are expected to be held to higher standards.
Censor (non-voting board member) Elections: For widely held companies, RIM will generally vote AGAINST proposals seeking shareholder approval to elect a censor, to amend bylaws to authorize the appointment of censors, or to extend the maximum number of censors to the board.
However, RIM will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis when the company provides assurance that the censor would serve on a short-term basis (maximum one year) with the intent to retain the nominee before
his/her election as director. In this case, consideration shall also be given to the nominees situation (notably overboarding or other factors of concern.)
In consideration of the principle that censors should be appointed on a short-term basis, RIM will vote AGAINST any proposal to renew the term of a censor or to extend the statutory term of censors.
For directors standing for (re)election at French companies, will take into account board appointments as censors.
19. Denmark - Discharge of Management and Board
We vote AGAINST proposals to abolish the authority of the general meeting to vote on discharge of the board and management since proposals to withhold discharge are regarded by international investors as an important means by which they may express serious concern of management and board action
20. Sweden - Director Elections/Labor Representatives
a. For all Swedish MSCI EAFE companies, we vote AGAINST the election of nonindependent executive directors if less than 50 percent of the shareholder-elected members are independent non-executive directors.
b. In addition, for Swedish MSCI EAFE companies with labor representatives on the board of directors, we will apply Criterion (1) above, PLUS require that at least one-third of the total board (shareholder-elected members and labor representatives) be independent non-executive directors.
21. Israel
For Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ exchange, we vote AGAINST the election/reelection of non-independent directors if a given board is not majority-independent and does not have at least three external directors.
Director and Auditor Indemnification We evaluate proposals on director and officer indemnification and liability protection on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
a. We vote AGAINST proposals that would:
· Eliminate entirely directors and officers liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care;
· Expand coverage beyond just legal expenses to liability for acts, such as negligence, that are more serious violations of fiduciary obligation than mere carelessness;
· Expand the scope of indemnification to provide for mandatory indemnification of company officials in connection with acts that previously the company was permitted to provide indemnification for at the discretion of the companys board (i.e. permissive indemnification) but that previously the company was not required to indemnify.
· For Israeli companies that are listed on a U.S. stock exchange and file a Form 20-F,we will vote AGAINST if the election of non-independent directors who sit on a companys compensation committee.
· If the board does not have compensation committee, we will vote AGAINST the non- independent directors serving on the board.
b. We vote FOR only those proposals providing such expanded coverage in cases when a directors or officers legal defense was unsuccessful: 1) if the director was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that he reasonably believed was in the best interests of the company, and 2) if only the directors legal expenses would be covered.
c. For the issue of Indemnification and Liability Agreements with D/O, which is more common than proposals to amend bylaws, resolutions are frequently proposed to permit the companies to enter into new indemnification agreements with certain officers. We SUPPORT such requests if a companys bylaws allow indemnification to such levels as allowed for under the Companies Law
22. Japan
a. We vote AGAINST the reelection of directors who fail to attend at least 75 percent of board meetings, unless the company discloses a legitimate reason for poor attendance. The same policy will be applied to statutory auditors.
b. For listed subsidiary companies that have publicly-traded parent cos, we vote AGAINST reelection of the top executive(s) if the board, after the shareholder meeting does not include at least two independent directors.
c. For listed subsidiaries with the three-committee structure, we vote AGAINST the reappointment of nomination committee members who are insiders or affiliated outsiders, unless the board after the shareholder meeting includes at least two independent directors.
d. The firm will not vote AGAINST the reelection of executives as long as the board includes at least one independent director.
e. We vote AGAINST the top executive at listed companies that have controlling shareholders, where the board after the shareholder meeting does not include at least two independent directors based on ISS independence criteria for Japan.
f. For companies with a three-committee structure, RIM will vote AGAINST outside director nominees who are regarded as non-independent. However, if a majority of the directors on the board after the shareholder meeting are independent outsiders, vote FOR the appointment of affiliated outsiders
g. Vote AGAINST the top executive of a Japanese company if the board does not include at least one outside director.
23. Germany
a. For core companies with employee representatives on supervisory board: We vote AGAINST any non-independent director if less than one-third of the supervisory board is independent.
b. For core companies without employee representatives: We vote AGAINST any non- independent director if less than one-half of the supervisory board is independent.
c. We vote AGAINST supervisory board nominees in they hold more than a total of five supervisory board or foreign board of director seats and serve in an executive role at another company.
24. Spain
a. We vote AGAINST non-independent directors (excluding the CEO) for all core companies where the board is not at least one-third independent.
b. We vote AGAINST the routine election and reelection of directors when his/her term is not disclosed or when it exceeds four years and adequate explanation for non-compliance has not been provided. This policy applies for bundled as well as unbundled items.
25. United Kingdom
We consider on a CASE-BY-CASE basis the re-election of the Chairman of the board. In situations where he or she has direct responsibility for failure to comply with (or to explain satisfactorily) the Code, we vote ABSTAIN, or, if such an option is unavailable, we vote CONTENTIOUS FOR, or AGAINST.
26. Germany, U.K., The Netherlands
We will generally vote AGAINST the election or reelection of a former CEO as chairman to the supervisory board or the board of directors, unless:
a. There are compelling reasons that justify the election or re-election of a former CEO as chairman;
b. The former CEO is proposed to become the boards chairman only on an interim or temporary basis;
c. The former CEO is proposed to be elected as the boards chairman for the first time after a reasonable cooling-off period; or
d. The board chairman will not receive a level of compensation comparable to the companys executives nor assume executive functions in markets where this is applicable.
27. Latin America, Turkey, Indonesia
WE will vote AGAINST election of directors if the name of the nominee is not disclosed in a timely manner prior to the meeting. This is only for each respective markets main blue chip (large cap) index.
28. Russia
WE will vote AGAINST proposals to elect directors, if names of nominees are not disclosed.
29. Taiwan
WE will vote AGAINST the election of directors if the names or shareholder ID numbers are not disclosed.
30. India
a. RIM votes AGAINST all non-independent director nominees (other than a CEO/managing director, executive chairman, or company founder who is deemed integral to the company) where independent directors represent less than one-third of the board (if the chairman is a non- executive) or one-half of the board (if the chairman is an executive director or a promoter director.) Austria:
b. We will vote AGAINST the election or reelection of any non-independent directors (excluding the CEO) if the proposed board is not at least 50-percent independent (as defined by ISS director categorization guidelines). If a nominee cannot be categorized, RIM will assume that person is non-independent and include that nominee in the calculation. The policy will apply only to core companies. For core companies where the board must include labor representatives by law, RIM will require that one-third of the total board be independent
c. Vote against the re/election of a director if the nominee has attended less than 75 percent of board and key committee (audit, compensation, and nominating) meetings over the most recent
fiscal year, without a satisfactory explanation. (Acceptable explanations include Medical issues; family emergencies, the director has served for less than one year; missing one meeting of a total of three or fewer.)
31. Finland:
a. As it is market practice in Finland to have non-board members that are representatives of major shareholders serving on the nominating committee, we will FOR proposals to elect a nominating committee consisting of mainly non-board members, but advocate disclosure of the names of the proposed candidates to the committee in the meeting notice.
b. We will also vote FOR shareholder proposals calling for disclosure of the names of the proposed candidates at the meeting, as well as the inclusion of a representative of minority shareholders in the committee.
27. South Africa:
We will vote FOR the reelection of directors unless:
a. Adequate disclosure has not been provided in a timely manner;
b. There are clear concerns over questionable finances or restatements;
c. There have been questionable transactions with conflicts of interest;
d. There are any records of abuses against minority shareholder interests;
e. The board fails to meet minimum governance standards;
f. There are specific concerns about the individual nominee, such as criminal wrongdoing or breach of fiduciary responsibilities;
g. Repeated absences (less than 75 percent attendance) at board meetings have not been explained; or
h. Elections are bundled.
Additional factors resulting from recent changes in local code of best practice include:
a. The director is an executive who serves on one of the key board committees (audit, compensation, nominations);
b. The director combines the roles of chair and CEO and the company has not provided an adequate explanation;
c. The director is the former CEO who has been appointed as chair;
d. The director is a non-independent NED who serves on the audit committee;
e. The director is a non-independent NED who serves on the compensation or nomination committee and there is not a majority of independent NEDs on the committee. However, such a consideration should take into account the potential implications for the boards black economic empowerment (BEE) credentials;
f. The director is a non-independent NED and the majority of NEDs on the board are not independent. However, such a consideration should take into account the potential implications for the boards black economic empowerment (BEE) credentials;
We will vote FOR the reelection of the audit committee and/or audit committee members unless:
c. The committee includes one or more non-independent NEDs;
d. The audit committee member is a non-independent NED;
e. Members of the committee do not meet the further minimum requirements for audit committee membership to be outlined by the South African government;
There are serious concerns about the accounts presented, the audit procedures used, or some other feature for which the audit committee has responsibility
28. Greece:
Vote against the election or reelection of any non-independent directors if the proposed board is not at least one-third independent (as defined by ISS director classification guidelines). If elections are bundled and the proposed board is not at least one-third independent, vote against the entire slate. If a nominee cannot be categorized, ISS will assume that person is non- independent and include that nominee in the calculation. This policy will be applied to widely held* companies incorporated in Greece.
29. Hungary:
Generally vote against the election or reelection of any non-independent directors (excluding the CEO) if the board is not at least 50 percent independent. If a nominee cannot be categorized, ISS will consider that person non-independent and include that nominee in the calculation for determining the board independence percentage. The policy will apply to widely held companies.
30. Tax Havens
f. For US companies we apply the US guidelines.
g. For foreign private issuers, we vote AGAINST affiliated outsiders on the audit committee.
h. Truly foreign companies that do not have a U.S. listing will be evaluated under the corporate governance standards of their home market.
i. For uniquely structured shipping companies we vote AGAINST executive nominees when the company has not established a compensation committee when i) the company does not pay any compensation to its executive officers; ii) any compensation is paid by a third party under a contract with the company.
j. We vote AGAINST affiliated outsider directors on the audit, compensation, and nominating committees.
k. We vote AGAINST inside directors and affiliated outside directors for foreign private issuers that trade exclusively in the United States but fail to establish a majority independent board.
II. |
Proxy Contests |
|
A. Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections
Votes in a contested election of directors are evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, considering the following factors:
1. Long-term financial performance of the target company relative to its industry;
2. Managements track record;
3. Background to the proxy contest;
4. Qualifications of director nominees (both slates);
5. Evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders as well as the likelihood that the proposed objectives and goals can be met; and
6. Stock ownership positions.
B. Reimburse Proxy Solicitation Expenses
We vote AGAINST proposals to provide full reimbursement for dissidents waging a proxy contest.
III. |
Auditors |
|
A. Ratifying Auditors
1. Proposals to ratify auditors are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
2. We vote AGAINST the ratification of auditors and audit committee members when the companys non-audit fees (other) are excessive. In circumstances where other fees are related to initial public offerings, bankruptcy emergence, and spin-offs, and the company makes public disclosure of the amount and nature of those fees which are determined to be an exception to the standard non-audit fee category, then such fees may be excluded from the non-audit fees considered in determining the ratio of non-audit to audit/audit-related fees/tax compliance and preparation for purposes of determining whether non-audit fees are excessive.
Audit Fees = statutory audit fees + audit related fees + permissible tax services (this excludes tax
strategy)
Non-Audit Fees = other fees (ex. consulting)
The formula used to determine if the non-audit fees are excessive is as follows:
Non-audit (other) fees > (audit fees + audit-related fees + tax compliance/preparation fees)
3. We vote AGAINST the ratification of auditors if there is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion which is neither accurate nor indicative of the companys financial position.
4. We WITHHOLD votes from audit committee members when the companys non-audit fees (ex. consulting) are greater than 50% of total fees paid to the auditor. We may take action against members of an audit committee in situations where there is persuasive evidence that the audit committee entered into an inappropriate indemnification agreement with its auditor that limits the ability of the company, or its shareholders, to pursue legitimate legal recourse against the audit firm.
5. We WITHHOLD votes from audit committee members when auditor ratification is not included on the proxy ballot.
B. Italy - Director and Auditor Indemnification
Proposals seeking indemnification and liability protection for directors and auditors
1. Votes are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis to indemnify directors and officers, and we vote
AGAINST proposals to indemnify external auditors.
2. We vote FOR the indemnification of internal auditors, unless the costs associated with the approval are not disclosed.
C. Austria, Greece, Portugal and Spain:
We vote FOR the reelection of auditors and /or proposals authorizing the board to fix auditor fees, unless:
1. There are serious concerns about the procedures used by the auditor;
2. There is reason to believe that the auditor has rendered an opinion, which is neither accurate nor indicative of the companys financial position;
3. External auditors have previously served the company in an executive capacity or can otherwise be considered affiliated with the company;
4. Name of the proposed auditors has not been published;
5. The auditors are being changed without explanation; or
6. Fees for non-audit services exceed standard annual audit-related fees.
D. Hong Kong, Singapore
1. Vote FOR proposals to (re)appoint auditors and authorize the board to fix their remuneration, unless:
a. There are serious concerns about the accounts presented or the audit procedures used;
b. The auditor is being changed without explanation; or
c. The non-audit fees exceed the audit fees paid to the external auditor in the latest fiscal year without satisfactory explanation.
E. MSCI EAFE Companies Auditor Fee Disclosure
1. We vote FOR auditor ratification and/or approval of auditors fees, unless: Auditors fees for the previous fiscal year are not disclosed and broken down into at least audit and non-audit fees.
2. The fees must be disclosed in a publicly available source, such as the annual report or company Web site. If approval of auditors fees and auditor ratification are two separate voting items, a vote recommendation of AGAINST would apply only to the fees, not to the auditor ratification.
IV. |
Proxy Contest Defenses |
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A. Board Structure: Staggered vs. Annual Elections
1. We vote AGAINST proposals to classify the board.
2. We vote FOR proposals to repeal classified boards and to elect all directors annually.
B. Shareholder Ability to Remove Directors
1. We vote AGAINST proposals that provide that directors may be removed only for cause.
2. We vote FOR proposals to restore shareholder ability to remove directors with or without cause.
3. We vote AGAINST proposals that provide that only continuing directors may elect replacements to fill board vacancies.
4. We vote FOR proposals that permit shareholders to elect directors to fill board vacancies.
C. Cumulative Voting
1. We vote AGAINST proposals to eliminate cumulative voting.
2. We generally vote FOR proposals to restore or permit cumulative voting unless there are compelling reasons to recommend AGAINST the proposal, such as:
a. the presence of a majority threshold voting standard with a carve-out for plurality in situations where there are more nominees than seats, and a director resignation policy to address failed elections;
b. a proxy access provision in the companys bylaws, or a similar structure that allows shareholders to nominate directors to the companys ballot
3. We vote FOR proposals for cumulative voting at controlled companies (insider voting power > 50%).
D. Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings
1. We vote AGAINST proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to call special meetings.
2. We vote FOR proposals that remove restrictions on the right of shareholders to act independently of management.
E. Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent
1. We will generally vote AGAINST management and shareholder proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholders ability to act by written consent.
2. Generally vote FOR management and shareholder proposals that provide shareholders with the ability to act by written consent, taking into account the following factors:
a. Shareholders current right to act by written consent;
b. The consent threshold;
c. The inclusion of exclusionary or prohibitive language;
d. Investor ownership structure; and
e. Shareholder support of, and managements responses to, previous shareholder proposals.
3. RIM will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on shareholder proposals if, in addition to the considerations above, the company has the following governance and antitakeover provisions:
a. An unfettered(1) right for shareholders to call special meetings at a 10 percent threshold;
b. A majority vote standard in uncontested director elections;
c. No non-shareholder-approved pill; and
d. An annually elected board.
F. Shareholder Ability to Alter the Size of the Board
1. We vote FOR proposals that seek to fix the size of the board
2. We vote AGAINST proposals that give management the ability to alter the size of the board without shareholder approval.
(1 ) Unfettered means no restrictions on agenda items, no restrictions on the number of shareholders who can group together to reach the 10 percent threshold, and only reasonable limits on when a meeting can be called: no greater than 30 days after the last annual meeting and no greater than 90 prior to the next annual meeting.
3. We vote AGAINST proposals seeking to amend the companys board size to fewer than five seats or more than fifteen seats.
V. |
Tender Offer Defenses |
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A. Poison Pills
1. We generally vote FOR shareholder proposals that ask a company to submit its poison pill for shareholder ratification unless:
a. A shareholder-approved poison pill is in place.
b. The company has adopted a policy specifying that the board will only adopt a shareholder rights plan if either:
i. Shareholders have approved the adoption of the plan, or
ii. The board determines that it is in the best interest of shareholders to adopt a pill without the delay of seeking shareholder approval, in which the pill will be put to a vote within 12 months of adoption or it will expire.
2. We vote FOR shareholder proposals to redeem a companys poison pill.
3. We vote AGAINST management proposals to ratify a poison pill.
4. We will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on proposals to adopt a poison pill or protective amendment to preserve a companys net operating losses based on the following criteria:
a. The trigger (NOL pills generally have a trigger slightly below 5 percent);
b. The value of the NOLs;
c. The term;
d. Shareholder protection mechanisms (sunset provision, causing expiration of the pill upon exhaustion or expiration of NOLs); and Dother factors that may be applicable.
e. The companys existing governance structure including: board independence, existing takeover defenses, track record of responsiveness to shareholders, and any other problematic governance concerns; and
f. Any other factors that may be applicable.
B. Poison Pills (Japan)
We vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis and will only SUPPORT resolutions if:
1. The decision to trigger the pill is made after an evaluation of the takeover offer by a committee whose members are all independent of management.
2. The pill will not be triggered unless the potential acquirer has purchased a stake of at least 20% of issued share capital.
3. The effective duration of the poison pill is for a maximum of three years.
4. The board includes at least 20% (but no fewer than two) independent directors, and the directors are subject to annual election by shareholders.
5. The company has disclosed under what circumstances it expects to make use of the authorization to issue warrants and has disclosed what steps it is taking to address the vulnerability to a takeover by enhancing shareholder value.
6. There are no other protective or entrenchment tools.
7. The company releases its proxy circular, with details of the poison pill proposal, at least three weeks prior to the meeting.
C. Anti-Takeover Proposals (France)
We vote AGAINST all anti-takeover proposals unless they are structured in such a way that they give shareholders the ultimate decision on any proposal or offer.
D. Fair Price Provisions
1. We vote proposals to adopt fair price provisions on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, evaluating factors such as the vote required to approve the proposed acquisition, the vote required to repeal the fair price provision, and the mechanism for determining the fair price.
2. We vote FOR shareholder proposals to lower the shareholder vote requirement in existing fair price provisions.
E. Greenmail
1. We vote FOR proposals to adopt anti-greenmail charter or bylaw amendments or otherwise restrict a companys ability to make greenmail payments.
2. We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis anti-greenmail proposal when they are bundled with other charter or bylaw amendments.
F. Pale Greenmail
We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis restructuring plans that involve the payment of pale greenmail.
G. Unequal Voting Rights
1. We vote AGAINST dual class exchange offers.
2. We vote AGAINST dual class recapitalizations.
H. Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Amend the Charter or Bylaws
1. We vote AGAINST management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve charter and bylaw amendments.
2. We vote FOR shareholder proposals to lower supermajority shareholder vote requirements for charter and bylaw amendments. However for companies with shareholder(s) who have significant ownership levels, we vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, taking into account the following criteria:
a. Ownership structure;
b. Quorum requirements; and
c. Supermajority vote requirements.
I. Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Approve Mergers
1. We vote AGAINST management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve mergers and other significant business combinations.
2. We vote FOR shareholder proposals to lower supermajority shareholder vote requirements for mergers and other significant business combinations.
J. White Squire Placements
We vote FOR shareholder proposals to require approval of blank check preferred stock issues for other than general corporate purposes.
K. Protective Preference Shares
We evaluate these proposals on a CASE-BY-CASE basis and will only support resolutions if:
1. The supervisory board needs to approve an issuance of shares while the supervisory board is independent within the meaning of RMGS categorization rules and the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.
2. No call/put option agreement exists between the company and the foundation.
3. There is a qualifying offer clause or there are annual management and supervisory board elections.
4. The issuance authority is for a maximum of 18 months.
5. The board of the company-friendly foundation is independent.
6. The company has disclosed under what circumstances it expects to make use of the possibility to issue preference shares.
7. There are no priority shares or other egregious protective or entrenchment tools.
8. The company releases its proxy circular, with details of the poison pill proposal, at least three weeks prior to the meeting.
9. Art 2:359c Civil Code of the legislative proposal has been implemented.
VI. |
Miscellaneous Governance Provisions |
|
A. Confidential Voting
1. We vote FOR shareholder proposals that request corporations to adopt confidential voting, to use independent tabulators, and to use independent inspectors of election as long as the proposals include clauses for proxy contests as follows: In the case of a contested election, management should be permitted to request that the dissident group honor its confidential voting policy. If the dissidents agree, the policy remains in place. If the dissidents do not agree, the confidential voting policy is waived.
2. We vote FOR management proposals to adopt confidential voting.
3. WE vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals regarding proxy voting mechanics, taking into consideration whether implementation of the proposal is likely to enhance or protect shareholder rights. Issues include confidential voting of individual proxies and ballots, confidentiality of running vote tallies, treatment of abstentions and/or broker non-votes in counting methodology. Factors considered are transparency, consistency, fairness. Other factors include:
a. The scope and structure of the proposal
b. the companys stated confidential voting policy and whether it ensures a level playing field by providing shareholder proponents with equal access to vote information prior to the annual meeting;
c. The companys vote standard for management and shareholder proposals and whether it ensures consistency and fairness in the process and maintains the integrity of vote results;
d. Whether the companys disclosure regarding its vote counting method and other relevant voting policies with respect to management and shareholder proposals are consistent and clear;
e. Any recent controversies or concerns related to the companys proxy voting mechanic;
f. Any unintended consequences resulting from implementation of the proposal; and
g. any other relevant factors.
B. Equal Access
RIM will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on proposals to enact proxy access, taking into account, among other factors:
1. Company-specific factors; and
2. Proposal-specific factors, including:
a. The ownership thresholds proposed in the resolution (i.e. percentage and duration);
b. The maximum proportion of directors that shareholders may nominate each year; and
c. The method of determining which nominations should appear on the ballot if multiple shareholders submit nominations. .
C. Bundled Proposals
We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis bundled or conditioned proxy proposals. In the case of items that are conditioned upon each other, we examine the benefits and costs of the packaged items. In instances when the joint effect of the conditioned items is not in shareholders best interests, we vote AGAINST the proposals. If the combined effect is positive, we SUPPORT such proposals.
D. Shareholder Advisory Committees
We vote AGAINST proposals to establish a shareholder advisory committee.
E. Charitable Contributions
We vote AGAINST shareholder proposals to eliminate, direct or otherwise restrict charitable contributions.
F. Adjourn Meeting Requests to Solicit Additional Proxies to Approve Merger Agreement
We will vote FOR this when:
1. We support the underlying merger proposal
2. The company provides a compelling reason and
3. The authority is limited to adjournment proposals requesting the authority to adjourn solely to solicit proxies to approve a transaction that we support.
G. Related-Party Transactions (France)
Management proposals to approve the special auditors report regarding regulated agreements
1. We evaluate these proposals on a CASE-BY-CASE basis taking into consideration the individuals concerned in the agreement, detailed content of the agreement, and convened remuneration.
2. We vote AGAINST if the report is not available 21 days prior to the meeting date, or if the report contains an agreement between a non-executive director and the company for the provision of consulting services.
3. We vote FOR if the report is not available 21 days prior to the meeting date, but the resolution states that there are none.
H. Related Party Transaction Auditor Reports (France)
We will evaluate on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering 1) adequate disclosure, 2) sufficient justification on apparently unrelated transactions, 3) fairness option (if applicable), and 4) any other relevant information.
I. Related Party Transactions (Malaysia)
RIM will vote AGAINST a related-party transaction if:
· A director who is classified by the company as independent has a vested interest in the business transaction AND
· The value of the transaction exceeds MYR 250,000. In addition, directors involved in related party transaction in excess of MYR 250,000 will be classified as non-independent.
J. Financial Assistance Authorities (South Africa)
Generally vote FOR a general authority to provide financial assistance, unless:
· As part of the authority, the company requests a general authority to provide financial assistance to directors, and this is not limited to participation in share incentive schemes; and/or
· As part of the authority, the company seeks approval to provide financial assistance to any person.
K. Authority to Reduce Minimum Notice Period for Calling a Meeting (non-US Companies)
Central and Eastern Europe
We will vote proposals to reduce minimum notice period for calling a meeting on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
Generally, approve enabling authority proposal on the basis that RIM would typically expect companies to call EGMs/GMs using a notice period of less than 21 days only in limited circumstances where a shorter notice period will be to the advantage of shareholders as a whole. By definition, EGMs being regular meetings of the company, should not merit a notice period of less than 21 days.
In a market where local legislation permits EGM/GM to be called at no less than 14-days notice, RMG will generally support the proposal if the company discloses that eh shorter notice period of between 20 and 14 days would not be used as a routine matter for such meetings buy only when the flexibility is merited by the business of the meeting. Where the proposal at a give EGM/GM is not time-sensitive, RIM would not typically expect a company to invoke the shorter notice notwithstanding any prior approval of the enabling authority proposal by shareholders.
With the exception of the first AGM at which approval of the enabling authority is sought, when evaluating an enabling authority proposal, RIM will consider the companys use of shorter notice periods in the preceding year to ensure that such periods were invoked solely in connection with genuinely time- sensitive matters. Where the company has not done so, and fails to provide a clear explanation, we will consider voting AGAINST the enabling authority for the coming year.
J. Independent Proxy (Switzerland)
RIM will generally vote FOR proposals to elect an independent proxy for shareholder representation at annual general meetings for a term lasting until the following years ordinary general meeting. Absent any concerns about the independence of the proposed proxy, there are routine resolutions as the elected proxy must be independent as defined by Art. 728 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the same definition of independence applied to external auditors.
K. Exclusive Venue Proposals (Mgmt proposals seeking exclusive jurisdiction for resolution of disputes)
RIM will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on exclusive venue proposals taking into account:
1. Whether the company has been materially harmed by shareholder litigation outside its jurisdiction of incorporation, based on disclosure in the companys proxy statement; and
2. whether the company has the following good governance features:
a. an annually elected board;
b. a majority vote standard in uncontested director elections; and
c. the absence of a poison pill, unless the pill was approved by shareholders.
VII. |
Capital Structure |
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A. Common Stock Authorization
1. We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis proposals to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized for issue.
2. We vote AGAINST proposals to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of stock that has superior voting rights in companies that have dual-class capitalization structures.
3. We vote AGAINST proposals which request increases in the number of authorized shares over a level 50 % above currently authorized shares, after taking into account any stock split or financing activity, without specific reasons.
B. Capital Issuance Requests
1. General issuance requests under both authorized and conditional capital systems allow companies to issue shares to raise funds for general financing purposes. Issuances can be carried out with or without preemptive rights. Corporate law in many countries recognizes preemptive rights and requires shareholder approval for the disapplication of such rights.
a. We vote FOR general issuance requests with preemptive rights for up to 50% of a companys outstanding capital.
b. We vote FOR general issuance requests without preemptive rights for up to 10% of a companys outstanding capital.
c. We vote AGAINST global company issuances without preemptive rights over 10% of a companys outstanding capital.
2. Specific issuance requests will be judged on their individual merits.
3. Protective Preference Shares (Netherlands)
Management proposals to approve protective preference shares to company-friendly foundations: We will evaluate these proposals on a CASE-BY-CASE basis and will only support resolutions if:
a. The supervisory board needs to approve an issuance of shares while the supervisory board is independent within the meaning of RMGS categorization rules and the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.
b. No call/put option agreement exists between the company and the foundation.
c. There is a qualifying offer clause or there are annual management and supervisory board elections.
d. The issuance authority is for a maximum of 18 months.
e. The board of the company-friendly foundation is independent.
f. The company has disclosed under what circumstances it expects to make use of the possibility to issue preference shares.
g. There are no priority shares or other egregious protective or entrenchment tools.
h. The company releases its proxy circular, with details of the poison pill proposal, at least three weeks prior to the meeting.
i. Art 2:359c Civil Code of the legislative proposal has been implemented.
4. U.K and Netherlands
We will vote FOR issuance requests only if share issuance periods are limited to 18 months.
5. South Africa
a. We will vote FOR a general Authority to place authorized but unissued shares under the control of the directors unless:
i. The authority is over a number of shares equivalent to more than 10% of the current issued share capital.
ii. The authority would allow shares to be used for share incentive scheme purposes and the underlying scheme(s) raises concerns.
iii. The company used the authority during the previous year in a manner deemed not to be in shareholders best interests.
b. We will vote FOR a general authority to issue shares for cash unless:
i. The authority is over a number of shares equivalent to more than 10% of the current issued share capital.
ii. The company used the authority during the previous year in a manner deemed not to be in shareholders interest.
6. Taiwan
Generally vote FOR general mandate for public share issuance if the issue size is no more than 20% of the existing share capital or if the mandate includes a private placement as one of the financing channels if the resulting dilution rate is no more than 10%.
We vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on requests to issue shares for a specific purpose such as the financing of a particular project, an acquisition or a merger.
7. France
We generally vote for general authorities to issue shares without preemptive rights up to a maximum of 10 percent of share capital.
C. Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends
We vote FOR management proposals to increase common share authorization for a stock split, provided that the increase in authorized shares would not result in an excessive number of shares available for issuance given a companys industry and performance in terms of shareholder returns.
D. Reverse Stock Splits
1. We vote FOR management proposals to implement a reverse stock split when the number of shares will be proportionately reduced to avoid delisting.
2. We vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to implement a reverse stock split that do not proportionately reduce the number of shares authorized for issue.
E. Preferred Stock
1. We vote AGAINST proposals authorizing the creation of new classes of preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend distribution, and other rights (blank check preferred stock).
2. We vote FOR proposals to create blank check preferred stock in cases when the company expressly states that the stock will not be used as a takeover defense.
3. We vote FOR proposals to authorize preferred stock in cases where the company specifies that the voting, dividend, conversion, and other rights of such stock and the terms of the preferred stock appear reasonable.
4. We review on a CASE-BY-CASE BASIS proposals to increase the number of blank check preferred shares after analyzing the number of preferred shares available for issue given a companys industry and performance in terms of shareholder returns.
F. Adjustments to Par Value of Common Stock
We vote FOR management proposals to reduce the par value of common stock.
G. Preemptive Rights
1. We vote FOR proposals to create preemptive rights.
2. We vote AGAINST proposals to eliminate preemptive rights.
H. Debt Restructurings
We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis proposals to increase common and/or preferred shares and to issue shares as part of a debt restructuring plan. We consider the following issues:
1. Dilution: How much will ownership interest of existing shareholders be reduced, and how extreme will dilution to any future earnings be?
2. Change in Control: Will the transaction result in a change in control of the company?
3. Bankruptcy: Generally, we approve proposals that facilitate debt restructurings unless there are clear signs of self-dealing or other abuses.
I. Share Repurchase Programs
1. We will generally vote FOR market repurchase authorities/share repurchase programs provided that the proposal meets the following parameters:
a. Maximum volume: 10 percent for market repurchase within any single authority (Carve out: 15 percent in the U.K.) and 10 percent of outstanding shares to be kept in treasury (on the shelf);
b. Duration does not exceed 18 months. For companys who operate in markets that do not specify a maximum duration or durations last beyond 18 months. We will assess their historic practices.
2. Vote AGAINST proposals where:
a. The repurchase can be used for takeover defenses;
b. There is clear evidence of abuse;
c. There is no safeguard against selective buybacks;
d. Pricing provisions and safeguards are deemed to be unreasonable in light of market practice.
3. Consider Case-by-Case if these conditions are met:
a. The overall balance of the proposed plan seems to be clearly in shareholders interests;
b. The plan still respects the 10 percent maximum of shares to be kept in treasury.
J. Share Repurchase Programs to Fund Stock Option Plans
1. Spain
We vote AGAINST proposals to repurchase shares in connection with stock option plans when no information associated with the plan is available prior to the general meeting. However, we will maintain our stance on routine repurchases if it is disclosed that there is no connection.
2. Portugal
We will consider this item on a CASE-BY-CASE basis and will take into consideration whether information associated with the plan is available prior to the general meeting, and if there is any improvement in disclosure around option plans.
K. Additional Share Repurchase Programs
1. Denmark
Repurchase of shares in lieu of dividends We will consider this item on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering tax benefits and cost savings.
2. Germany and Italy
Repurchase shares using put and call options We will vote FOR provided the company details:
a. Authorization is limited to 18 months
b. The number of shares that would be purchased with call options and/or sold with put options is limited to a max of 5% of TSO
c. An experienced financial institution is responsible for the trading
d. The company has a clean track record regarding repurchases.
L. Netherlands - Remuneration Report
Management is required to put its remuneration policy up for a binding shareholder vote. We will evaluate this item using principles of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.
Netherlands - Protective Preference Shares: Proposals to approve protective preference shares
We vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis. In general, we vote FOR protective preference shares (PPS) only if:
1. The supervisory board needs to approve an issuance of shares whilst the supervisory board is independent within the meaning of RMGs categorization rules and the Dutch Corporate Governance Code (i.e. a maximum of one member can be non-independent);
2. No call / put option agreement exists between the company and a foundation for the issuance of PPS;
3. The issuance authority is for a maximum of 18 months;
4. The board of the company friendly foundation is fully independent;
5. There are no priority shares or other egregious protective or entrenchment tools;
6. The company states specifically that the issue of PPS is not meant to block a takeover, but will only be used to investigate alternative bids or to negotiate a better deal;
7. The foundation buying the PPS does not have as a statutory goal to block a takeover;
8. The PPS will be outstanding for a period of maximum 6 months (an EGM must be called to determine the continued use of such shares after this period)
M. Tracking Stock
We vote on the creation of tracking stock on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, weighing the strategic value of the transaction AGAINST such factors as:
1. Adverse governance charges
2. Excessive increases in authorized capital stock
3. Unfair method of distribution
4. Diminution of voting rights
5. Adverse conversion features
6. Negative impact on stock option plans
7. Other alternatives such as spinoff
N. Going Dark Transactions
We vote these proposals on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, determining whether the transaction enhances shareholder value by giving consideration to:
1. Whether the company has attained benefits from being publicly traded.
2. Cash-out value
3. Balanced interests of continuing vs. cashed-out shareholders
4. Market reaction to public announcement of transaction
VIII. |
Executive and Director Compensation |
|
A. General
1. Votes with respect to compensation plans are determined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
2. We vote AGAINST plans that contain:
a. Voting power dilution greater than 10%
b. Plans that provide too much discretion to directors
c. Plans that reflect exercise price of less than 100% of market value. (Note: For broad- based employee plans, we will accept 15% discount)
d. Plans that allow the repricing of underwater stock options without shareholder approval
e. Plans that lack option expensing
f. Canada Specific:
i. Generally vote against an equity compensation plan proposal where:
· The non-employee director aggregate share reserve under the plan exceeds the ISS established maximum limit of 1 percent of the outstanding common shares; or
· The equity plan document does not specify an annual individual non-employee director grant limit with a maximum value of (i) $100,000 worth of stock options in the case of a stock option or omnibus plan, or (ii) $150,000 worth of shares in the case of an equity plan that does not grant stock options.
Individual Non-employee Director Grants
ii. Generally vote against individual equity grants to non-employee directors in the following circumstances:
· In conjunction with an equity compensation plan that is on the agenda at the shareholder meeting if voting against the underlying equity compensation plan; and
· Outside of an equity compensation plan if the directors annual grant would exceed the above individual director limit.
iii. Shares taken in lieu of cash fees and a one-time initial equity grant upon a director joining the board will not be included in the maximum award limit.
g. Hong Kong and Singapore specific
i. Vote AGAINST a stock option scheme if directors eligible to receive options under the scheme if directors eligible to receive options under the scheme are involved in the administration of the scheme the scheme administrator has the discretion over awards; this generally excludes equity awards granted or taken in lieu of cash fees.
h. Singapore specific:
i. Vote against a performance share plan or restricted share plan if:
· The maximum dilution level for the plan exceeds ISS guidelines of 5% of issued capital for a mature company and 10% if the plan includes other positive features such as challenging performance criteria and meaningful vesting periods as these features partially offsheet dilution concerns by reducing the likelihood that awards will become exercisable unless there is a clear improvement in shareholder value; or
· Directors eligible to receive options under the scheme are involved in the administration of the scheme and the administrator has the discretion over awards.
i. France-specific: RIM will generally vote FOR equity-based compensation proposals taking into account the following factors:
i. The volume of awards transferred to participants must not be excessive; the potential volume of fully diluted issued share capital from equity-based compensation plans must not exceed the following guidelines:
o The shares reserved for all share plans may not exceed 5% of a companys issued share capital, except in the case of a high-growth company or particularly well-designed plan, in which case dilution of between 5 and 10% is allowed.
ii. The plan must be sufficiently long-term in nature/structure; minimum vesting of 3 years or more; and
iii. The awards must be granted at market price.
B. Management Proposals Seeking Approval to Reprice Options
We vote on management proposals seeking approval to reprice options on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
C. Director Compensation
We vote on stock-based plans for directors on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
D. Employee Stock Purchase Plans
1. We vote on qualified employee stock purchase plans on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
2. We vote on non-qualified employee stock purchase plans on a CASE-BY-CASE basis but will
APPROVE plans considering the following criteria:
a. Broad-based participation (all employees excluding individuals with 5% or more of beneficial ownership)
b. Limits on employee contribution, either fixed dollar or percentage of salary
c. Company matching contribution up to 25%
d. No discount on the stock price on the date of purchase since there is a company matching contribution
3. Canada
RIM will generally vote FOR broadly based (preferably all employees of the company with the exclusion of individuals with 5 percent or more beneficial ownership of the company) employee stock purchase plans where the following apply:
a. Reasonable limit on employee contribution (may be expressed as a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of base salary excluding bonus, commissions and special compensation);
b. Employer contribution of up to 25% of employee contribution and no purchase price discount or employer contribution of more than 25% of employee contribution and SVT cost of the companys equity plans is within the allowable cap for the company;
c. Purchase price is at least 80% of fair market value with no employer contribution;
d. Potential dilution together with all other equity-based plans is 10% of outstanding common shares for less; and
e. Plan Amendment Provision requires shareholder approval for amendments to:
i. The number of shares reserved for the plan;
ii. The allowable purchase price discount;
iii. The employer matching contribution amount.
Treasury-funded ESPPs, as well as market purchase funded ESPPs requesting shareholder approval, will be considered to be incentive-based compensation if the employer match is greater than 25%. RIM will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis taking into account the following factors:
a. Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT) cost of the plan;
b. Eligibility;
c. Administration;
d. The companys other equity-based compensation plans and benefit programs, in particular pensions.
E. OBRA-Related Compensation Proposals:
1. Amendments that Place a Cap on Annual Grants or Amend Administrative Features
We vote FOR plans that simply amend shareholder-approved plans to include administrative features or place a cap on the annual grants any one participant may receive to comply with the provisions of Section 162(m) of OBRA.
2. Amendments to Added Performance-Based Goals
a. We vote FOR amendments to add performance goals to existing compensation plans to comply with the provisions of Section 162(m) of OBRA.
b. We vote FOR plans that support full disclosure and linking compensation to performance goals that impact the long-term performance of the firm (e.g. compliance with environmental/EPA regulations, labor supplier standards or EEOC laws).
3. Amendments to Increase Shares and Retain Tax Deductions under OBRA
We evaluate votes on amendments to existing plans to increase shares reserved and to qualify the plan for favorable tax treatment under the provisions of Section 162(m) on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
4. Approval of Cash or Cash-and-Stock Bonus Plans
a. We vote on cash or cash-and-stock bonus plans to exempt the compensation from taxes under the provisions of Section 162(m) of OBRA on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
b. We generally vote AGAINST plans with excessive awards ($2 million cap).
5. Independent Outsiders
We will vote AGAINST proposals if the compensation committee does not fully consist of independent outsiders, as defined in our definition of director independence.
F. Shareholder Proposals to Limit Executive and Director Pay
1. We generally vote FOR shareholder proposals that seek additional disclosure of executive and director pay information.
2. We vote AGAINST all other shareholder proposals that seek to limit executive and director pay.
G. Golden and Tin Parachutes
1. We vote FOR shareholder proposals to require golden and tin parachutes to be submitted for shareholder ratification.
2. We vote AGAINST golden parachutes.
3. Voting on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on Golden Parachute proposals, including consideration of existing change in control arrangements maintained with named executive officers rather than focusing primarily on new or extended arrangements.
a. Features that may result in an AGAINST recommendation include one or more of the following, depending on the number, magnitude, and/or timing of issues(s):
b. Single or modified single trigger cash severance;
c. Single trigger acceleration of unvested equity awards;
d. Excessive cash severance (>3x base salary and bonus);
e. Excise tax gross ups triggered and payable (as opposed to a provision to provide excise tax gross ups);
f. Excessive golden parachute payments (on an absolute basis or as percentage of transaction equity value); or
g. Recent amendments that incorporate any problematic features (such as those above) or recent actions (such as extraordinary equity grants) that may make packages so attractive as to influence merger agreements that may not be in the best interests of shareholders; or
h. The companys assertion that a proposed transaction is conditions on shareholder approval of the golden parachute advisory vote.
4.
5. .
H. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
We vote FOR proposals that request shareholder approval in order to implement an ESOP or to increase authorized shares for existing ESOPs, except in cases when the number of shares allocated to the ESOP is excessive (i.e., generally greater than 5% of outstanding shares).
I. 401(k) Employee Benefit Plans
We vote FOR proposals to implement a 401(k) savings plan for employees.
J. Pension Plan Income and Performance-Based Compensation
Generally we vote FOR proposals to exclude earnings on assets of company sponsored pension plans in determining executive and director compensation. Our position generally does not view the following factors as relevant: 1) the amount of pension plan earnings, and 2) the percentage, if any, such pension plan earnings contribute to the companys pre-tax earnings.
K. Indexed Options and Performance Vested Restricted Stock
We generally vote FOR indexed options and performance vested restricted stock.
L. Burn Rate
We vote AGAINST equity plans that have high average three-year burn rate defined as 1) the companys most recent three-year burn rate that exceeds one standard deviation of its GICS segmented by Russell 3000 index and non-Russell 3000 Index, OR 2) the companys most recent three-year burn rate that exceeds 2% of common shares outstanding. For companies that grant both full value awards and stock options to their employees, we shall apply a premium on full value awards for the past three fiscal years.
M. Transferable Stock Options
1. We will generally vote FOR TSO awards within a new equity plan if the total cost of the companys equity plans is less than the companys allowable cap, assuming all other conditions have been met to receive a FOR recommendation. The TSO structure must be disclosed and amendments to existing plans should make clear that only options granted post-amendment shall be transferable.
2. One-time transfers will be evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, giving consideration to the following:
a. Executive officers and non-employee directors should be excluded from participating.
b. Stock options must be purchased by third-party financial institutions at a discount to their fair value using an appropriate financial model.
There should be a two-year minimum holding period for sale proceeds (cash or stock) for all participants.
N. Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERPs)
We evaluate on a CASE-BY-CASE basis Shareholder proposal to limit covered compensation under their SERP plan to no more than 100% of a senior executives salary, considering the companys current SERP plan.
O. Pay-for-Superior-Performance
We evaluate Shareholder proposals to establish a pay-for-superior-performance standard on a CASE-BY- CASE basis considering the companys current pay-for-performance practices.
P. Executive Compensation Advisory Proposal (Say on Pay)
1. RIM will vote FOR annual advisory votes on compensation, which provide the most consistent and clear communication channel for shareholder concerns about companies executive pay programs.
2. We evaluate shareholder proposals to ratify the compensation of the companys named executive officers (NEOs) on an annual basis on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering the following global principles:
a. Maintain appropriate pay-for-performance alignment with emphasis on long-term shareholder value: This principle encompasses overall executive pay practices, which must be designed to attract, retain, and appropriately motivate the key employees who drive shareholder value creation over the long term. It will take into consideration, among other factors: the linkage between pay and performance; the mix between fixed and variable pay; performance goals; and equity-based plan costs;
b. Avoid arrangements that risk pay for failure. This principle addresses the use and appropriateness of long or indefinite contracts, excessive severance packages, and guaranteed compensation;
c. Maintain an independent and effective compensation committee: This principle promotes oversight of executive pay programs by directors with appropriate skills, knowledge, experience, and a sound process for compensation decision-making (e.g., including access to independent expertise and advice when needed);
d. Provide shareholders with clear, comprehensive compensation disclosures: This principle underscores the importance of informative and timely disclosures that enable shareholders to evaluate executive pay practices fully and fairly;
e. Avoid inappropriate pay to non-executive directors: This principle recognizes the interests of shareholders in ensuring that compensation to outside directors does not compromise their independence and ability to make appropriate judgments in overseeing managers pay and performance. At the market level, it may incorporate a variety of generally accepted best practices.
f. Evaluation of performance metrics in short-term and long-term plans, as discussed and explained in the Compensation Discussion & Analysis. Consider the measures, goal, and target awards reported by the company for executives short and long-term incentive awards; disclosure, explanation of their alignment with the companys business strategy, and whether goals appear to be sufficiently challenging in relation to resulting payouts;
g. Evaluation of peer group benchmarking used to set target pay or award opportunities. Consider the rationale stated by the company for constituents in its pay benchmarking peer group, as well as the benchmark targets it uses to set or validate executives pay to ascertain whether the benchmarking process is sound or may result in pay ratcheting due to inappropriate peer group constituents or targeting; and
h. Balance of performance based versus non-performance based pay. Consider the ratio of performance based (not including plain vanilla stock options) vs. non-performance based pay elements reported for the CEO latest reported fiscal year compensation especially in conjunction with concerns about other factors such as performance metrics/goals, benchmarking practices, and pay-for-performance disconnects.
3. RIM will vote AGAINST management say on pay proposals, AGAINST/WITHHOLD on compensation committee members (or, for rare cases, where the full board is deemed responsible, all directors including the CEO,) and/or AGAINST an equity-based incentive plan proposal if: :
a. There is a misalignment between CEO pay and company;
b. The company maintains problematic pay practices;
c. The board exhibits poor communication and responsiveness to shareholders
· Poor disclosure practices, including: insufficient disclosure to explain the pay setting process for the CEO and how CEO pay is linked to company performance and shareholder return; lack of disclosure of performance metrics and their impact on incentive payouts; no disclosure of rationale related to the use of board discretion when compensation is increased or performance criteria or metrics are changed resulting in greater amounts paid than that supported by previously established goals.
· Boards responsiveness to investor input and engagement on compensation issues, including:
· Failure to respond to majority-supported shareholder proposals on executive pay topics;
· Failure to respond to majority-opposed previous say-on-pay proposal; and
· Failure to respond to the companys previous say-on-pay proposal that received support of less than 70 percent of votes cast taking into account the ownership structure of the company.
Failure to adequately respond to the aforementioned compensation issues may also result in votes against directors due to poor responsiveness to shareholders.
Q. Pre-Arranged Trading Plans (10b5-1 Plans)
We generally vote FOR shareholder proposals calling for certain principles regarding the use of pre- arranged trading plans (10b5-1 plans) for executives. These principles include:
1. Adoption, amendment, or termination of a 10b5-1 Plan must be disclosed within two business days in a Form 8-K
2. Amendment or early termination of a 10b5-1 Plan is allowed only under extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the board
3. Ninety days must elapse between adoption or amendment of a 10b5-1 Plan and initial trading under the plan
4. Reports on Form 4 must identify transactions made pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan. An executive may not trade in company stock outside the 10b5-1 Plan.
5. Trades under a 10b5-1 Plan must be handled by a broker who does not handle other securities transactions for the executive
R. Share Buyback Holding Periods
We will generally vote FOR market repurchase authorities (share repurchase programs) if the terms comply with the following criteria:
1. A repurchase limit of up to 10% of outstanding issued share capital (15% in UK/Ireland);
2. A holding limit of up to 10% of issued share capital in treasury; and
3. A duration of no more than 5 years, or such lower threshold as may be set by applicable law, regulation or code of governance best practice.
Authorities to repurchase shares in excess of the 10% repurchase limit will be assessed on a CASE-BY- CASE basis. We will support such share repurchase authorities under special circumstances, which are required to be publicly disclosed by the company, provided that, on balance, the proposal is in shareholders interest. In such cases, the authority must comply with the following criteria:
4. A holding limit of up to 10% of a companys issued share capital in treasury; and
5. A duration of no more than 18 months.
In markets where it is normal practice not to provide a repurchase limit, we will evaluate the proposal based on the companys historical practice. However, RIM expects companies to disclose such limits and, in the future, may vote AGAINST companies that fail to do so In such cases, the authority must comply with the following criteria:
6. A holding limit of up to 10% of a companys issued share capital in treasure; and
7. A duration of no more than 18 months.
In addition we vote AGAINST any proposal where:
8. The repurchase can be used for takeover defenses;
9. There is clear evidence of abuse;
10. There is no safeguard against selective buybacks; and/or
11. Pricing provisions and safeguards are deemed to be unreasonable in light of market practice.
S. Tax Gross-Up Proposals
We vote FOR shareholder proposals calling for companies to adopt a policy of not providing tax gross-up payments to executives, except in situations where gross-ups are provided pursuant to a plan, policy, or arrangement applicable to management employees of the company, such as a relocation or expatriate tax equalization policy.
T. Reimbursement of Expenses Incurred from Candidate Nomination Proposal
We evaluate Shareholder proposals to amend the companys bylaws to provide for the reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in connection with nominating one or more candidates in a contested election of directors to the corporations board of directors on a CASE-BY-CASE basis considering the companys current reimbursement practices.
U. Equity Based Compensation Plans are evaluated on a case-by-case basis
We will vote AGAINST equity plan proposals if any of the following apply:
1. The total cost of the companys equity plans is unreasonable;
2. The plan expressly permits the repricing of stock options/stock appreciate rights (SARs) without prior shareholder approval;
3. The CEO is a participant in the proposed equity-based compensation plan and there is a disconnect between CEO pay and the companys performance where over 50 percent of the year- over-year increase is attributed to equity awards;
4. The companys three year burn rate exceeds the greater of 2% and the mean plus one standard deviation of its industry group;
5. The plan provides for the acceleration of vesting of equity awards even though an actual change in control may not occur (e.g., upon shareholder approval of a transaction or the announcement of a tender offer); or
6. The plan is a vehicle for poor pay practices;
7. The company has a liberal definition of change-in-control.
V. Golden Coffin (Death Benefit)
We generally vote FOR proposals calling companies to adopt a policy of obtaining shareholder approval for any future agreements and corporate policies that could oblige the company to make payments or awards following the death of a senior executive in the form of unearned salary or bonuses, accelerated vesting or the continuation in force of unvested equity grants, perquisites and other payments or awards made in lieu of compensation. This would not apply to any benefit programs or equity plan proposals that the broad-based employee population is eligible.
W. Hold Till (post) Retirement
We vote on a CASE-BY-CASE on shareholder proposals asking companies to adopt policies requiring Named Executive Officers to retain 75% of the shares acquired through compensation plans while employed and/or for two years following the termination of their employment, and to report to shareholders regarding this policy.
The following factors will be taken into account:
1. Whether the company has any holding period, retention ratio, or officer ownership requirements in place. These should consist of:
a. Rigorous stock ownership guidelines, or
b. A holding period requirement coupled with a significant long-term ownership requirement, or c. A meaningful retention ratio,
2. Actual officer stock ownership and the degree to which it meets or exceeds the proponents suggested holding period/retention ratio or the companys own stock ownership or retention requirements.
3. Problematic pay practices, current and past, which may promote a short-term versus a long-term focus.
X. Termination of Employment Prior to Severance Payment and Eliminating Accelerated Vesting of Unvested Equity:
We will evaluate such proposals on a Case-by-Case basis.
Change-in-control payouts without loss of job or substantial diminution of job duties (single-triggered) are considered poor pay practices under policy, and may even result in withheld votes from compensation committee members. The second component of this proposal - related to the elimination of accelerated vesting requires more careful consideration. The following factors will be taken into regarding this policy:
1. The companys current treatment of equity in change-of-control situations (i.e. is it double triggered, does it allow for the assumption of equity by acquiring company, the treatment of performance shares.
2. Current employment agreements, including potential poor pay practices such as gross-ups embedded in those agreements.
Y. Compensation Issue in Non-US Companies
1. Europe: Vote case-by-case on management proposals seeking ratification of a companys executive compensation-related items, and generally vote against a companys compensation-related proposal if
such proposal fails to comply with one or a combination of several of the global principles and their corresponding rules:
a. Avoid arrangements that risk pay for failure:
b. The board shall demonstrate good stewardship of investors interests regarding executive compensation practices. For instance,
· There shall be a clear link between the companys performance and variable awards.
· There shall not be significant discrepancies between the companys performance and real executive payouts.
· The level of pay for the CEO and members of executive management should not be excessive relative to peers, company performance, and market practices.
· Significant pay increases shall be explained by a detailed and compelling disclosure.
· Severance pay agreements must not be in excess of (i) 24 months pay or of (ii) any more restrictive provision pursuant to local legal requirements and/or market best practices.
· Arrangements with a company executive regarding pensions and post-mandate exercise of equity- based awards must not result in an adverse impact on shareholders interests or be misaligned with good market practices.
2. Europe Generally vote for proposals to fix the ratio between the fixed and variable components of remuneration unless:
· Adequate disclosure has not been provided in a timely manner
· There are concerns about the companys motivation for change
· There are specific concerns with the company.
UK RIM votes on a case-by-case basis on management proposals seeking ratification of a companys remuneration policy, and generally vote against if such proposal fails to comply with one or a combination of several of ISS remuneration principles and/or local institutional investor best practice without adequate explanation. Whilst not an exhaustive list, below are several key criteria that are considered during analysis:
· Has adequate disclosure been provided to allow investors to make an informed voting decision;
· The level of pay for the CEO and other executive directors should not be excessive relative to peers, company performance, and market practices;
· Significant pay increases should be explained by a detailed and compelling disclosure;
· Severance pay agreements should not be in excess of 12 months fixed remuneration and should be in line with best practice;
· There should be a clear link between the companys performance and variable awards;
· The ability for discretionary exceptional awards to be made in excess of the standard policy will require a maximum award level to be disclosed. Open ended exceptional award levels will not be supported;
· Executives should own a significant personal shareholding in the company and this should be supported by established share ownership guidelines by the company;
· The remuneration committee should have the ability to clawback or withhold payment of incentive awards when justified.
· NEDs generally should not receive performance based remuneration
3. Finland - Stock Options
a. We vote AGAINST these proposals; however, an exception will be made if a company
proposes to reduce the strike price by the amount of future special dividends only.
b. We vote FOR proposals that provide proportionate adjustments to outstanding awards as a result of a special cash dividend or any other future distribution of assets other than a normal cash dividend.
4. Germany - Remuneration Disclosure
We vote AGAINST management proposals authorizing the board not to disclose remuneration schemes for five years
5. Sweden - Remuneration Report
We vote AGAINST management proposals to approve the remuneration report if:
a. The potential dilution from equity-based compensation plans exceeds RMG guidelines.
b. Restricted stock plans and matching share plans do not include sufficiently challenging performance criteria and vesting periods.
c. The remuneration report was not made available to shareholders in a timely manner.
d. Other concerns exist with respect to the disclosure or structure of the bonus or other aspects of the remuneration policy.
6. Sweden, Norway - Matching Share Plans
We will evaluate such plans on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
a. For every matching share plan, RMG will require a holding period.
b. For plans without performance criteria, the shares must be purchased at market price.
c. For broad-based plans directed at all employees, RMG accepts a 1:1 arrangement - that no more than one free share will be awarded for every share purchased at market value. . ..
d. For plans directed at executives, we require that sufficiently challenging performance criteria are attached to the plan. Higher discounts demand proportionally higher performance criteria.
e. The dilution of the plan when combined with the dilution from any other proposed or outstanding employee stock matching plans must comply with RMGS guidelines.
7. Australia
We will vote AGAINST resolutions seeking approval of termination payments for executives in excess of statutory maximum except where there is clear evidence that the termination payment would provide a benefit to shareholders.
We vote FOR the provision of termination benefits under the plan in excess of 12 months base salary, if the approval is for three years or fewer and no vesting is permitted without satisfaction of sufficiently demanding performance hurdles.
8. Japan
RIM will vote AGAINST retirement bonuses if the recipients include outsiders, or include those who can be held responsible for corporate scandal or poor financial performance which has led to shareholder value destruction. (However, in rare occasions, RIM may support payment to outsiders on a case-by-case basis, if the individual amount is disclosed and the amount is not excessive.) In addition, RIM opposes the payments if neither the individual payments nor the aggregate amount of the payments is disclosed.
RIM will vote AGAINST special payments in connection with abolition of retirement bonus system if the recipients include outsiders, or include those who can be held responsible for corporate scandal or poor financial performance which has led to shareholder value destruction. (However, in rare occasions, RIM may support payment to outsiders on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, if the individual amount is disclosed and the amount is not excessive.) In addition, RIM will vote AGAINST the payments if neither the individual payments nor the aggregate amount of the payments is disclosed.
Among other conditions, RIM will vote AGAINST deep discount options if disclosed performance conditions are not attached. In the absence of such conditions, a vesting period of at least three years will be required to support such options
9. Nordic Markets
We will vote AGAINST stock option plans in Nordic markets if evidence is found that they contain provisions that may result in a disconnect between shareholder value and employee/executive rewards. This includes one or more of the following:
a. Adjusting the strike price for future ordinary dividends AND including expected dividend yield above zero percent when determining the number of options awarded under the plan;
b. Having significantly higher expected dividends than actual historical dividends;
c. Favorably adjusting the terms of existing options plans without valid reason;
d. Any other provisions or performance measures that result in undue award.
We will generally vote AGAINST if the increase in share capital is more than 5 percent for mature companies and 10 percent for growth companies.
10. Italy
We will vote FOR any equity-based compensation plan provided they meet the following:
a. The shares reserved for all share plans may not exceed 5 percent of a companys issued share capital, except in the case of high-growth companies or particularly well-designed plans, in which case we allow dilution of between 5 and 10 percent: in this case, we will need to have performance conditions attached to the plans which should be acceptable regarding the RMG criteria (challenging criteria);
b. The options for management are granted without a discount;
c. An executive director is part of the remuneration committee; or
d. The company has no remuneration committee and has executive members within the board.
* RIM may apply a carve-out in the case of well designed plans.*
11. Taiwan
We vote on a case-by-case basis taking into account the following features:
a. existing substantial shareholders are restricted in participation;
b. presence of challenging performance hurdles if restricted shares are issued for free or at a deep discount; and
c. reasonable vesting period (at least two years) is set.
12. China
We vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to approve a restricted stock scheme. A restricted stock plan will not be supported if:
a. The grant price of the restricted shares is less than 50% of the average price of the companys shares during the 20 trading days prior to the pricing reference date;
b. The maximum dilution level for the scheme exceeds RIM guidelines of 5% of issued capital for a mature company and 10% for a growth company. RIM will support plans at mature companies with dilution levels up to 10% if the plan includes other positive features such as challenging performance criteria and meaningful vesting periods.
c. Directors eligible to receive restricted shares under the scheme are involved in the administration of the scheme; or
d. The company fails to set challenging performance hurdles for unlocking the restricted shares compared with its historical financial performance or the industry benchmarks.
We vote AGAINST a restricted stock scheme if the scheme is proposed in the second half of the year and the measurement of the companys financial performance starts from the same year, as the companys financial performance has been largely determined for that particular year.
We vote on a case-by-case bases on proposals to invest in financial products using idle funds.
Key factors include: any known concerns with previous investments, the amount of the proposed investment relative to the companys assets; disclosure of the nature of the products in which the company proposes to invest and disclosure of associated risks of the proposed investments and related risk management efforts by the company.
13. Japan - Director Stock Options
We vote FOR evergreen director option plans as long as the contemplated level of annual dilution is less than 0.5%; so that it would take more than 10 years of grants for dilution to exceed our guidelines. (Where the company has outstanding options from other plans, or proposes to grant additional options to employees below board level, these must be factored into the calculation.)
Z. Canadian Equity Compensation Plans, TSX Issuers
1. Change-in-Control Provisions
Where approval of a CIC provision is sought as part of a bundled proposal, RMG Canada may recommend a vote AGAINST the entire bundled proposal due to an unacceptable CIC provision.
2. Generally vote AGAINST proposals to reprice outstanding options including adjustments that can be reasonably considered repricing such as: reduction in exercise price or purchase price, extension of term for outstanding options, cancellation and reissuance of options, substitution of options with other awards.
3. Amendment Procedures
We generally vote AGAINST the approval of proposed Amendment Procedures that do not require shareholder approval for the following types of amendments under any security based compensation arrangement, whether or not such approval is required under current regulatory rules:
a. Any increase in the number (or percentage in the case of rolling plans) of shares reserved;
b. Any amendment that extends the term of an award beyond the original expiry;
c. Amendments to eligible participants that may permit the introduction or reintroduction of non- employee directors on a discretionary basis;
d. Any amendment which would permit equity based awards granted under the Plan may be transferable or assignable other than for normal estate settlement purposes
4. Employee Share Purchase Plans, Amendment procedures
We generally vote AGAINST proposals to approve Share Purchase Plan Amendment Procedures if discretion is given to amend any of the following acceptable criteria:
a. Limit on employee contribution (expressed as a percentage of base salary excluding bonus, commissions and special compensation);
b. Purchase price is at least 80 percent of fair market value with no employer contribution; OR
c. No discount purchase price with maximum employer contribution of up to 20% of employee contribution
d. Offering period is 27 months or less; and
e. Potential dilution together with all other equity-based plans is ten percent of outstanding common shares or less.
If shareholder approval is sought for a new Share Purchase Plan, the above criteria must apply and not be subject to future amendment under Plan amendment provisions without further shareholder approval or we will generally vote AGAINST approval of the Plan.
IX. |
State of Incorporation |
|
A. Voting on State Takeover Statutes
We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis proposals to opt in or out of state takeover statutes (including control share acquisition statutes, control share cash-out statutes, freezeout provisions, fair price provisions, stakeholder laws, poison pill endorsements, severance pay and labor contract provisions, anti- greenmail provisions, and disgorgement provisions).
B. Voting on Reincorporation Proposals
Proposals to change a companys state of incorporation are examined on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
1. Canada
a. RIM will generally vote FOR proposals to amend or replace articles of incorporation or bylaws if:
· The purpose of the amendment is to clarify ambiguity, reflect changes in corporate law, streamline years of amendments, or other housekeeping amendments; and
· The bylaws as amended will not result in any of the unacceptable governance provisions set out in the following paragraph.
b. RIM will generally vote AGAINST new by-laws or amended by-laws that would establish two different quorum levels which would result in implementing a higher quorum solely for those
shareholder meetings where common share investors seek to replace the majority of current board members. (Enhanced Quorum).
c. RIM will generally vote FOR proposals to adopt or amend articles/bylaws unless the resulting document contains any of the following:
· The quorum for a meeting of shareholders is set below two persons holding 25 percent of the eligible vote (this may be reduced in the case of a small company where it clearly has difficulty achieving quorum at a higher level, but we oppose any quorum below 10 percent);
· The quorum for a meeting of directors is less than 50 percent of the number of directors;
· The chair of the board has a casting vote in the event of a deadlock at a meeting of directors;
· An alternate director provision that permits a director to appoint another person to serve as an alternate director to attend board or committee meetings in place of the duly elected director; and
· The proposed articles/bylaws raise other corporate governance concerns, such as granting blanket authority to the board with regard to capital authorizations or alteration of capital structure without shareholder approval
X. |
Mergers and Corporate Restructurings |
|
A. Mergers and Acquisitions
Votes on mergers and acquisitions are considered on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, taking into account at least the following:
1. Anticipated financial and operating benefits;
2. Offer price (cost vs. premium);
3. Prospects of the combined companies;
4. How the deal was negotiated;
5. Changes in corporate governance and their impact on shareholder rights;
6. Change-in-control payments to executive officers and possible conflicts of interest; and
7. Potential legal or environmental liability risks associated with the target firm
B. Corporate Restructuring
Votes on corporate restructuring proposals, including minority squeezeouts, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations, and asset sales are considered on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.
C. Spin-offs
Votes on spin-offs are considered on a CASE-BY-CASE basis depending on the tax and regulatory advantages, planned use of sale proceeds, market focus, and managerial incentives.
D. Asset Sales
Votes on asset sales are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis after considering the impact on the balance sheet/working capital, value received for the asset, and potential elimination of diseconomies.
E. Liquidations
Votes on liquidations are made on a CASE-BY-CASE basis after reviewing managements efforts to pursue other alternatives, appraisal value of assets, and the compensation plan for executives managing the liquidation.
F. Appraisal Rights
We vote FOR proposals to restore, or provide shareholders with, rights of appraisal.
G. Changing Corporate Name
We vote FOR changing the corporate name.
H. Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs)
We will consider on a Case-by-Case the following measures for SPACs:
1. Valuation, Market reaction,
2. Deal timing,
3. Negotiations and process,
4. Conflicts of interest,
5. Voting agreements, and
6. Governance.
I. Loan Guarantee Requests (Non US companies)
Companies often provide loan guarantees for subsidiaries, affiliates and related parties. Such requests will be evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis. Generally, RIM will vote AGAINST the provision when:
· The identity receiving the guarantee is not disclosed;
· The guarantee is being provided to a director, executive, parent company or affiliated entities where the company has no direct or indirect equity ownership; or
· the guarantee is provided to an entity in which the companys ownership stake is less than 75%; and such guarantee is not proportionate to the companys equity stake or other parties have not provided a counter guarantee.
RIM will generally vote FOR such request provided that there are no significant concerns regarding the entity receiving the guarantee, the relationship between the listed company and the entity receiving the guarantee, the purpose of the guarantee, or the terms of the guarantee agreement.
XI. |
Mutual Funds |
|
A. Business Development Companies
RIM will vote FOR proposals authorizing the board to issue shares below Net Asset Value (NAV) if:
1. The proposal to allow share issuances below NAV has an expiration date that is less than one year from the date shareholders approve the underlying proposal as required under the Investment Company Act of 1940;
2. a majority of the independent directors who have no financial interest in the sale have made a determination as to whether such sale would be in the best interest of the company and its shareholders prior to selling shares below NAV; and
3. the company has demonstrated responsible past use of share issuances by either:
a. Outperforming peers in its 8-digit GICS group as measured by one and three year median TSRs; or
b. Providing disclosure that its past share issuances were priced at levels that resulted in only small or moderate discounts to NAV and economic dilution to existing non- participating shareholders.
B. Multimanaged Funds/Subadvisers:
RIM will vote AGAINST proposals authorizing the board to hire or terminate subadvisers without shareholder approval if the investment adviser currently employs only one subadviser.
XII. |
Corporate Governance and Conduct |
|
In general, we support shareholder proposals that promote good corporate citizenship while enhancing long-term shareholder value. Proposals that present an egregious economic impact will not be supported.
1. We SUPPORT the adoption of labor standards and codes of conduct for foreign and domestic suppliers as ways to protect brands and manage risk.
2. We SUPPORT reporting on countries with human rights abuses as ways to protect and manage risk.
3. We SUPPORT CERES Principles, environmental reporting and MacBride Principles.
4. We SUPPORT high-performance workplace standards.
5. We SUPPORT fair lending guidelines and disclosure at financial companies.
6. We SUPPORT reporting on equal opportunity and diversity.
7. We OPPOSE resolutions that would fundamentally affect company performance and competitive increase of shareholder value.
8. We OPPOSE shareholder proposals requesting the adoption of specific charter language regarding board diversity unless the company fails to publicly disclose existing equal opportunity or nondiscrimination policies.
9. We OPPOSE shareholder proposals for reports outlining potential environmental damage from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) unless: a) new legislation is adopted allowing development and drilling in the ANWR; b) the company intends to pursue operations in the ANWR, c) the company does not currently disclose an environmental risk report for their operations in the ANWR.
10. We OPPOSE shareholder proposals requesting a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions unless the company significantly lags behind industry standards or has been the subject of recent, substantial controversy on this issue.
11. We OPPOSE shareholder proposals on investing in renewable energy sources.
12. We review proposals requesting information on a companys lobbying activities, including direct lobbying as well as grassroots lobbying activities on a CASE-BY-CASE basis taking into account; a) the companys current disclosure of relevant lobbying policies, and management and board oversight; b) the companys disclosure regarding trade associations or other groups that it supports, or is a member of, that engage in lobbying activities; and c) recent significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding the companys lobbying-related activities..
13. We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis proposals requesting a company report on its energy efficiency policies, considering: a) the current level of disclosure related to energy efficiency policies, initiatives, and performance measures; b) level of participation in voluntary efficiency programs; c) compliance with applicable legislation and regulations; d) the companys policies and initiatives relative to industry peers; and e) the cost associated with the proposed initiative.
14. We review on a CASE-BY-CASE basis proposals requesting disclosure and implementation of internet privacy and censorship policies and procedures, considering: a) the level of disclosure of policies relating to privacy, freedom of speech, internet censorship and government monitoring; b) dialogue with governments and/or relevant groups; c) scope of involvement and investment in markets that maintain government censorship or internet monitoring; d) market-specific laws or regulations applicable to this issue that may be imposed on the company; e) level of controversy or litigation related to the companys international human rights policies; and f) the cost associated with the proposed initiative.
15. We generally vote FOR proposals requesting greater disclosure of a companys (natural gas) hydraulic fracturing operations, including measures the company has taken to manage and mitigate the potential community and environmental impacts of those operations, considering: a) the companys current level of disclosure of relevant policies and oversight mechanisms; b) the companys current level of such disclosure relative to its industry peers; c) potential relevant local, state, or national regulatory developments; and d) controversies, fines, or litigation related to the companys hydraulic fracturing operations.
16. We will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on proposals requesting company reports on, or to adopt a new policy on, water-related risks and concerns, taking into account: a) the companys current disclosure of relevant policies, initiatives, oversight mechanisms, and water usage metrics; b) whether or not the companys existing water-related policies and practices are consistent with relevant internationally recognized standards and national/local regulations; c) the potential financial impact or risk to the company associated with water-related concerns or issues; and d) recent, significant company controversies, fines, or litigation regarding water use by the company and its suppliers.
17. We review on a CASE-BY-CASE requests for the company to review and report on the financial and reputation risks associated with operations in high risk markets, such as a terrorism- sponsoring state or otherwise, taking into account: a) the nature, purpose, and scope of the operations and business involved that could be affected by social or political disruption; b)
current disclosure of applicable risk assessment(s) and risk management procedures; c) compliance with US sanctions and laws; d) consideration of other international policies, standards, and laws; e) recent involvement in significant controversies or violations in high risk markets; and f) the cost associated with the initiative.
18. We SUPPORT proposals requesting company reporting on its policies, initiatives/procedures and oversight mechanisms related to toxic materials, including certain product line toxicities, and/or product safety in its supply chain, UNLESS: a) the company already discloses similar information through existing reports or policies such as a Supplier Code of Conduct and/or a sustainability report; or b) the company is in compliance with all applicable regulations and guidelines; or c) there is no existence of significant violations and/or fines related to toxic materials.
19. We review on a CASE-BY-CASE requests for workplace safety reports, including reports on accident risks reduction efforts taking into account; a) a) the nature of the companys business specifically regarding company and employee exposure to health and safety risks; b) level of existing disclosure of its workplace health and safety performance data, health and safety management policies, initiatives, and oversight mechanisms; c) existence of recent, significant violations, fines, or controversy related to workplace health and safety ; and d) the companys workplace health and safety performance relative to industry peers.
20. Establishment of Board Committees on Social Issues: Shareholder proposals requesting companies establish new standing board committees on social issues.
We will generally vote AGAINST proposals requesting a company establish new standing board committees on social issues considering:
a. Existing oversight mechanisms (including current committee structure) regarding the issue for which board oversight is sought;
b. Level of disclosure regarding the issue for which board oversight is sought;
c. Company performance related to the issue for which board oversight is sought;
d. Board committee structure compared to that of other companies in its industry sector; and/or e. The scope and structure of the proposal.
21. Genetically Modified Ingredients (GMO):
a. Generally vote AGAINST proposals asking suppliers, genetic research companies, restaurants and food retail companies to voluntarily label genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in their products and/or eliminate GE ingredients. The cost of labeling and/or phasing out the use of GE ingredients may not be commensurate with the benefits to shareholders and is an issue better left to regulators.
b. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals asking for a report on the feasibility of labeling products containing GE ingredients taking into account:
i. The companys business and the proportion of it affected by the resolution;
ii. The quality of the companys disclosure on GE product labeling, related voluntary initiatives, and how this disclosure compares with industry peer disclosure; and
iii. Companys current disclosure on the feasibility of GE product labeling, including information on the related costs.
c. Generally vote AGAINST proposals seeking a report on the social, health, and environmental effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Studies of this sort are better undertaken by regulators and the scientific community.
d. Generally vote AGAINST proposals to completely phase out GE ingredients from the companys products or proposals asking for reports outlining the steps necessary to eliminate GE ingredients from the companys products. Such resolutions presuppose that there are proven health risks to GE ingredients
22. Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation and Domestic Partner Benefits
a. We will generally vote FOR proposals seeking to amend a companys EEO statement or diversity policies to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, unless the change would result in excessive costs for the company.
b. We will generally vote AGAINST proposals to extend company benefits to or eliminating benefits from domestic partners.
23. Equality of Opportunity: shareholder proposal requesting companies disclose their EEO-1 data
We will generally vote FOR proposals requesting the company disclose its diversity policies, initiatives, comprehensive diversity data, and EEO-1 data unless:
a. The company publicly discloses its comprehensive equal opportunity policies and initiatives;
b. The company already publicly discloses comprehensive workforce diversity data; and c. The company has no recent significant EEO-related violations or litigation.
24. Political contributions and Trade Associations: Shareholder proposals calling for company to confirm political nonpartisanship, increase disclosure on political contributions and trade association spending and bar political contributions.
a. RIM will generally vote AGAINST proposals asking the company to affirm political nonpartisanship in the workplace so long as:
i. There are no recent, significant controversies, fines or litigation regarding the companys political contributions or trade association spending; and
ii. The company has procedures in place to ensure that employee contributions to company- sponsored political action committees (PACs) are strictly voluntary and prohibits coercion.
b. RIM will vote AGAINST proposals to publish in newspapers and public media the companys political contributions. Such publications could present significant cost to the company without providing commensurate value to shareholders.
c. RIM will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on proposals to improve the disclosure of a companys political contributions and trade association spending considering:
i. Recent significant controversy or litigation related to the companys political contributions or governmental affairs; and
ii. The public availability of a company policy on political contributions and trade association spending including information on the types of organizations supported, the business rationale for supporting these organization, and the oversight and compliance procedure related to such expenditures of corporate assets.
d. RIM will vote AGAINST proposals barring the company from making political contributions.
e. RIM will vote AGAINST proposals asking for a list of company executives, directors, consultants, legal counsels, lobbyists, or investment bankers that have prior government service and whether such service had a bearing on the business of the company.
26. Recycling: We will vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on proposals to report on an existing recycling program, or adopt a new recycling program, taking into account: a) the nature of the companys business; b) the current level of disclosure of the companys existing related programs; c) the timetable prescribed by the proposal and the costs and methods of program implementation; d) the ability of the company to address the issues raised in the proposal; and e) the companys recycling programs compared with the similar programs of its industry peers.
27. RIM will vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals requesting that a company conduct an assessment of the human rights risks in its operations or in its supply chain, or report on its human rights risk assessment process considering: a) the degree to which existing relevant policies and practices are disclosed, including information on the implementation of these policies and any related oversight mechanisms; b) the companys industry and whether the company or its suppliers operation in countries or areas where there is a history of human rights concerns; c) recent, significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding human rights involving the company or its suppliers, and whether the company has taken remedial steps; and d) whether the proposal is unduly burdensome or overly prescriptive.
END
SCHNEIDER SMALL CAP VALUE FUND
TICKER: SCMVX
(an Investment Portfolio of the RBB Fund, Inc.)
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 31, 2014
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides supplementary information pertaining to shares (the Shares) representing interests in the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This SAI is not a prospectus, and should be read only in conjunction with the Funds Prospectus, dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus). A copy of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free (888) 520-3277. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FUND HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION |
1 |
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INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS |
1 |
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PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS |
1 |
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NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS |
3 |
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FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
8 |
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
9 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
10 |
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CODE OF ETHICS |
17 |
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PROXY VOTING |
17 |
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
17 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
18 |
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FUND TRANSACTIONS |
22 |
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
22 |
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TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
23 |
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VALUATION OF SHARES |
23 |
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TAXES |
24 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
25 |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
25 |
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
26 |
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APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
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APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
FUND HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to one class of shares representing interests in one diversified portfolio of the Company, which is offered by a Prospectus.
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objectives and policies of the Fund.
The Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks of companies which have capitalizations that are less than the largest company in the Russell 2000 ® Index (small cap companies) and which Schneider Capital Management Company (the Adviser) believes are undervalued. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Funds net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in small cap companies. The Board of Directors may change the Funds investment objective and the policies described above without the approval of the Funds shareholders. However, as a matter of policy, the Fund would not materially change its investment objective or primary investment strategy without informing shareholders at least 60 days in advance of any such change.
The Adviser may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectus and this SAI or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
Bank and Corporate Obligations. The Fund may purchase obligations of issuers in the banking industry, such as short-term obligations of bank holding companies, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and time deposits issued by U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion. Investment in obligations of foreign banks or foreign branches of U.S. banks may entail risks that are different from those of investments in obligations of U.S. banks due to differences in political, regulatory and economic systems and conditions. Such obligations are not FDIC insured and the Fund bears the risk of their failure. The activities of banks are subject to extensive regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans that may be made and the interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and costs 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 play an important part in the operation of this industry. The Fund may also make interest-bearing savings deposits in commercial and savings banks in amounts not in excess of 5% of its total assets.
The Fund may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations that are rated at the time of purchase within the three highest ratings categories of Standard & Poors (S&P) or Moodys Investors, Inc. (Moodys) (or which, if unrated, are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality). Unrated securities will be determined to be of comparable quality to rated debt obligations if, among other things, other outstanding obligations of the issuers of such securities are rated A or better. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. In the event that a security held by the Fund is placed on a credit watch or is downgraded by a rating agency, the value of such security may decline and the Fund may consequently experience losses in respect of such security.
Equity Securities . Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stock, preferred stock, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock . Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock . Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants . Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
· Convertible Securities . Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
· Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers . Investing in equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of depth of management. The securities of smaller companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and even if listed on a national securities exchange may not be traded in volumes typical for that exchange. Consequently, the securities of smaller companies are less likely to be liquid, may have limited market stability, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established growth companies or the market averages in general.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in foreign securities, either directly or indirectly through American Depositary Receipts and European Depositary Receipts. Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Transactions in foreign securities may involve greater time from the trade date until the settlement date than domestic securities transactions, and may involve the risk of possible losses through the holding of securities in custodians and securities depositories in foreign countries. These factors could interfere with the Advisers ability to sell the securities.
Although the Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the net asset value (NAV) of the Funds shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the Funds securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which the Fund makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price of the Funds securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of the Funds securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, the Fund is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 Funds 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 Funds 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 Funds holdings.
NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
Commercial Paper. The Fund may purchase commercial paper rated (at the time of purchase) A-1 by S&P or Prime-1 by Moodys or, when deemed advisable by the Adviser, issues rated A-2 or Prime-2 by S&P or Moodys, respectively. These rating categories are described in Appendix A to this SAI. The Fund may also purchase unrated commercial paper provided that such paper is determined to be of comparable quality by the Funds Adviser pursuant to guidelines approved by the Companys Board of Directors. Commercial paper issues in which the Fund may invest include securities issued by corporations without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act) in reliance on the exemption from such registration afforded by Section 3(a) (3) thereof, and commercial paper issued in reliance on the so-called private placement exemption from registration, which is afforded by Section 4(2) of the 1933 Act (Section 4(2) paper). Section 4(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws in that any resale must similarly be made in an exempt transaction. Section 4(2) paper is normally resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of investment dealers who make a market in Section 4(2) paper, thus providing liquidity.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber
security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Futures Contracts. The Fund may invest in financial futures contracts with respect to those securities listed on the S&P 500 ® Index. Financial futures contracts obligate the seller to deliver a specific type of security called for in the contract, at a specified future time, and for a specified price. Financial futures contracts may be satisfied by actual delivery of the securities or, more typically, by entering into a transaction that offsets the financial futures contract. The Fund will comply with guidelines established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with respect to coverage of options and futures strategies by mutual funds, and if the guidelines so require will set aside cash and high grade liquid debt securities in a segregated account with its custodian bank in the amount prescribed. Securities held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the futures or option strategy is outstanding, unless they are replaced with similar securities. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Funds assets could impede portfolio management or the Funds ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations. Depending on the asset levels that are required to be segregated, the Fund may be required to sell off assets it would not otherwise liquidate. There are risks that are associated with the use of futures contracts for hedging purposes. In certain market conditions, as in a rising interest rate environment, sales of futures contracts may not completely offset a decline in value of the portfolio securities against which the futures contracts are being sold. In the futures market, it may not always be possible to execute a buy or sell order at the desired price, or to close out an open position due to market conditions, limits on open positions, and/or daily price fluctuations. Risks in the use of futures contracts also result from the possibility that changes in the market interest rates may differ substantially from the changes anticipated by the Funds Adviser when hedge positions were established. The Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of the value of its net assets in futures contracts.
All futures contracts entered into by the Fund are traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that are licensed and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or on foreign exchanges. The Fund will limit investments in futures to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). For this reason, with respect to the Fund, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO with respect to the Fund, the disclosure and operations of the Fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
Hedging Investments. At such times as the Adviser deems it appropriate and consistent with the investment objective of the Fund, the Fund may invest in financial futures contracts and options on financial futures contracts. The purpose of such transactions is to hedge against changes in the market value of securities in the Fund caused by fluctuating interest rates and to close out or offset its existing positions in such futures contracts or options as described below. Such instruments will not be used for speculation. Futures contracts and options on futures are discussed below.
Indexed Securities. The Fund may invest in indexed securities whose value is linked to securities indices. Most such securities have values which rise and fall according to the change in one or more specified indices, and may have characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying securities. Depending on the index, such securities may have greater volatility than the market as a whole. The Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in indexed securities.
Investment Company Securities. The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies (including exchange-traded funds) to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, the Funds investments in such securities currently are limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Funds total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Funds total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. Investments in the securities of other investment companies will involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act permits the Fund to invest an unlimited amount of its uninvested cash in a money market fund so long as, among other things, said investment is consistent with the Funds investment objectives and policies. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of the investment companys expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
The Fund may invest in investment companies that are not registered with the SEC or privately placed securities of investment companies (which may or may not be registered), such as hedge funds and offshore funds. Unregistered funds are largely exempt from the regulatory requirements that apply to registered investment companies. As a result, unregistered funds may have a greater ability to make investments, or use investment techniques, that offer a higher potential investment return (for example, leveraging), but which may carry high risk. Unregistered funds are not regulated by the SEC like registered funds. Investments in unregistered funds may be difficult to sell, which could cause the Fund selling an interest in an unregistered fund to lose money. For example, many hedge funds require their investors to hold their investments for at least one year.
Lending of Fund Securities. The Fund may lend securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. Because the government securities or other assets that are pledged as collateral to the Fund in connection with these loans generate income, securities lending enables the Fund to earn income that may partially offset expenses. These loans may not exceed 33 1 /3% of the Funds total assets. The documentation for these loans will provide that the Fund will receive collateral equal to at least 102% of the current market value of the loaned securities, as marked to market each day that the NAV of the Fund is determined, consisting of government securities or other assets permitted by applicable regulations and interpretations. The Fund will pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with the loan of securities. The Fund will invest collateral in short-term investments, and will bear the risk of loss of the invested collateral. In addition, the Fund will be exposed to the risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities. The Funds share of income from the loan collateral will be included in its gross investment income.
Securities lending would involve risk of delay in receiving additional collateral in the event the value of the collateral decreased below the value of the securities loaned or risk of delay in recovering the securities loaned or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, loans will be made only to borrowers deemed by the Adviser to be of good standing and only when, in the Advisers judgment, the income to be earned from the loans justifies the attendant risks. Any loans of the Funds securities will be marked to market daily. The Fund does not have the right to vote loaned securities. The Fund may attempt to call loaned securities back to permit the exercise of voting rights, if time and jurisdictional restrictions permit. There is no guarantee that all loans can be recalled.
Options on Futures. The Fund may purchase and write call and put options on futures contracts with respect to those securities listed on the S&P 500 ® Index and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate an existing position. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract. The Fund may use options on futures contracts in connection with hedging strategies. The purchase of put options on futures contracts is a means of hedging against the risk of rising interest rates. The purchase of call options on futures contracts is a means of hedging against a market advance when the Fund is not fully invested.
The Fund may seek to terminate its position in a put option it writes before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for an option the Fund has written, however, the Fund must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes, and must continue to set aside assets to cover its position. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, as described above, except that writing covered call options generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the
same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, the Fund would seek to mitigate the effects of a price decline. At the same time, because the Fund would have to be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, the Fund would give up some ability to participate in security price increases when writing call options.
Because there are a limited number of types of futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized futures contracts available to the Fund will not match the Funds current or anticipated investments. Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match the Funds investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation between the Funds investments and its futures positions may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts. The Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in historical volatility between the futures contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in the Funds futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, its futures positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by the gains in the Funds other investments.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to close out its financial futures positions at any time, in which case it would be required to maintain the margin deposits on the contract. The Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in options on futures.
Private Investments in Public Equity . The Fund may invest up to 5% in equity securities in a private placement that are issued by issuers who have outstanding, publicly-traded equity securities of the same class (private investments in public equity or PIPEs). Shares in PIPEs generally are not registered with the SEC until after a certain time period from the date the private sale is completed. This restricted period can last many months. Until the public registration process is completed, PIPEs are restricted as to resale and the Fund cannot freely trade the securities. Generally, such restrictions cause the PIPEs to be illiquid during this time. PIPEs may contain provisions that the issuer will pay specified financial penalties to the holder if the issuer does not publicly register the restricted equity securities within a specified period of time, but there is no assurance that the restricted equity securities will be publicly registered, or that the registration will remain in effect.
Portfolio Turnover. Investment strategies that require periodic changes to portfolio holdings with the expectation of outperforming equity indices are typically referred to as active strategies. These strategies contrast with passive (index) strategies that buy and hold only the stocks in the equity indices. Passive strategies tend to trade infrequently, only as the stocks in the indices change (largely due to changes in the sizes of the companies in the indices, takeovers or bankruptcies). Most equity mutual funds pursue active strategies, which have higher turnover than passive strategies.
The generally higher portfolio turnover of active investment strategies can adversely affect taxable investors, especially those in higher marginal tax brackets, in two ways. First, short-term capital gains, which often accompany higher turnover investment strategies, are currently taxed at ordinary income rates. Ordinary income tax rates are higher than long-term capital gain tax rates for middle and upper income taxpayers. Thus, the tax liability is often higher for investors in active strategies. Second, the more frequent realization of gains caused by higher turnover investment strategies means that taxes will be paid sooner. Such acceleration of the tax liability is financially more costly to investors. Less frequent realization of capital gains allows the payment of taxes to be deferred until later years, allowing more of the gains to compound before taxes are paid. Consequently, after-tax compound rates of return will generally be higher for taxable investors using investment strategies with very low turnover, compared with high turnover strategies. The difference is particularly large when the general market rates of return are higher than average.
The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the Funds annual sales or purchases of portfolio securities (exclusive of purchases or sales of securities with maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less) by the monthly average value of the securities in the portfolio during the year. Under normal market conditions it is expected that the Funds portfolio turnover will range between 60% and 85%. The portfolio turnover rate of the Fund for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 was 72.33% of the average value of its portfolio.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price (repurchase agreements). The securities held subject to a repurchase agreement may have stated maturities exceeding 13 months, provided the repurchase agreement itself matures in
less than 13 months. The financial institutions with whom the Fund may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks which the Adviser considers creditworthy pursuant to criteria approved by the Board of Directors and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities that are listed on the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks list of reporting dealers. The Adviser will consider the creditworthiness of a seller in determining whether to cause the Fund to enter into a repurchase agreement. The seller under a repurchase agreement will be required to maintain the value of collateral at not less than the repurchase price plus accrued interest. The Adviser will monitor daily the value of the collateral, and will, if necessary, require the seller to increase the collateral so that its value is not less than the repurchase price. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose the Fund to the risk of loss because of possible market declines in the value of the collateral or delays in connection with its disposition.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements and Dollar Rolls. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities for temporary purposes (such as to obtain cash to meet redemption requests) when the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed disadvantageous or inconvenient by the Adviser. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to the Funds agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Such agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act, and may be entered into only for temporary or emergency purposes. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account with the Funds custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement and will monitor the account to ensure that such value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase and the return on the cash exchanged for the securities. The Fund may also enter into dollar rolls, in which it sells fixed income securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts to repurchase substantially similar (same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a specified future date. During the roll period, the Fund would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. The Fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the forward price for the future purchase, as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. The return on dollar rolls may be negatively impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. The Fund does not presently intend to engage in reverse repurchase or dollar roll transactions involving more than 5% of the Funds net assets.
Rule 144A Securities. The Fund may invest up to 15% of the value of its net assets in securities that are illiquid and may be difficult to value. The Fund may purchase securities which are not registered under the 1933 Act, but which can be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. Any such security will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser, acting under guidelines approved and monitored by the Board of Directors, that an adequate trading market exists for that security. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the Fund during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing these restricted securities.
Temporary Investments. The short-term and medium-term debt securities in which the Fund may invest for temporary defensive purposes consist of: (a) obligations of the United States or foreign governments, their respective agencies or instrumentalities; (b) bank deposits and bank obligations (including certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers acceptances) of U.S. or foreign banks denominated in any currency; (c) floating rate securities and other instruments denominated in any currency issued by international development agencies; (d) finance company and corporate commercial paper and other short-term corporate debt obligations of U.S. and foreign corporations; and (e) repurchase agreements with banks and broker-dealers with respect to such securities.
U.S. Government Obligations. The Fund may purchase U.S. government agency and instrumentality obligations that are debt securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and federal agencies. Some obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or by U.S. Treasury guarantees, such as securities of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and the Federal Housing Authority; others, by the ability of the issuer to borrow, provided approval is granted, from the U.S. Treasury, such as securities of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and others, only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation, such as securities of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Such guarantees of U.S. government securities held by a Fund do not, however, guarantee the market value of the shares of the Fund. There is no guarantee that the U.S. government will continue to provide support to its agencies or instrumentalities in the future. U.S. government obligations that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are subject to greater risks than those that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. All U.S. government obligations are subject to interest rate risk.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
The Funds net assets may be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, including, if applicable, options and futures on such obligations. The maturities of U.S. government securities usually range from three months to thirty years. Examples of types of U.S. government obligations include U.S. Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes and Treasury Bonds and the obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Fannie Mae, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Freddie Mac, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Maritime Administration, the Asian-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. U.S. government securities may include inflation-indexed fixed income securities, such as U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). The interest rate of TIPS, which is set at auction, remains fixed throughout the term of the security and the principal amount of the security is adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted principal is not paid until maturity.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. The Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Company has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations, which may not be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding Shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of a Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of: (1) 67% of the shares of the particular Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such Fund are present in person or by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such Fund. The Fund may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls for temporary purposes in amounts up to one-third of the value of its total assets at the time of such borrowing; or mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing. The Fund will not purchase securities while its aggregate borrowings (including reverse repurchase agreements, dollar rolls and borrowings from banks) are in excess of 5% of its total assets. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with the Funds investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation;
2. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the 1933 Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
3. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
4. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures;
5. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in
government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan;
6. Invest 25% or more of its assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of issuers in any particular industry (excluding the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities); or
7. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
(For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 1, any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets. For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 2, neither the foregoing arrangements nor the purchase or sale of futures or related options are deemed to be the issuance of senior securities.)
The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. As a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment companys expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.
Under the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days.
Except as required by the 1940 Act with respect to the borrowing of money and the limitation on illiquid holdings, if a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time of investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from a change in market values of portfolio securities or amount of total or net assets will not be considered a violation of any of the foregoing restrictions.
Securities held by the Fund generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser or its affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of a Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in its applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers of the Company, which include The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; and Merrill Corporation, the financial printer. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements,
implied by the nature of the relationship ( e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions). Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the portfolio.
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to (i) certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of the Fund as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Fund shareholders The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act), are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their age, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
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Position(s)
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Term of Office
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Principal Occupation(s)
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Number of
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Other Directorships
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INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
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Julian A. Brodsky
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Director |
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1988 to present |
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From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
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23 |
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AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies) |
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J. Richard Carnall
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Director |
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2002 to present |
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Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
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23 |
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None |
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Gregory P. Chandler
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Director |
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2012 to present |
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Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
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23 |
|
Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano
|
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
|
23 |
|
Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman
|
|
Chairman
|
|
2005 to present
|
|
Since 2006, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lifebooker, LLC. |
|
23 |
|
None |
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw
|
|
Assistant
|
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy
|
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and also serves on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs, Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the company. The contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Giordano, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Nusblatt, Reichman, Sablowsky and Straniere. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Nusblatt, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may
differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2014.
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Over $100,000 |
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or
telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director (except Mr. Nusblatt) a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Fund in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
923.88 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,333.91 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
1,523.24 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
1,487.09 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
1,930.08 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,306.96 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,128.84 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
12,891.41 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor,
or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities. The Adviser has adopted proxy voting procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Fund. A copy of the Advisers Proxy Voting Policy is included with this SAI. Please see Appendix B to this SAI for further information.
Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-520-3277 and by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014 to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the classes of the Fund indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund |
|
Charles Schwab & Co Inc.
|
|
630,763 |
|
23.57 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund |
|
Vanguard Brokerage Services
|
|
422,372 |
|
15.78 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund |
|
BNYM IS Trust CO
|
|
184,500 |
|
6.89 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund |
|
Arnold C Schneider III
|
|
140,595 |
|
5.25 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned 2.04% of the outstanding shares of the Fund, 2.70% of the outstanding shares of the Schneider Value Fund and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each of the remaining portfolios of the Company.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Advisory Agreement. The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement dated September 1, 1998 (the Advisory Agreement).
The Adviser is a Pennsylvania corporation controlled by its majority shareholder, Arnold C. Schneider, III. The Adviser has been managing assets for institutional accounts since 1996. The Adviser currently acts as investment adviser for the Schneider Value Fund, also an investment portfolio of the Company, and as investment sub-adviser for five other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act including: Russell Group of Funds Russell U.S. Equity Fund; Liberty All-Star Equity Fund; Frank Russell Equity Fund; and Frank Russell Sovereign US Equity Pool. As of November 30, 2014, the Adviser managed approximately $1.3 billion in assets. The Adviser is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
The Adviser is an active, equity value manager that believes a disciplined fundamental approach can consistently add value in a market that has shown to be extremely efficient with current data, but less so with future events. The Adviser is research intensive and focuses on new ideas, believing that the market is slow to react to change, particularly where out-of-favor stocks are concerned. The Adviser strives to act on them as soon as possible to generate above-average returns. The Adviser has investment discretion for the Fund and will make all decisions affecting assets in the Fund under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors and in accordance with the Funds stated policies. The Adviser will select investments for the Fund. For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee under the Advisory Agreement computed at an annual rate of 1.00% of the Funds average daily net assets. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain an annualized expense ratio (excluding certain items discussed below) for the Fund of 1.15%. In determining the Advisers obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net total annual fund operating expenses to exceed 1.15%: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived advisory fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Companys Board of Directors. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waiver after December 31, 2015.
The Fund bears its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by a Fund include, but are not limited to the expenses listed in the prospectus and the following (or a portfolios share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by a portfolio and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of a portfolio by the Adviser; (c) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or a portfolio for violation of any law; (d) any extraordinary expenses; (e) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (f) the cost of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers; (g) organizational costs; (h) fees to the Adviser and BNY Mellon; (i) fees and expenses of officers and directors who are not affiliated with the Adviser or Distributor; (j) taxes; (k) interest; (l) legal fees; (m) custodian fees; (n) auditing fees; (o) brokerage fees and commissions; (p) certain of the fees and expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund and its shares for distribution under federal and state securities laws; (q) expenses of preparing prospectuses and statements of additional information and distributing annually to existing shareholders that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (r) the expense of reports to shareholders, shareholders meetings and proxy solicitations that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (s) fidelity bond and directors and officers liability insurance premiums; (t) the expense of using independent pricing services; and (u) other expenses which are not expressly assumed by the Adviser under its advisory agreement with the portfolio.
Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund or the Company in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its duties and obligations thereunder.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the continuation of each Funds investment advisory agreement may be reviewed in the Fund(s) annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (888) 520-3277 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
The advisory fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Advisory Fees
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
424,255 |
|
$ |
250,637 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
462,002 |
|
$ |
244,874 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
415,919 |
|
$ |
248,925 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Portfolio Manager
Description of Compensation.
Mr. Schneiders compensation consists of a salary and a bonus. A portion of his bonus may be deferred. Generally, his salary is fixed at the beginning of each year; his bonus and any deferred compensation are discretionary and based on the overall profitability of the firm.
Other Accounts . The table below discloses accounts other than the Fund, for which the portfolio manager is jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management, as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total Assets |
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
|
Arnold C. Schneider III |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
6 |
|
$ |
609 M |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
3 |
|
$ |
146 M |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
4 |
|
$ |
603 M |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
Material Conflicts of Interest. The Adviser provides investment management services to multiple clients with investment objectives and strategies that are similar as well as different than those of the Fund. Although each clients account is individually managed, the Adviser may purchase and/or sell the same securities for numerous accounts. The Adviser aggregates client orders based on circumstances existing at the time the orders are received and consistent with its policy of seeking best price and execution. Aggregated orders may include orders for investment vehicles in which the Adviser or its affiliates have an interest. The inclusion of an account in an aggregate order is based on factors such as consistency with investment objective and guidelines, suitability, investment strategy, timing of order placement, order price, and client cash flow. Certain investment opportunities may be suitable for or consistent with the strategy or investment objective of only one or a limited number of client accounts. In those cases, it is possible that a particular securities acquisition or disposition will be considered for one or a limited number of accounts.
The Adviser is under common control with Turnbridge Management Partners (Turnbridge), the General Partner to a private investment fund. The Adviser manages the portfolio of the private investment fund. Turnbridge, in accordance with the provisions of the private investment fund, is entitled to receive an incentive allocation each year, based on the performance of the private investment fund.
Securities Ownership . The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the portfolio manager in the Fund as of August 31, 2014:
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares
|
Arnold C. Schneider III |
|
Over $1 Million |
Custodian Agreement. The Bank of New York Mellon (the Custodian), with offices at One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, serves as the custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a custodian agreement between the Custodian and the Company dated July 18, 2011, as amended and supplemented (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities
on account of the Fund, (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund, (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio securities and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that The Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Company harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian receives a fee based on each Funds average daily gross assets calculated daily and payable monthly, exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
Transfer Agency Agreement. BNY Mellon, with corporate offices at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a Transfer Agency Agreement dated November 5, 1991 as supplemented (collectively, the Transfer Agency Agreement). BNY Mellon (a) issues and redeems shares of the Fund, (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of the Shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders, (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any other affiliate of BNY Mellon. For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum monthly fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis, and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Customer Identification Program, including the verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
Distribution Agreement. Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Funds, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Funds and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the
Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Administration and Accounting Services Agreements. BNY Mellon serves as administrator to the Fund pursuant to an Administration and Accounting Services Agreement dated September 1, 1998 (the Administration Agreement). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Fund statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Fund. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to, among other things, prepare and file (or assist in the preparation of) certain reports with the SEC and other regulatory agencies. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of BNY Mellons gross negligence. For its services to the Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.125% of the Funds average daily net assets, with a minimum monthly fee of $8,333.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a Regulatory Administration Services Agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Companys registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
The administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees, including waivers and reimbursements, for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Administration, Accounting and
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
125,977 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
124,885 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
121,962 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, the Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
The Fund has no obligation to deal with any broker or group of brokers in the execution of portfolio transactions. The Adviser may, consistent with the interests of the Fund and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, select brokers on the basis of the research, statistical and pricing services they provide to the Fund and other clients of the Adviser. Information and research received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the Adviser under its respective contracts. The research may be used by the Adviser for all of its accounts. A commission paid to such brokers may be higher than that which another qualified broker would have charged for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Adviser, as applicable, determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the transaction or the overall responsibility of the Adviser, as applicable, to the Fund and its other clients and that the total commissions paid by the Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Fund over the long-term. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid $ 105,181 in aggregate commissions to brokers on account of research services.
The Adviser typically aggregates orders for the purchase and sale of securities for client portfolios including portfolios of the investment partnerships and registered investment companies it advises. In this process, orders for investment partnerships or registered investment companies in which the Adviser or persons associated with the Adviser have an interest may be aggregated with orders for other client portfolios. Securities purchased or proceeds of securities sold through aggregated orders are allocated to the account of each client or fund that bought or sold such securities at the average execution price. If less than the total of the aggregated orders is executed, purchased securities or proceeds will be allocated pro rata among the participating portfolios in proportion to their planned participation in the aggregated orders. Transaction costs for any transaction will be shared pro rata based on each portfolios participation in the transaction. The Fund will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such security of which the Adviser or any affiliated person (as defined in the 1940 Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Companys Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act.
The brokerage commissions for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Brokerage
|
|
|
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
237,951 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
223,675 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
247,213 |
|
The Fund is required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Funds as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. As of August 31, 2014 the Fund did not hold any securities of its regular broker-dealers or their parents.
The Fund expects that its annual portfolio turnover rate will range between 60% and 85% under normal market conditions. A high rate (100% or more) of portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater brokerage commission expenses and other transaction costs that must be borne directly by the Fund. The Fund anticipates that its annual portfolio turnover rate will vary from year to year.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by
the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code); (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days (defined below) of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Fund elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than Foreside Distributors), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with Individual Retirement Account or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to the approval of the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Fair Market Value Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and any such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Fund qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Funds business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Funds taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies and securities of other issuers as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
A 4% nondeductible excise tax is imposed on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute with respect to each calendar year at least 98% of their ordinary taxable income for the calendar year and 98.2% of their capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses) for the one year period ending October 31 of such calendar year and 100% of any such amounts that were not distributed in the prior year. The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions of its ordinary taxable income and any capital gain net income prior to the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which a Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located, or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even if a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of the Fund will vote in the aggregate on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of the 1940 Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting shares, as defined in the 1940 Act, of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2, the approval of an investment advisory agreement, distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of such portfolio. However, Rule 18f-2 also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and factional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law, or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote on the matter voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel. The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued.
Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
PROXY POLICY STATEMENT
INTRODUCTION
STATEMENT OF POLICY
Schneider Capital Management Corporation (SCM) views the fiduciary act of managing plan assets to include the voting of proxies appurtenant to shares held in the plan. As a rule, SCM strives to ensure that all proxies are received from the custodian in a timely manner and then exercises its right to vote all proxies. In keeping with the ERISA definition of fiduciary responsibility and the Department of Labor directives, all proxy voting decisions are made solely in the best interest of the clients plan participants and beneficiaries.
This document represents what the firm believes to be important elements of sound corporate governance and social responsibility. In our opinion, good corporate governance should maintain an appropriate balance between the rights of shareholders (the owners of the corporation) and the needs of management to direct the corporations affairs devoid of distracting short-term pressures. As a responsible long term investment manager, SCM acknowledges its responsibility to strive for improved corporate governance and performance discipline. SCM offers this policy as a basis for dialogue with the objective of improving corporate governance and social practices. This statement identifies SCMs voting guidelines on numerous proxy issues. These guidelines are not an exhaustive list of every issue that may arise. Proxy issues that are not described herein will be considered in light of the relevant facts and circumstances.
CRITERIA AND STANDARDS
Each proxy issue is reviewed on its own merits, on a case-by-case basis. Every proxy voting decision, whether on Corporate Governance or Social Issues, is made with the exclusive purpose of maximizing the economic value of the clients investment. SCM gives special consideration to out of the ordinary matters and may vote against management on specific issues which are deemed to impair shareholder rights or value. Furthermore, SCM would oppose any proposal which would entrench or protect management interest contrary to the financial interests of the stockholder.
PROXY ADMINISTRATION
The portfolio manager and compliance officer are primarily responsible for monitoring corporate actions, making voting decisions and ensuring that proxies are submitted timely, consistent with this policy. SCM may form special committees, from time to time, to address unusual proxy voting issues or conflicts.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
All conflicts of interest will be resolved in the interest of the clients. Occasionally, SCM may be subject to conflicts of interest in the voting of proxies due to business or personal relationships it maintains with persons having an interest in the outcome of certain votes. In situations where SCM perceives a material conflict of interest, SCM may disclose the conflict to the relevant clients; defer to the voting recommendation of the clients or of an independent third party provider of proxy services; send the proxy directly to the clients for a voting decision; abstain from voting; or take such other action in good faith, in consultation with counsel, to determine the appropriate method to resolve the conflict in the interest of clients, based upon the particular facts and circumstances. With respect to investment company clients, conflicts may arise as to votes involving the investment adviser, the underwriter, their affiliates or affiliates of the investment company. In such cases, SCM will follow the voting guidelines described herein, including the process for handling conflicts. Under normal circumstances, if a conflict is determined not to be material, SCM will vote the proxy in accordance with this policy. The method selected by SCM to vote proxies in the presence of a conflict may vary depending upon the facts and circumstances of each situation and the requirements of applicable law.
I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:
A. BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
A companys board of directors represents the focal point of corporate governance. The board is a group of elected individuals which oversees the operation and direction of the company on behalf of its owners. The principal responsibility of the board is to further the long term success of the corporation while remaining true to its fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. SCM supports the primary authority of the board; however, at the same time, the firm believes that directors must remain accountable to the shareholders. Consequently, SCMs guidelines are as follows:
1. Election of Directors: While SCM normally votes for the boards nominees, the firm may decline to vote for unopposed candidates when their record indicates that their election to the board would not be in the interest of shareholders. Likewise, SCM may vote for alternative candidates when its analysis indicates that these candidates will better represent shareholder interests.
2. Independent Directors: In SCMs opinion, the ideal board should be comprised primarily of independent (non-management) directors who are both willing and qualified to serve in such capacity. In this context, independence means no present or former employment by the company or its management which could interfere with the directors loyalty to the shareholders.
3. Cumulative Voting: This voting procedure entitles each stockholder to as many votes as shall equal the number of shares owned multiplied by the number of directors to be elected. Such votes may all be cast for a single candidate or for any two or more as the stockholder sees fit. SCM believes this method is an important democratic means of electing directors and allows shareholders to obtain representation on the board by significant vote. Consequently, SCM generally supports the practice of cumulative voting.
4. Classified Board: A classified board is a staggered board arrangement in which each director is elected for an established term of two, three, or four years, depending on the number of classes established. Only those directors in the class up for election can be approved or rejected by shareholders in any given year. In SCMs opinion, a classified board serves to entrench management and limit shareholders ability to effect favorable change. Consequently, SCM generally opposes classified boards.
5. Director Liability and Indemnification: A proper director liability policy should balance the need to hold directors accountable for improper actions with the need to attract competent and diligent individuals for board positions. The Corporation should be free to indemnify directors for legal expenses and judgments in connection with their service as directors and eliminate the directors liability for ordinary negligence. However, directors should be held liable to the corporation for violations of their fiduciary duty involving gross negligence. Similarly, proposals that indemnify directors who have committed fraud or dereliction of duty would be opposed.
6. Director Compensation: Normally, the remuneration of Directors is considered a routine item of business. Therefore, it is not usually submitted for a shareholder vote. However, non-employee director compensation has become a shareholder issue recently. Generally, SCM would prefer to see more of the directors compensation based upon shareholder returns as measured by stock price appreciation or some other meaningful performance measure. Furthermore, SCM encourages corporations to phase out pension or retirement plans for their non-employee directors. Most non-employee directors have retirement benefits from their primary employer; however, SCM recognizes that a blanket vote to eliminate all such retirement plans could negatively impact a companys access to potentially valuable directors. Consequently, SCM will not vote in favor of unilaterally eliminating retirement benefits.
7. General: SCM recognizes the responsibilities of the board to organize its function and conduct its business in an efficient manner. Therefore, barring unusual circumstances, SCM would favor management proposals related to board size and oppose shareholder resolutions calling for the separation of the CEO and Chairman positions, establishing age limits for directors, special interest representation, the formation of shareholder advisory committees, or term limits for directors. SCM is also against restricting the date or location of the annual meeting.
B. CAPITALIZATION ISSUES: Capitalization related proposals pertain to the creation, repurchase, or reclassification of securities. SCM may support the authorization of additional stock if management provides a satisfactory explanation of its plans for the stock; however, SCM will oppose large unexplained increases in common stock. SCM will also oppose the issuance of blank check preferred or convertible stock which could potentially be used as a takeover deterrent or dilute/jeopardize the clients common stock ownership.
1. Increase Authorized Common Stock: SCM considers a proposal to increase the number of authorized but unissued shares of common stock on case-by-case basis. SCM takes into account the size of the requested increase, its stated purpose, and how much authorized but unissued common stock remains. The firm generally supports a stock split or a reasonable replenishment after a stock split. Likewise, SCM may approve an increase to support a shareholder value enhancing acquisition, to provide the necessary flexibility to maintain an optimal capital structure, or to fund stock option and stock purchase plans. Requests to significantly increase the number of authorized shares (those resulting in greater than 10% dilution) without a stated reason or demonstrated need would be opposed. Similarly, SCM would oppose an increase when additional shares are to be used for anti-takeover measures.
2. Authorize Blank Check Preferred Stock: This proposal would grant authority to the board to create and issue a new class of preferred stock with unspecified terms and conditions. Blank check preferred stock could be granted special voting rights and be used to entrench management or deter takeover attempts. SCM generally opposes proposals to vest the board with such power.
3. Authorize Convertible Stock: SCM would review the rationale on a case-by-case basis taking into account the companys current capitalization structure, the stated purpose for the security and the potential dilution effect this security would have on existing common shareholders upon conversion. SCM would oppose any request which is blank check in nature, where the companys rationale is unclear, and where the request appears to blunt possible takeover attempts.
C. SHAREHOLDERS RIGHTS AND PROXY VOTING: The proxy vote is the key mechanism by which shareholders render their opinion in corporate governance. In exercising its votes, SCM believes:
1. Confidential Voting should be adopted by all corporations on all matters brought before the shareholders. Such provisions would protect the importance of the proxy vote and eliminate the appearance of any impropriety.
2. Multiple Classes of Common Stock with disparate voting rights should not exist. Rather, the board should adhere to the principle of one share-one vote.
3. Super-majority rules or requirements which interfere with the shareholders right to elect directors and ratify corporate actions should be opposed.
4. Changes in Corporations Domicile should only be proposed for valid business reasons, not to obtain protection against unfriendly takeovers.
5. Change of Control occurs when a third party becomes, or obtains the right to become, the beneficial owner of Company securities having 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of the company. Change of Control also would occur when the directors prior to a given event cease to constitute a majority of the Board as a result of the event.
6. Fair Price Provisions and measures to limit the corporations ability to buy back shares from a particular shareholder at higher than market prices are generally supported.
7. Pre-emptive Rights allow shareholders the option to buy part of any new issue prior to its public offering. This provision allows existing shareholders to maintain their original ownership percentage. However, pre-emptive rights often raise the cost of capital by increasing both the time and expense of issuing new shares. Therefore, pre-emptive rights should generally be eliminated, except where SCMs analysis concludes such rights have value to the shareholders.
8. Anti-Takeover measures should be submitted for shareholder approval. SCM is generally against such measures.
9. Bundled Proposals: Occasionally management will attempt to tie a non-routine issue to one that is routine, attempting to pass both items in the form of a bundled proposal. Disparate issues should not be combined and presented for a single vote. Such proposals are generally not well received and must be carefully reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
10. Special Meetings of the Board of Directors, on such issues as takeovers and changes in the make-up of the Board, by its shareholders is permitted at most companies. Schneider Capital Management is generally against limitations on the calling of Special Meetings.
D. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION: The board and its compensation committee should set executive compensation levels adequate to attract and retain qualified executives. These managers should be rewarded in direct relationship to the contribution they make in maximizing shareholder value. SCM readily admits it is not qualified to thoroughly evaluate the specific issues of executive compensation for each of its portfolio holdings; however the firm does evaluate the reasonableness of compensation policies, criteria and formulas. Likewise, SCM decides what constitutes adequate disclosure of executive compensation. SCM generally supports sound pay for performance plans which ensure equitable treatment of both corporate management and shareholders. Compensation should include both salary and performance components. The salary should have a defined relationship to salaries in an industry peer group. Similarly, performance measures should relate to key industry success measurements and be judged over adequate time periods.
1. Incentive Plans should be set forth annually in the proxy statement. The criteria used to evaluate the performance of senior executives should be clearly stated. Terms of the awards, such as type, coverage and option price should be specified. Excess discretion will not be approved. SCM generally supports management if the company defines their performance goals. However, SCM opposes incentive plans where no specific goals are defined. Without specific performance goals, there is no assurance that awards will be paid based upon realistic performance criteria. SCM also votes against plans where performance hurdles are, in its opinion, set too low. Total potential dilution from existing and proposed compensation plans should not exceed 10% over the duration of the plan(s). Finally, SCM generally opposes plans which grant reload options (favorable repricing of options) or where options become immediately exercisable following a change of control defined as anything less than 50%.
2. Stock/Stock Option Plans: SCM generally votes against a plan if the exercise price is unspecified or below 90% of the fair market value on the date of the grant.
3. Golden Parachutes should always be put to shareholder vote because they often exceed ordinary compensation practices. We are generally against Golden Parachutes.
E. ROUTINE CORPORATE ISSUES: Proposals in this category, which have been seen repeatedly on an historical basis, are usually non-controversial. Generally, these issues revolve around items that are related to the normal operating procedures of the company. SCM, however, votes against a management proposal to approve any other business that properly comes before the meeting. As a fiduciary, SCM opposes any attempt by management to get a blanket approval without full disclosure. Conversely, each of the proposals listed below are generally supported, unless compelling reasons exist to question why it is not in the best interest of shareholders.
1. Appointment of Auditors
2. Corporate Name and/or Ticker Change
3. Approval of Articles of Incorporation
4. Changes to the Articles of Incorporation
5. Changes in the Date, Time and/or Location of Annual Meeting
6. Stock Splits
7. Acceptance of Directors Report
8. Approval of Corporate Dividend
II. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES: Schneider Capital Management acknowledges its duty both as a corporate citizen and as a manager of investment funds to address important social issues. The intention of our firm is not to impose its moral or social views upon clients. Nor should SCM restrict in any way the day-to-day operating procedures of a corporation unless, in so doing, the economic value of the clients investment is enhanced.
DOCUMENTATION OF VOTING DECISIONS
Schneider Capital Management maintains accurate records of each corporate proxy received and voted along with documentation of the proxy voting decisions on each issue. The records will be retained for such period of time as is required to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
REPORTING
In order to facilitate a clients monitoring of proxy decisions made and actions taken by Schneider Capital Management, a report summarizing each corporate issue and corresponding proxy vote is available to clients upon request.
SCHNEIDER VALUE FUND
TICKER: SCMLX
(an Investment Portfolio of the RBB Fund, Inc.)
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 31, 2014
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides supplementary information pertaining to shares (the Shares) representing interests in the Schneider Value Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This SAI is not a prospectus, and should be read only in conjunction with the Funds Prospectus, dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus). A copy of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free (888) 520-3277. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FUND HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION |
1 |
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INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS |
1 |
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FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
8 |
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
9 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
10 |
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CODE OF ETHICS |
16 |
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PROXY VOTING |
17 |
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
17 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
18 |
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FUND TRANSACTIONS |
22 |
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
23 |
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TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
23 |
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VALUATION OF SHARES |
24 |
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TAXES |
24 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
25 |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
26 |
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
26 |
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APPENDIX A |
A-1 |
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APPENDIX B |
B-1 |
FUND HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-three separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act), and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to one class of shares representing interests in one diversified portfolio of the Company, which is offered by a Prospectus.
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objectives and policies of the Fund.
The Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks of companies which have a market capitalization of $1 billion or greater and which Schneider Capital Management Company (the Adviser) believes are undervalued. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Under normal circumstances, at least 65% of the Funds net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in companies with capitalizations as described above. The Adviser examines various factors in determining the value characteristics of such companies including price-to-book value ratios and price-to-earnings ratios.
The Adviser may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectus and this SAI or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
Principal Investment Strategies and Risks
Bank and Corporate Obligations. The Fund may purchase obligations of issuers in the banking industry, such as short-term obligations of bank holding companies, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and time deposits issued by U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion. Investment in obligations of foreign banks or foreign branches of U.S. banks may entail risks that are different from those of investments in obligations of U.S. banks due to differences in political, regulatory and economic systems and conditions. Such obligations are not FDIC insured and the Fund bears the risk of their failure. The activities of banks are subject to extensive regulations which may limit both the amount and types of loans that may be made and the interest rates that may be charged. In addition, the profitability of the banking industry is largely dependent upon the availability and costs 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 play an important part in the operation of this industry.
The Fund may also make interest-bearing savings deposits in commercial and savings banks in amounts not in excess of 5% of its total assets.
The Fund may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations that are rated at the time of purchase within the three highest ratings categories of Standard & Poors (S&P) or Moodys Investors, Inc. (Moodys) (or which, if unrated, are determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality). Unrated securities will be determined to be of comparable quality to rated debt obligations if, among other things, other outstanding obligations of the issuers of such securities are rated A or better. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value. In the event that a security held by the Fund is placed on a credit watch or is downgraded by a rating agency, the value of such security may decline and the Fund may consequently experience losses in respect of such security.
Equity Securities . Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stock, preferred stock, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock . Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock . Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants . Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
· Convertible Securities . Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
· Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers . Investing in equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of depth of management. The securities of smaller companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and even if listed on a national securities exchange may not be traded in volumes typical for that exchange. Consequently, the securities of smaller companies are less likely to be liquid, may have limited market stability, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established growth companies or the market averages in general.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in foreign securities, either directly or indirectly through American Depositary Receipts and European Depositary Receipts. Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible
establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Transactions in foreign securities may involve greater time from the trade date until the settlement date than domestic securities transactions, and may involve the risk of possible losses through the holding of securities in custodians and securities depositories in foreign countries. These factors could interfere with the Advisers ability to sell the securities.
Although the Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the net asset value (NAV) of the Funds shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the Funds securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which the Fund makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price of the Funds securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of the Funds securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, the Fund is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 Funds 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 Funds 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 Funds holdings.
Non-Principal Investment Strategies and Risks
Commercial Paper. The Fund may purchase commercial paper rated (at the time of purchase) A-1 by S&P or Prime-1 by Moodys or, when deemed advisable by the Adviser, issues rated A-2 or Prime-2 by S&P or Moodys, respectively. These rating categories are described in Appendix A to this SAI. The Fund may also purchase unrated commercial paper provided that such paper is determined to be of comparable quality by the Funds Adviser pursuant to guidelines approved by the Companys Board of Directors. Commercial paper issues in which the Fund may invest include securities issued by corporations without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act) in reliance on the exemption from such registration afforded by Section 3(a)(3) thereof, and commercial paper issued in reliance on the so-called private placement exemption from registration, which is afforded by Section 4(2) of the 1933 Act (Section 4(2) paper). Section 4(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws in that any resale must similarly be made in an exempt transaction. Section 4(2) paper is normally resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of investment dealers who make a market in Section 4(2) paper, thus providing liquidity.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are
also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Futures Contracts. The Fund may invest in financial futures contracts with respect to those securities listed on the S&P 500 ® Index. Financial futures contracts obligate the seller to deliver a specific type of security called for in the contract, at a specified future time, and for a specified price. Financial futures contracts may be satisfied by actual delivery of the securities or, more typically, by entering into a transaction that offsets the financial futures contract. The Fund will comply with guidelines established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with respect to coverage of options and futures strategies by mutual funds, and if the guidelines so require will set aside cash and high grade liquid debt securities in a segregated account with its custodian bank in the amount prescribed. Securities held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the futures or option strategy is outstanding, unless they are replaced with similar securities. As a result, there is a possibility that segregation of a large percentage of the Funds assets could impede portfolio management or the Funds ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations. Depending on the asset levels that are required to be segregated, the Fund may be required to sell off assets it would not otherwise liquidate. There are risks that are associated with the use of futures contracts for hedging purposes. In certain market conditions, as in a rising interest rate environment, sales of futures contracts may not completely offset a decline in value of the portfolio securities against which the futures contracts are being sold. In the futures market, it may not always be possible to execute a buy or sell order at the desired price, or to close out an open position due to market conditions, limits on open positions, and/or daily price fluctuations. Risks in the use of futures contracts also result from the possibility that changes in the market interest rates may differ substantially from the changes anticipated by the Funds investment adviser when hedge positions were established. The Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of the value of its net assets in futures contracts.
All futures contracts entered into by the Fund are traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that are licensed and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or on foreign exchanges. The Fund will limit investments in futures to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). For this reason, with respect to the Fund, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO with respect to the Fund, the disclosure and operations of the Fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
Hedging Investments. At such times as the Adviser deems it appropriate and consistent with the investment objective of the Fund, the Fund may invest in financial futures contracts and options on financial futures contracts. The purpose of such transactions is to hedge against changes in the market value of securities in the Fund caused by fluctuating interest rates and to close out or offset its existing positions in such futures contracts or options as described below. Such instruments will not be used for speculation. Futures contracts and options on futures are discussed below.
Indexed Securities. The Fund may invest in indexed securities whose value is linked to securities indices. Most such securities have values which rise and fall according to the change in one or more specified indices, and may have characteristics similar to direct investments in the underlying securities. Depending on the index, such securities may have greater volatility than the market as a whole. The Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in indexed securities.
Investment Company Securities. The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies (including exchange-traded funds) to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, the Funds investments in such securities currently are limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5%
of the Funds total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Funds total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. Investments in the securities of other investment companies will involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses. Rule 12d1-1 under the 1940 Act permits the Fund to invest an unlimited amount of its uninvested cash in a money market fund so long as, among other things, said investment is consistent with the Funds investment objectives and policies. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear its pro rata portion of the investment companys expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.
The Fund may invest in investment companies that are not registered with the SEC or privately placed securities of investment companies (which may or may not be registered), such as hedge funds and offshore funds. Unregistered funds are largely exempt from the regulatory requirements that apply to registered investment companies. As a result, unregistered funds may have a greater ability to make investments, or use investment techniques, that offer a higher potential investment return (for example, leveraging), but which may carry high risk. Unregistered funds are not regulated by the SEC like registered funds. Investments in unregistered funds may be difficult to sell, which could cause the Fund selling an interest in an unregistered fund to lose money. For example, many hedge funds require their investors to hold their investments for at least one year.
Lending of Fund Securities. The Fund may lend securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions desiring to borrow securities to complete transactions and for other purposes. Because the government securities or other assets that are pledged as collateral to the Fund in connection with these loans generate income, securities lending enables the Fund to earn income that may partially offset expenses. These loans may not exceed 33 1/3% of the Funds total assets. The documentation for these loans will provide that the Fund will receive collateral equal to at least 102% of the current market value of the loaned securities, as marked to market each day that the NAV of the Fund is determined, consisting of government securities or other assets permitted by applicable regulations and interpretations. The Fund will pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with the loan of securities. The Fund will invest collateral in short-term investments, and will bear the risk of loss of the invested collateral. In addition, the Fund will be exposed to the risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities. The Funds share of income from the loan collateral will be included in its gross investment income.
Securities lending would involve risk of delay in receiving additional collateral in the event the value of the collateral decreased below the value of the securities loaned or risk of delay in recovering the securities loaned or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, loans will be made only to borrowers deemed by the Adviser to be of good standing and only when, in the Advisers judgment, the income to be earned from the loans justifies the attendant risks. Any loans of the Funds securities will be marked to market daily. The Fund does not have the right to vote loaned securities. The Fund may attempt to call loaned securities back to permit the exercise of voting rights, if time and jurisdictional restrictions permit. There is no guarantee that all loans can be recalled.
Options on Futures. The Fund may purchase and write call and put options on futures contracts with respect to those securities listed on the S&P 500 ® Index and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate an existing position. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract. The Fund may use options on futures contracts in connection with hedging strategies. The purchase of put options on futures contracts is a means of hedging against the risk of rising interest rates. The purchase of call options on futures contracts is a means of hedging against a market advance when the Fund is not fully invested.
The Fund may seek to terminate its position in a put option it writes before exercise by closing out the option in the secondary market at its current price. If the secondary market is not liquid for an option the Fund has written, however, the Fund must continue to be prepared to pay the strike price while the option is outstanding, regardless of price changes, and must continue to set aside assets to cover its position. The characteristics of writing call options are similar to those of writing put options, as described above, except that writing covered call options generally is a profitable strategy if prices remain the same or fall. Through receipt of the option premium, the Fund would seek to mitigate the effects of a price decline. At the same time, because the Fund would have to be prepared to deliver the underlying instrument in return for the strike price, even if its current value is greater, the Fund would give up some ability to participate in security price increases when writing call options.
Because there are a limited number of types of futures contracts, it is likely that the standardized futures contracts available to the Fund will not match the Funds current or anticipated investments. Futures prices can also diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments, even if the underlying instruments match the Funds investments well. Futures prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying
instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect security prices the same way. Imperfect correlation between the Funds investments and its futures positions may also result from differing levels of demand in the futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits for futures contracts. The Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than the securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in historical volatility between the futures contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in the Funds futures positions are poorly correlated with its other investments, its futures positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by the gains in the Funds other investments.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to close out its financial futures positions at any time, in which case it would be required to maintain the margin deposits on the contract. The Fund does not presently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in options on futures.
Portfolio Turnover. Investment strategies that require periodic changes to portfolio holdings with the expectation of outperforming equity indices are typically referred to as active strategies. These strategies contrast with passive (index) strategies that buy and hold only the stocks in the equity indices. Passive strategies tend to trade infrequentlyonly as the stocks in the indices change (largely due to changes in the sizes of the companies in the indices, takeovers or bankruptcies). Most equity mutual funds pursue active strategies, which have higher turnover than passive strategies.
The generally higher portfolio turnover of active investment strategies can adversely affect taxable investors, especially those in higher marginal tax brackets, in two ways. First, short-term capital gains, which often accompany higher turnover investment strategies, are currently taxed at ordinary income rates. Ordinary income tax rates are higher than long-term capital gain tax rates for middle and upper income taxpayers. Thus, the tax liability is often higher for investors in active strategies. Second, the more frequent realization of gains caused by higher turnover investment strategies means that taxes will be paid sooner. Such acceleration of the tax liability is financially more costly to investors. Less frequent realization of capital gains allows the payment of taxes to be deferred until later years, allowing more of the gains to compound before taxes are paid. Consequently, after-tax compound rates of return will generally be higher for taxable investors using investment strategies with very low turnover, compared with high turnover strategies. The difference is particularly large when the general market rates of return are higher than average.
The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the Funds annual sales or purchases of portfolio securities (exclusive of purchases or sales of securities with maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less) by the monthly average value of the securities in the portfolio during the year. Under normal market conditions, it is expected that the Funds portfolio turnover will range between 50% to 85%. The portfolio turnover rate of the Fund for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 was 44.34% of the average value of its portfolio.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may agree to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the sellers agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price (repurchase agreements). The securities held subject to a repurchase agreement may have stated maturities exceeding 13 months, provided the repurchase agreement itself matures in less than 13 months. The financial institutions with whom the Fund may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks which the Adviser considers creditworthy pursuant to criteria approved by the Board of Directors and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities that are listed on the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorks list of reporting dealers. The Adviser will consider the creditworthiness of a seller in determining whether to cause the Fund to enter into a repurchase agreement. The seller under a repurchase agreement will be required to maintain the value of collateral at not less than the repurchase price plus accrued interest. The Adviser will monitor daily the value of the collateral, and will, if necessary, require the seller to increase the collateral so that its value is not less than the repurchase price. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller would, however, expose the Fund to the risk of loss because of possible market declines in the value of the collateral or delays in connection with its disposition.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements and Dollar Rolls. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities for temporary purposes (such as to obtain cash to meet redemption requests) when the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed disadvantageous or inconvenient by the Adviser. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to the Funds agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Such agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act, and may be entered into only for temporary or emergency purposes. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account with the Funds custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement and will monitor the account to ensure that
such value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase and the return on the cash exchanged for the securities. The Fund may also enter into dollar rolls, in which it sells fixed income securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts to repurchase substantially similar (same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a specified future date. During the roll period, the Fund would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. The Fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the forward price for the future purchase, as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. The return on dollar rolls may be negatively impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. The Fund does not presently intend to engage in reverse repurchase or dollar roll transactions involving more than 5% of the Funds net assets.
Rule 144A Securities. The Fund may invest up to 15% of the value of its net assets in securities that are illiquid and may be difficult to value. The Fund may purchase securities which are not registered under the 1933 Act, as amended, but which can be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. Any such security will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser, acting under guidelines approved and monitored by the Board of Directors, that an adequate trading market exists for that security. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the Fund during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing these restricted securities.
Temporary Investments. The short-term and medium-term debt securities in which the Fund may invest for temporary defensive purposes consist of: (a) obligations of the United States or foreign governments, their respective agencies or instrumentalities; (b) bank deposits and bank obligations (including certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers acceptances) of U.S. or foreign banks denominated in any currency; (c) floating rate securities and other instruments denominated in any currency issued by international development agencies; (d) finance company and corporate commercial paper and other short-term corporate debt obligations of U.S. and foreign corporations; and (e) repurchase agreements with banks and broker-dealers with respect to such securities.
U.S. Government Obligations. The Fund may purchase U.S. government agency and instrumentality obligations that are debt securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises and federal agencies. Some obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or by U.S. Treasury guarantees, such as securities of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and the Federal Housing Authority; others, by the ability of the issuer to borrow, provided approval is granted, from the U.S. Treasury, such as securities of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and others, only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligation, such as securities of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Such guarantees of U.S. government securities held by a Fund do not, however, guarantee the market value of the shares of the Fund. There is no guarantee that the U.S. government will continue to provide support to its agencies or instrumentalities in the future. U.S. government obligations that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are subject to greater risks than those that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. All U.S. government obligations are subject to interest rate risk.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
The Funds net assets may be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, including, if applicable, options and futures on such obligations. The maturities of U.S. government securities usually range from three months to thirty years. Examples of types of U.S. government obligations include U.S. Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes and Treasury Bonds and the obligations of Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Fannie Mae, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Freddie Mac, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Maritime Administration, the Asian-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. U.S. government securities may include inflation-indexed fixed income securities, such as U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). The interest rate of TIPS, which is set at auction, remains fixed throughout the term of the security and the principal amount of the security is adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted principal is not paid until maturity.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. The Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Company has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations, which may not be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding Shares (as defined in Section 2(a)(42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of: (1) 67% of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present in person or by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Fund may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls for temporary purposes in amounts up to one-third of the value of its total assets at the time of such borrowing; or mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing. The Fund will not purchase securities while its aggregate borrowings (including reverse repurchase agreements, dollar rolls and borrowings from banks) are in excess of 5% of its total assets. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with the Funds investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation;
2. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the 1933 Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
3. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
4. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may deal in forward foreign exchanges between currencies of the different countries in which it may invest and purchase and sell stock index and currency options, stock index futures, financial futures and currency futures contracts and related options on such futures;
5. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan;
6. Invest 25% or more of its assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of issuers in any particular industry (excluding the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities); or
7. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
(For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 1, any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets. For purposes of Investment Limitation No. 2, neither the foregoing arrangements nor the purchase or sale of futures or related options are deemed to be the issuance of senior securities.)
The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. As a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of
the other investment companys expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.
Under the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days.
Except as required by the 1940 Act with respect to the borrowing of money and the limitation on illiquid holdings, if a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time of investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from a change in market values of portfolio securities or amount of total or net assets will not be considered a violation of any of the foregoing restrictions.
Securities held by the Fund generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser or its affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio securities are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of a Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in its applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers of the Company, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; and Merrill Corporation, the financial printer. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship ( e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles ( e.g ., custody services provided by financial institutions). Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the portfolio.
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to (i) certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of the Fund as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Fund shareholders. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky
|
|
Director |
|
1988 to present |
|
From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
|
23 |
|
AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall
|
|
Director |
|
2002 to present |
|
Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler
|
|
Director |
|
2012 to present |
|
Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
|
23 |
|
Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano
|
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
|
23 |
|
Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman
|
|
Chairman
|
|
2005 to present
|
|
Since 2006, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lifebooker, LLC. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert A. Straniere
|
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 2009, Administrative Law Judge, New York City; since 1980, Founding Partner, Straniere Law Group. |
|
23 |
|
Reich and Tang Group (asset management) |
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy
|
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and also serves on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things,
reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs, Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the company. The contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Giordano, Reichman and Sablowsky . The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Nusblatt, Reichman, Sablowsky and Straniere. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Nusblatt, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys
investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2014.
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
J. Richard Carnall |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Over $100,000 |
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director (except Mr. Nusblatt) a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the
Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Fund in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
741.97 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,187.33 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
1,360.71 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
1,326.41 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
1,759.85 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,173.49 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,293.67 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
12,445.67 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013 the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities. The Adviser has adopted proxy voting procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Fund. A copy of the Advisers Proxy Voting Policy is included with this SAI. Please see Appendix B to this SAI for further information.
Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-520-3277 and by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014, to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Schneider Value Fund |
|
Charles Schwab & CO IncInc.
|
|
374,194 |
|
23.79 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schneider Value Fund |
|
BNYM IS Trust CO
|
|
173,432 |
|
11.03 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schneider Value Fund |
|
TD Ameritrade IncInc. for the
|
|
121,301 |
|
7.7 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schneider Value Fund |
|
NFS LLC
|
|
110,591 |
|
7.03 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schneider Value Fund |
|
Arnold C. Schneider
|
|
94,682 |
|
6.02 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned 2.70% of the outstanding shares of the Fund, 2.04% of the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund and less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each of the remaining funds of the Company.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Advisory Agreement. The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement dated August 1, 2002 (the Advisory Agreement).
The Adviser is a Pennsylvania corporation controlled by its majority shareholder, Arnold C. Schneider, III. The Adviser has been managing assets for institutional accounts since 1996. The Adviser currently acts as investment adviser for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund, also an investment portfolio of the Company, and as investment sub-adviser for five other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act including: Russell Group of Funds Russell U.S. Equity Fund; Liberty All-Star Equity Fund; Frank Russell Equity Fund; and Frank Russell Sovereign US Equity Pool. As of November 30, 2014, the Adviser managed approximately $1.3 billion in assets. The Adviser is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
The Adviser is an active, equity value manager that believes a disciplined fundamental approach can consistently add value in a market that has shown to be extremely efficient with current data, but less so with future events. The Adviser is research intensive and focuses on new ideas, believing that the market is slow to react to change, particularly where out-of-favor stocks are concerned. The Adviser strives to act on them as soon as possible to generate above-average returns.
The Adviser has investment discretion for the Fund and will make all decisions affecting assets in the Fund under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors and in accordance with the Funds stated policies. The Adviser will select investments for the Fund. For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee under the Advisory Agreement computed at an annual rate of 0.70% of the Funds average daily net assets. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees to the extent necessary to maintain an annualized expense ratio (excluding certain items below) for the Fund of 0.90%. In determining the Advisers obligation to waive advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses, the following expenses are not taken into account and could cause net total annual fund operating expenses to exceed 0.90%: acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes. The Adviser may not recoup waived advisory fees or reimbursed expenses. This contractual limitation is in effect until December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without the approval of the Companys Board of Directors. There can be no assurance that the Adviser will continue such waiver thereafter after December 31, 2015.
The Fund bears its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by a portfolio include, but are not limited to the expenses listed in the prospectus and the following (or a portfolios share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by a portfolio and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of a portfolio by the Adviser; (c) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or a portfolio for violation of any law; (d) any extraordinary expenses; (e) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (f) the cost of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers; (g) organizational costs; (h) fees to the Adviser and BNY Mellon; (i) fees and expenses of officers and directors who are not affiliated with the Adviser or Distributor; (j) taxes; (k) interest; (l) legal fees; (m) custodian fees; (n) auditing fees; (o) brokerage fees and commissions; (p) certain of the fees and expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund and its shares for distribution under federal and state securities laws; (q) expenses of preparing prospectuses and statements of additional information and distributing annually to existing shareholders that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (r) the expense of reports to shareholders, shareholders meetings and proxy solicitations that are not attributable to a particular class of shares of the Company; (s) fidelity bond and directors and officers liability insurance premiums; (t) the expense of using independent pricing services; and (u) other expenses which are not expressly assumed by the Adviser under its advisory agreement with the portfolio.
Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund or the Company in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its duties and obligations thereunder.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the continuation of the Funds investment advisory agreement may be reviewed in the Funds annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014, which may be obtained by calling (888)520-3277 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
The advisory fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Advisory Fees
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
36,135 |
|
$ |
215,644 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
17,709 |
|
$ |
222,594 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
174,934 |
|
$ |
203,216 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Portfolio Manager
Description of Compensation .
Mr. Schneiders compensation consists of a salary and a bonus. A portion of his bonus may be deferred. Generally, his salary is fixed at the beginning of each year; his bonus and any deferred compensation are discretionary and based on the overall profitability of the firm.
Other Accounts . The table below discloses accounts other than the Fund, for which the portfolio manager is jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management, as of August 31, 2014:
Name of Portfolio Manager or
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total Assets |
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets that
|
|
|
Arnold C. Schneider III |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
6 |
|
$ |
634 M |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
3 |
|
$ |
146M |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
4 |
|
$ |
603M |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
Material Conflicts of Interest. The Adviser provides investment management services to multiple clients with investment objectives and strategies that are similar as well as different than those of the Fund. Although each clients account is individually managed, the Adviser may purchase and/or sell the same securities for numerous accounts. The Adviser aggregates client orders based on circumstances existing at the time the orders are received and consistent with its policy of seeking best price and execution. Aggregated orders may include orders for investment vehicles in which the Adviser or its affiliates have an interest. The inclusion of an account in an aggregate order is based on factors such as consistency with investment objective and guidelines, suitability, investment strategy, timing of order placement, order price, and client cash flow. Certain investment opportunities may be suitable for or consistent with the strategy or investment objective of only one or a limited number of client accounts. In those cases, it is possible that a particular securities acquisition or disposition will be considered for one or a limited number of accounts.
The Adviser is under common control with Turnbridge Management Partners (Turnbridge), the General Partner to a private investment fund. The Adviser manages the portfolio of the private investment fund. Turnbridge, in accordance with the provisions of the private investment fund, is entitled to receive an incentive allocation each year, based on the performance of the private investment fund.
Securities Ownership . The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the portfolio manager in the Fund as of August 31, 2014:
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares
|
Arnold C. Schneider III |
|
Over $1 Million |
Custodian Agreement. The Bank of New York Mellon (the Custodian), with offices at One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, serves as the custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a custodian agreement between the Custodian and the Company dated July 18, 2011, as amended and supplemented (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund, (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of the Fund, (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund, (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio securities, and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that the Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Fund harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).. For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian receives a fee based on each Funds average daily gross assets calculated daily and payable monthly, exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
Transfer Agency Agreement. BNY Mellon, with corporate offices at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a Transfer Agency Agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of the Shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any other affiliate of BNY Mellon. For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum monthly fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis, and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Customer Identification Program, including the verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
Distribution Agreement. Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Funds, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Funds and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Administration and Accounting Services Agreements. BNY Mellon also serves as administrator and fund accounting agent to the Fund pursuant to an Administration and Accounting Services Agreement dated August 1, 2002 (the Administration Agreement). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Fund statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Fund. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to, prepare and file various reports with appropriate regulatory agencies. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of BNY Mellons gross negligence. For its services to the Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.125% of the Funds average daily net assets, with a minimum monthly fee of $8,333.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a Regulatory Administration Services Agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Funds annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Funds registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
The administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees, including waivers and reimbursements, for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Administration, Accounting and
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
116,384 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
113,744 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
116,640 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, the Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
The Fund has no obligation to deal with any broker or group of brokers in the execution of portfolio transactions. The Adviser may, consistent with the interests of the Fund and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, select brokers on the basis of the research, statistical and pricing services they provide to the Fund and other clients of the Adviser. Information and research received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the Adviser under its respective contracts. The research may be used by the Adviser for all of its accounts. A commission paid to such brokers may be higher than that which another qualified broker would have charged for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Adviser, as applicable, determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the transaction or the overall responsibility of the Adviser, as applicable, to the Fund and its other clients and that the total commissions paid by the Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Fund over the long-term. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the Fund paid $36,025 in aggregate commissions to brokers on account of research services.
The Adviser typically aggregates orders for the purchase and sale of securities for client portfolios including the registered investment companies it advises. In this process, orders for registered investment companies in which the Adviser or persons associated with the Adviser have an interest may be aggregated with orders for other client portfolios. Securities purchased or proceeds of securities sold through aggregated orders are allocated to the account of each client or fund that bought or sold such securities at the average execution price. If less than the total of the aggregated orders is executed, purchased securities or proceeds will be allocated pro rata among the participating portfolios in proportion to their planned participation in the aggregated orders. Transaction costs for any transaction will be shared pro rata based on each portfolios participation in the transaction. The Fund will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such security of which the Adviser or any affiliated person (as defined in the 1940 Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Companys Board of Directors pursuant to Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act.
The brokerage commissions for the past three fiscal years are as follows:
For the Fiscal Year Ended |
|
Brokerage Commissions |
|
|
August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
36,017 |
|
August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
62,166 |
|
August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
88,621 |
|
The Fund is required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Funds as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. As of August 31, 2014, the Fund held the following securities:
Broker Dealer |
|
Value |
|
|
Bank of America Corp, BAC |
|
$ |
1,882,417 |
|
Citigroup, Inc., C |
|
$ |
1,985,374 |
|
JP Morgan Chase & Co., JPM |
|
$ |
1,476,441 |
|
Morgan Stanley, MS |
|
$ |
561,915 |
|
The Fund expects that its annual portfolio turnover rate will range between 50% and 85% under normal market conditions. A high rate (100% or more) of portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater brokerage commission expenses and other transaction costs that must be borne directly by the Fund. The Fund anticipates that its annual portfolio turnover rate will vary from year to year.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which trading on the NYSE is restricted, or during which (as determined by the SEC by rule or regulation) an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time: including, without limitation, to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any portfolio from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code); or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days (as defined in Valuation of Shares) of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Fund elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than Foreside Distributors), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with Individual Retirement Account or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to the approval of the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Fair Market Value Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and any such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Fund qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities, or currencies or net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies and securities of other issuers (as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of such issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer), and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) before taking into account any deduction for dividends paid, and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
A 4% nondeductible excise tax is imposed on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute with respect to each calendar year at least 98% of their ordinary taxable income for the calendar year and 98.2% of their capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses) for the one year period ending October 31 of such calendar year and 100% of any such amounts that were not distributed in the prior year. The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions of its ordinary taxable income and any capital gain net income prior to the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
For federal income tax purposes, the Fund is permitted to carry forward a net capital loss in any year to offset its own capital gains, if any, during the eight years following the year of the loss. For capital losses realized in
taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010, the eight-year limitation has been eliminated, so that any capital losses realized by the Fund in the taxable year beginning September 1, 2011 and in subsequent taxable years will be permitted to be carried forward indefinitely.
As of August 31, 2014, the Fund had the following capital loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes subject to the expiration dates set forth in the table below:
August 31, 2016 |
|
August 31, 2017 |
|
August 31, 2018 |
|
August 31, 2019 |
|
Total |
|
|||||
$ |
2,338,216 |
|
$ |
75,945,572 |
|
$ |
42,948,995 |
|
$ |
2,159,421 |
|
$ |
123.392,204 |
|
These amounts are available to be carried forward to offset future capital gains to the extent permitted by the Code and applicable tax regulations.
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which the Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located, or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders collectively owning at least 10% of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
. Holders of shares of the Fund will vote in the aggregate all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under the Rule, the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of
the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants, the approval of principal underwriting contracts and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example, by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote on the matter voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel. The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996 serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such reports given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
PROXY POLICY STATEMENT
INTRODUCTION
STATEMENT OF POLICY
Schneider Capital Management Corporation (SCM) views the fiduciary act of managing plan assets to include the voting of proxies appurtenant to shares held in the plan. As a rule, SCM strives to ensure that all proxies are received from the custodian in a timely manner and then exercises its right to vote all proxies. In keeping with the ERISA definition of fiduciary responsibility and the Department of Labor directives, all proxy voting decisions are made solely in the best interest of the clients plan participants and beneficiaries.
This document represents what the firm believes to be important elements of sound corporate governance and social responsibility. In our opinion, good corporate governance should maintain an appropriate balance between the rights of shareholders (the owners of the corporation) and the needs of management to direct the corporations affairs devoid of distracting short-term pressures. As a responsible long term investment manager, SCM acknowledges its responsibility to strive for improved corporate governance and performance discipline. SCM offers this policy as a basis for dialogue with the objective of improving corporate governance and social practices. This statement identifies SCMs voting guidelines on numerous proxy issues. These guidelines are not an exhaustive list of every issue that may arise. Proxy issues that are not described herein will be considered in light of the relevant facts and circumstances.
CRITERIA AND STANDARDS
Each proxy issue is reviewed on its own merits, on a case-by-case basis. Every proxy voting decision, whether on Corporate Governance or Social Issues, is made with the exclusive purpose of maximizing the economic value of the clients investment. SCM gives special consideration to out of the ordinary matters and may vote against management on specific issues which are deemed to impair shareholder rights or value. Furthermore, SCM would oppose any proposal which would entrench or protect management interest contrary to the financial interests of the stockholder.
PROXY ADMINISTRATION
The portfolio manager and compliance officer are primarily responsible for monitoring corporate actions, making voting decisions and ensuring that proxies are submitted timely, consistent with this policy. SCM may form special committees, from time to time, to address unusual proxy voting issues or conflicts.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
All conflicts of interest will be resolved in the interest of the clients. Occasionally, SCM may be subject to conflicts of interest in the voting of proxies due to business or personal relationships it maintains with persons having an interest in the outcome of certain votes. In situations where SCM perceives a material conflict of interest, SCM may disclose the conflict to the relevant clients; defer to the voting recommendation of the clients or of an independent third party provider of proxy services; send the proxy directly to the clients for a voting decision; abstain from voting; or take such other action in good faith, in consultation with counsel, to determine the appropriate method to resolve the conflict in the interest of clients, based upon the particular facts and circumstances. With respect to investment company clients, conflicts may arise as to votes involving the investment adviser, the underwriter, their affiliates or affiliates of the investment company. In such cases, SCM will follow the voting guidelines described herein, including the process for handling conflicts. Under normal circumstances, if a conflict is determined not to be material, SCM will vote the proxy in accordance with this policy. The method selected by SCM to vote proxies in the presence of a conflict may vary depending upon the facts and circumstances of each situation and the requirements of applicable law.
I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:
A. BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
A companys board of directors represents the focal point of corporate governance. The board is a group of elected individuals which oversees the operation and direction of the company on behalf of its owners. The principal responsibility of the board is to further the long term success of the corporation while remaining true to its fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. SCM supports the primary authority of the board; however, at the same time, the firm believes that directors must remain accountable to the shareholders. Consequently, SCMs guidelines are as follows:
1. Election of Directors: While SCM normally votes for the boards nominees, the firm may decline to vote for unopposed candidates when their record indicates that their election to the board would not be in the interest of shareholders. Likewise, SCM may vote for alternative candidates when its analysis indicates that these candidates will better represent shareholder interests.
2. Independent Directors: In SCMs opinion, the ideal board should be comprised primarily of independent (non-management) directors who are both willing and qualified to serve in such capacity. In this context, independence means no present or former employment by the company or its management which could interfere with the directors loyalty to the shareholders.
3. Cumulative Voting: This voting procedure entitles each stockholder to as many votes as shall equal the number of shares owned multiplied by the number of directors to be elected. Such votes may all be cast for a single candidate or for any two or more as the stockholder sees fit. SCM believes this method is an important democratic means of electing directors and allows shareholders to obtain representation on the board by significant vote. Consequently, SCM generally supports the practice of cumulative voting.
4. Classified Board: A classified board is a staggered board arrangement in which each director is elected for an established term of two, three, or four years, depending on the number of classes established. Only those directors in the class up for election can be approved or rejected by shareholders in any given year. In SCMs opinion, a classified board serves to entrench management and limit shareholders ability to effect favorable change. Consequently, SCM generally opposes classified boards.
5. Director Liability and Indemnification: A proper director liability policy should balance the need to hold directors accountable for improper actions with the need to attract competent and diligent individuals for board positions. The Corporation should be free to indemnify directors for legal expenses and judgments in connection with their service as directors and eliminate the directors liability for ordinary negligence. However, directors should be held liable to the corporation for violations of their fiduciary duty involving gross negligence. Similarly, proposals that indemnify directors who have committed fraud or dereliction of duty would be opposed.
6. Director Compensation: Normally, the remuneration of Directors is considered a routine item of business. Therefore, it is not usually submitted for a shareholder vote. However, non-employee director compensation has become a shareholder issue recently. Generally, SCM would prefer to see more of the directors compensation based upon shareholder returns as measured by stock price appreciation or some other meaningful performance measure. Furthermore, SCM encourages corporations to phase out pension or retirement plans for their non-employee directors. Most non-employee directors have retirement benefits from their primary employer; however, SCM recognizes that a blanket vote to eliminate all such retirement plans could negatively impact a companys access to potentially valuable directors. Consequently, SCM will not vote in favor of unilaterally eliminating retirement benefits.
7. General: SCM recognizes the responsibilities of the board to organize its function and conduct its business in an efficient manner. Therefore, barring unusual circumstances, SCM would favor management proposals related to board size and oppose shareholder resolutions calling for the separation of the CEO and Chairman positions, establishing age limits for directors, special interest representation, the formation of shareholder advisory committees, or term limits for directors. SCM is also against restricting the date or location of the annual meeting.
B. CAPITALIZATION ISSUES: Capitalization related proposals pertain to the creation, repurchase, or reclassification of securities. SCM may support the authorization of additional stock if management provides a satisfactory explanation of its plans for the stock; however, SCM will oppose large unexplained increases in common stock. SCM will also oppose the issuance of blank check preferred or convertible stock which could potentially be used as a takeover deterrent or dilute/jeopardize the clients common stock ownership.
1. Increase Authorized Common Stock: SCM considers a proposal to increase the number of authorized but unissued shares of common stock on case-by-case basis. SCM takes into account the size of the requested increase, its stated purpose, and how much authorized but unissued common stock remains. The firm generally supports a stock split or a reasonable replenishment after a stock split. Likewise, SCM may approve an increase to support a shareholder value enhancing acquisition, to provide the necessary flexibility to maintain an optimal capital structure, or to fund stock option and stock purchase plans. Requests to significantly increase the number of authorized shares (those resulting in greater than 10% dilution) without a stated reason or demonstrated need would be opposed. Similarly, SCM would oppose an increase when additional shares are to be used for anti-takeover measures.
2. Authorize Blank Check Preferred Stock: This proposal would grant authority to the board to create and issue a new class of preferred stock with unspecified terms and conditions. Blank check preferred stock could be granted special voting rights and be used to entrench management or deter takeover attempts. SCM generally opposes proposals to vest the board with such power.
3. Authorize Convertible Stock: SCM would review the rationale on a case-by-case basis taking into account the companys current capitalization structure, the stated purpose for the security and the potential dilution effect this security would have on existing common shareholders upon conversion. SCM would oppose any request which is blank check in nature, where the companys rationale is unclear, and where the request appears to blunt possible takeover attempts.
C. SHAREHOLDERS RIGHTS AND PROXY VOTING: The proxy vote is the key mechanism by which shareholders render their opinion in corporate governance. In exercising its votes, SCM believes:
1. Confidential Voting should be adopted by all corporations on all matters brought before the shareholders. Such provisions would protect the importance of the proxy vote and eliminate the appearance of any impropriety.
2. Multiple Classes of Common Stock with disparate voting rights should not exist. Rather, the board should adhere to the principle of one share-one vote.
3. Super-majority rules or requirements which interfere with the shareholders right to elect directors and ratify corporate actions should be opposed.
4. Changes in Corporations Domicile should only be proposed for valid business reasons, not to obtain protection against unfriendly takeovers.
5. Change of Control occurs when a third party becomes, or obtains the right to become, the beneficial owner of Company securities having 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of the company. Change of Control also would occur when the directors prior to a given event cease to constitute a majority of the Board as a result of the event.
6. Fair Price Provisions and measures to limit the corporations ability to buy back shares from a particular shareholder at higher than market prices are generally supported.
7. Pre-emptive Rights allow shareholders the option to buy part of any new issue prior to its public offering. This provision allows existing shareholders to maintain their original ownership percentage. However, pre-emptive rights often raise the cost of capital by increasing both the time and expense of issuing new shares. Therefore, pre-emptive rights should generally be eliminated, except where SCMs analysis concludes such rights have value to the shareholders.
8. Anti-Takeover measures should be submitted for shareholder approval. SCM is generally against such measures.
9. Bundled Proposals: Occasionally management will attempt to tie a non-routine issue to one that is routine, attempting to pass both items in the form of a bundled proposal. Disparate issues should not be combined and presented for a single vote. Such proposals are generally not well received and must be carefully reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
10. Special Meetings of the Board of Directors, on such issues as takeovers and changes in the make-up of the Board, by its shareholders is permitted at most companies. Schneider Capital Management is generally against limitations on the calling of Special Meetings.
D. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION: The board and its compensation committee should set executive compensation levels adequate to attract and retain qualified executives. These managers should be rewarded in direct relationship to the contribution they make in maximizing shareholder value. SCM readily admits it is not qualified to thoroughly evaluate the specific issues of executive compensation for each of its portfolio holdings; however the firm does evaluate the reasonableness of compensation policies, criteria and formulas. Likewise, SCM decides what constitutes adequate disclosure of executive compensation. SCM generally supports sound pay for performance plans which ensure equitable treatment of both corporate management and shareholders. Compensation should include both salary and performance components. The salary should have a defined relationship to salaries in an industry peer group. Similarly, performance measures should relate to key industry success measurements and be judged over adequate time periods.
1. Incentive Plans should be set forth annually in the proxy statement. The criteria used to evaluate the performance of senior executives should be clearly stated. Terms of the awards, such as type, coverage and option price should be specified. Excess discretion will not be approved. SCM generally supports management if the company defines their performance goals. However, SCM opposes incentive plans where no specific goals are defined. Without specific performance goals, there is no assurance that awards will be paid based upon realistic performance criteria. SCM also votes against plans where performance hurdles are, in its opinion, set too low. Total potential dilution from existing and proposed compensation plans should not exceed 10% over the duration of the plan(s). Finally, SCM generally opposes plans which grant reload options (favorable repricing of options) or where options become immediately exercisable following a change of control defined as anything less than 50%.
2. Stock/Stock Option Plans: SCM generally votes against a plan if the exercise price is unspecified or below 90% of the fair market value on the date of the grant.
3. Golden Parachutes should always be put to shareholder vote because they often exceed ordinary compensation practices. We are generally against Golden Parachutes.
E. ROUTINE CORPORATE ISSUES: Proposals in this category, which have been seen repeatedly on an historical basis, are usually non-controversial. Generally, these issues revolve around items that are related to the normal operating procedures of the company. SCM, however, votes against a management proposal to approve any other business that properly comes before the meeting. As a fiduciary, SCM opposes any attempt by management to get a blanket approval without full disclosure. Conversely, each of the proposals listed below are generally supported, unless compelling reasons exist to question why it is not in the best interest of shareholders.
1. Appointment of Auditors
2. Corporate Name and/or Ticker Change
3. Approval of Articles of Incorporation
4. Changes to the Articles of Incorporation
5. Changes in the Date, Time and/or Location of Annual Meeting
6. Stock Splits
7. Acceptance of Directors Report
8. Approval of Corporate Dividend
II. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES: Schneider Capital Management acknowledges its duty both as a corporate citizen and as a manager of investment funds to address important social issues. The intention of our firm is not to impose its moral or social views upon clients. Nor should SCM restrict in any way the day-to-day operating procedures of a corporation unless, in so doing, the economic value of the clients investment is enhanced.
DOCUMENTATION OF VOTING DECISIONS
Schneider Capital Management maintains accurate records of each corporate proxy received and voted along with documentation of the proxy voting decisions on each issue. The records will be retained for such period of time as is required to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
REPORTING
In order to facilitate a clients monitoring of proxy decisions made and actions taken by Schneider Capital Management, a report summarizing each corporate issue and corresponding proxy vote is available to clients upon request.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SCOTIA DYNAMIC U.S. GROWTH FUND
a series of THE RBB FUND, INC.
TICKER: |
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CLASS I DWUGX |
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CLASS II DWUHX |
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INSTITUTIONAL - DWUIX |
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
SCOTIA INSTITUTIONAL ASSET MANAGEMENT US, LTD. (the Adviser)
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) is not a prospectus. This SAI is intended to provide additional information regarding the activities and operations of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company) and the Class I Shares, Class II Shares, and Institutional Shares (collectively, the Shares) of the Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund* (the Fund). This SAI should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (Prospectus). Capitalized terms not defined herein are defined in the Prospectus.
The financial statements for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, including the notes thereto and the report of the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, thereon dated October 24, 2014, included in the Funds Annual Report dated August 31, 2014 (Annual Report), are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein. Copies of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free 1-888-572-0968.
*Scotia, Dynamic and Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund are registered and proprietary trademarks of Scotiabank, an affiliate of Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd., used under license by the Adviser.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE COMPANY |
S-1 |
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS |
S-1 |
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
S-12 |
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
S-13 |
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
S-14 |
CODE OF ETHICS |
S-23 |
PROXY VOTING |
S-23 |
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
S-23 |
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
S-24 |
FUND TRANSACTIONS |
S-30 |
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
S-31 |
VALUATION OF SHARES |
S-32 |
TAXES |
S-32 |
MISCELLANEOUS |
S-35 |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
S-35 |
APPENDIX A RATINGS |
A-2 |
APPENDIX B PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES |
B-1 |
THE COMPANY
General. The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating twenty-two separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the Class I Shares, Class II Shares, and Institutional Shares of the Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund (the Fund). Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. (SIAM or the Adviser), formerly known as GCIC US Ltd, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
Before the Fund commenced operations, all of the assets and liabilities of the Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund (the Predecessor Fund), a series of Scotia Institutional Funds (Predecessor Fund Trust), which was formerly known as DundeeWealth Funds, were transferred to the Fund in a tax-free reorganization (the Reorganization). The Reorganization occurred on March 21, 2014. The Predecessor Fund commenced operations on March 31, 2009. As a result of the Reorganization, the performance and accounting history of the Predecessor Fund was assumed by the Fund. Financial and performance information prior to the close of business on March 21, 2014 included herein is that of the Predecessor Fund.
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The Funds investment objective and principal investment strategy are described in the Prospectus. The following information supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus.
The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This goal is not fundamental and may be changed by the Fund upon 60 days prior notice to shareholders. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act.
As its principal investment strategy, the Fund invests primarily in securities of U.S. companies as described in the Prospectus. Consistent with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act the Fund has adopted a non-fundamental policy to invest at least 80% of its assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, under normal circumstances in equity securities of U.S. companies chosen according to a growth oriented investment approach. This non-fundamental policy may be changed by the Funds Board of Directors upon 60 days notice to Fund shareholders.
During unusual economic or market conditions, or for temporary defensive or liquidity purposes, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in money market instruments that would not ordinarily be consistent with the Funds objective.
Portfolio Turnover Rate. Portfolio turnover rate is defined under Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) regulations as the value of the securities purchased or securities sold, excluding all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less, divided by the average monthly value of such securities owned during the year. Based on this definition, instruments with remaining maturities of less than one year are excluded from the calculation of the portfolio turnover rate. Instruments excluded from the calculation of portfolio turnover generally would include the futures contracts in which the Fund may invest since such contracts generally have remaining maturities of less than one year. The Fund may at times hold investments in other short-term instruments, such as repurchase agreements, which are excluded for purposes of computing portfolio turnover.
The Fund will only invest in any of the following instruments or engage in any of the following investment practices if such investment or activity is consistent with the Funds investment objective and permitted by the Funds stated investment policies. Unless otherwise noted, the following investments are non-principal investments of the Fund.
American, European and Global Depositary Receipts. American Depository Receipts (ADRs), as well as other hybrid forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuers home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.
Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may subject the Fund to investment risks that differ in some respects from those related to investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Such risks include future adverse political and economic developments, possible imposition of withholding taxes on income, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign deposits, possible establishment of exchange controls or taxation at the source or greater fluctuation in value due to changes in exchange rates. Foreign issuers of securities often engage in business practices different from those of domestic issuers of similar securities, and there may be less information publicly available about foreign issuers. In addition, foreign issuers are, generally speaking, subject to less government supervision and regulation and different accounting treatment than are those in the United States.
Equity Securities. As part of its principal investment strategy, the Fund invests in equity securities, primarily in the form of common stocks. Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not
represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
· Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
· Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers. To the extent consistent with its principal investment strategy, the Fund may invest in small and medium capitalization issuers. Investing in equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of depth of management. The securities of smaller companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and even if listed on a national securities exchange may not be traded in volumes typical for that exchange. Consequently, the securities of smaller companies are less likely to be liquid, may have limited market stability, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established growth companies or the market averages in general.
Money Market Securities. During unusual economic or market conditions, or for temporary defensive or liquidity purposes, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in money market instruments (the types of which are discussed below) that would not ordinarily be consistent with the Funds objective. For purposes of these policies, money market securities include (i) short-term U.S. government securities, including custodial receipts evidencing separately traded interest and principal components of securities issued by the U.S. Treasury; (ii) commercial paper rated in the highest short-term rating category by a nationally recognized statistical ratings organization (NRSRO), such as Standard & Poors or Moodys, or determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality at the time of purchase; (iii) short-term bank obligations (certificates of
deposit, time deposits and bankers acceptances) of U.S. domestic banks, foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks, and commercial banks with assets of at least $1 billion as of the end of their most recent fiscal year; and (iv) repurchase agreements involving such securities. Each of these types of money market securities is discussed in more detail below. For a description of ratings, see Appendix A to this SAI.
U.S. Government Securities. Examples of types of U.S. government obligations in which the Fund may invest include U.S. Treasury obligations and the obligations of U.S. government agencies such as Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Government National Mortgage Association, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Freddie Mac (formerly Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, Maritime Administration, and other similar agencies. Whether backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury or not, U.S. government securities are not guaranteed against price movements due to fluctuating interest rates.
· U.S. Treasury Obligations. U.S. Treasury obligations consist of bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury and separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations that are transferable through the federal book-entry system known as Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities (STRIPS) and Treasury Receipts (TRs).
· Receipts. Interests in separately traded interest and principal component parts of U.S. government obligations that are issued by banks or brokerage firms and are created by depositing U.S. government obligations into a special account at a custodian bank. The custodian holds the interest and principal payments for the benefit of the registered owners of the certificates or receipts. The custodian arranges for the issuance of the certificates or receipts evidencing ownership and maintains the register. Receipts are sold as zero coupon securities.
· U.S. Government Zero Coupon Securities. STRIPS are sold as zero coupon securities, that is, fixed income securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons. Zero coupon securities are sold at a (usually substantial) discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. The amount of this discount is accreted over the life of the security, and the accretion constitutes the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, the market prices of zero coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that have similar maturity but that pay interest periodically. Zero coupon securities are likely to respond to a greater degree to interest rate changes than are non-zero coupon securities with similar maturity and credit qualities.
· U.S. Government Agencies. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by agencies of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury, while still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality. Guarantees of principal by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government may be a guarantee of payment at the maturity of the obligation so that in the event of a default prior to maturity there might not be a market and thus no means of realizing on the obligation prior to maturity. Guarantees as to the timely payment of principal and interest do not extend to the value or yield of these securities or to the value of the Funds shares.
There is the risk that the U.S. government will not provide financial support to U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. Although the issuers of many U.S. Government agency obligations purchased by the Fund, such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal
Home Loan Banks, may be chartered or sponsored by Acts of Congress, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government agency obligations held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The long-term effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
Commercial Paper. Commercial paper is the term used to designate unsecured short-term promissory notes issued by corporations and other entities. Maturities on these issues vary from a few to 270 days.
Obligations of Domestic Banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign Branches of U.S. Banks. The Fund may invest in obligations issued by banks and other savings institutions. Investments in bank obligations include obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks. Such investments in domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks may involve risks that are different from investments in securities of domestic branches of U.S. banks. These risks may include future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions which might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held by the Fund. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. Bank obligations include the following:
· Bankers Acceptances . Bankers acceptances are bills of exchange or time drafts drawn on and accepted by a commercial bank. Corporations use bankers acceptances to finance the shipment and storage of goods and to furnish dollar exchange. Maturities are generally six months or less.
· Certificates of Deposit . Certificates of deposit are interest-bearing instruments with a specific maturity. They are issued by banks and savings and loan institutions in exchange for the deposit of funds and normally can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Certificates of deposit with penalties for early withdrawal will be considered illiquid.
· Time Deposits. Time deposits are non-negotiable receipts issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. Like a certificate of deposit, it earns a specified rate of interest over a definite period of time; however, it cannot be traded in the secondary market. Time deposits with a withdrawal penalty or that mature in more than seven days are considered to be illiquid securities.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions. The Fund follows certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with large, well-capitalized and well-established financial institutions whose condition will be continually monitored by the Adviser. The repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund will provide that the underlying collateral at all times shall have a value at least equal to 102% of the resale price stated in the agreement (the Adviser monitors compliance with this requirement). Under all repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund, the custodian or its agent must take possession of the underlying collateral. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Fund will
seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of the Funds right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss. It is the current policy of the Fund, not to invest in repurchase agreements that do not mature within seven days if any such investment, together with any other illiquid assets held by the Fund, amounts to more than 15% of the Funds net assets. The investments of the Fund in repurchase agreements, at times, may be substantial when, in the view of the Adviser, liquidity or other considerations so warrant.
Securities of Other Investment Companies. Securities of other investment companies, including shares of exchange-traded funds, closed-end investment companies, unit investment trusts, open-end investment companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs), represent interests in professionally managed portfolios that may invest in any type of instrument. Investing in other investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but may involve additional expenses at the investment company-level, such as portfolio management fees and operating expenses. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or a discount to their net asset value. Others are continuously offered at net asset value, but may also be traded in the secondary market. Federal securities laws limit the extent to which the Fund can invest in securities of other investment companies. The Fund is prohibited from acquiring the securities of another investment company if, as a result of such acquisition: (i) the Fund owns more than 3% of the total voting stock of the other company; (ii) securities issued by any one investment company represent more than 5% of the Funds total assets; or (iii) securities issued by all investment companies represent more than 10% of the total assets of the Fund, unless it does so in reliance on a statutory exemption under the 1940 Act, rule, or SEC staff interpretations thereunder.
REITs. A REIT is a corporation or trust that pools the capital of many investors to purchase income property and/or mortgage loans.
A REIT is not taxed on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income, and with a regulatory requirement that it distribute to its shareholders or unitholders at least 90% of its taxable income for each taxable year. Generally, REITs can be classified as Equity REITs, Mortgage REITs and Hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both Equity and Mortgage REITs. By investing in REITs indirectly through a Fund, shareholders of the Fund will bear not only their proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also indirectly, similar expenses of underlying REITs.
REITs may be affected by changes in their underlying properties and by defaults by borrowers or tenants. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. Furthermore, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills. Some REITs may have limited diversification and may be subject to risks inherent in financing a limited number of properties. REITs depend generally on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders, and may be subject to defaults by borrowers and to self-liquidations.
In addition, the performance of a REIT may be affected by its failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code) or its failure to maintain exemption from registration under the 1940 Act.
Futures and Options on Futures. Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by
another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. The Fund will reduce the risk that it will be unable to close out a futures contract by only entering into futures contracts that are traded on a national futures exchange regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Fund may use futures contracts and related options for bona fide hedging; attempting to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of; attempting to gain exposure to a particular market, index or instrument; or other risk management purposes. To the extent futures and/or options on futures are employed by the Fund, such use will be in accordance with Rule 4.5 of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). The Company, on behalf of the Fund, will file a notice of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of the term commodity pool operator (CPO) in accordance with Rule 4.5 and therefore, the Fund will not be subject to registration or regulation as a CPO under the CEA.
The Fund will limit investments in futures to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). For this reason, with respect to the Fund, the Adviser is not required to register as a CPO Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO with respect to the Fund, the disclosure and operations of the Fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made; generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.
When the Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, or sells an option thereon, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may maintain with its custodian bank, a segregated account consisting of cash or liquid securities (i) equal to the contracts full notional value (in the case of contracts that are not required to cash settle) or (ii) in amounts (marked-to-market on a daily basis) that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the futures contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act, the rules, and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by purchasing a put option on the same futures contract with a strike price (i.e., an exercise price) as high or higher than the price of the futures contract. In the alternative, if the strike price of the put is less than the price of the futures contract, the Fund will maintain cash or liquid securities in a segregated account equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by taking a short position in the instruments underlying the futures contract, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract. The Fund may cover its short position in a futures contract by taking a long position in the instruments underlying the futures contracts, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract.
The Fund may cover its sale of a call option on a futures contract by taking a long position in the underlying futures contract at a price less than or equal to the strike price of the call option. In the alternative, if the long position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price greater than the strike price of the written (sold) call, the Fund will maintain cash or liquid securities in a segregated account equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the call and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a call option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the call option. The Fund may cover its sale of a put option on a futures contract by taking a short position in the underlying futures contract at a price greater than or equal to the strike price of the put option, or, if the short position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price less than the strike price of the written put, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a put option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the put option.
There are significant risks associated with the Funds use of futures contracts and related options, including the following: (i) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on the Advisers ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates, (ii) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures, (iii) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option, (iv) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange, and (v) government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and options on futures. In addition, some strategies reduce the Funds exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure.
Options . The Fund may trade and write put and call options on securities and securities indices, as the Adviser determines is appropriate in seeking the Funds investment objective, and except as restricted by the Funds investment limitations. See Investment Limitations. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at any time during the option period. A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying security at any time during the option period. The premium paid to the writer is the consideration for undertaking the obligations under the option contract.
The initial purchase (sale) of an option contract is an opening transaction. In order to close out an option position, the Fund may enter into a closing transaction, which is simply the sale (purchase) of an option contract on the same security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option contract originally opened. If the Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or the Fund delivers the security upon exercise.
The Fund may purchase put and call options on securities to protect against a decline in the market value of the securities in its portfolio or to anticipate an increase in the market value of securities that the Fund may seek to purchase in the future. The Fund will pay a premium when purchasing put and call options. If price movements in the underlying securities are such that exercise of the options would not be profitable for the Fund, loss of the premium paid may be offset by an increase in the value of the Funds securities or by a decrease in the cost of acquisition of securities by the Fund.
Put and call options on indices are similar to options on securities except that options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the underlying index is greater than (or less than, in the case of puts) the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, expressed in dollars multiplied by a specified number. Thus, unlike options on individual securities, all settlements are in cash, and gain or loss depends on price movements in the particular market represented by the index generally, rather than the price movements in individual securities.
When the Fund trades or writes options, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. In the case of a call option, the option is covered if the Fund owns the instrument underlying the call or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that instrument without additional cash consideration (or, if additional cash consideration is required, liquid assets in such amount are segregated) upon conversion or exchange of other instruments held by it. A call option is also covered if the Fund holds a call on the same instrument as the option written where the exercise price of the option held is (i) equal to or less than the exercise price of the option written, or (ii) greater than the exercise price of the option written provided the Fund segregates liquid assets in the amount of the difference. The Fund may also cover options on securities by segregating cash or liquid assets, as permitted by applicable law, with a value, when added to any margin on deposit, that is equal to the market value of the securities in the case of a call option. A put option is also covered if the Fund holds a put on the same instrument as the option written where the exercise price of the option held is (i) equal to or higher than the exercise price of the option written, or (ii) less than the exercise price of the option written provided the Fund segregates liquid assets in the amount of the difference.
The Fund may cover call options on a securities index by owning securities whose price changes are expected to be similar to those of the underlying index, or by having an absolute and immediate right to acquire such securities without additional cash consideration (or for additional consideration which has been segregated by the Fund) upon conversion or exchange of other securities in its portfolio. The Fund may also cover call and put options on a securities index by segregating cash or liquid assets, as permitted by applicable law, with a value, when added to any margin on deposit, that is equal to the market value of the underlying securities in the case of a call option or the exercise price in the case of a put option, or by owning offsetting options as described above.
The Fund may write covered call options on securities as a means of increasing the yield on its portfolio and as a means of providing limited protection against decreases in its market value. When the Fund sells an option, if the underlying securities do not increase or decrease to a price level that would make the exercise of the option profitable to the holder thereof, the option generally will expire without being exercised and the Fund will realize as profit the premium received for such option. When a call option written by the Fund is exercised, the Fund will be required to sell the underlying securities to the option holder at the strike price, and will not participate in any increase in the price of such securities above the strike price. When a put option written by the Fund is exercised, the Fund will be required to purchase the underlying securities at the strike price which may be in excess of the market value of such securities.
The Fund may purchase and write options, without limitation, on an exchange or over-the-counter. Over-the-counter options (OTC options) differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is done normally by reference to information from a market maker. It is the SECs position that OTC options are generally illiquid.
The market value of an option generally reflects the market price of an underlying security. Other principal factors affecting market value include supply and demand, interest rates, the pricing volatility of the underlying security and the time remaining until the expiration date.
Risks associated with options transactions include: (i) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (ii) there may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in prices of options and the securities underlying them; (iii) there may not be a liquid secondary market for options; and (iv) while the Fund will receive a premium when it writes covered call options, it may not participate fully in a rise in the market value of the underlying security.
Illiquid Securities. Illiquid securities are securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business (within seven days) at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Because of their illiquid nature, illiquid securities must be priced at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to fair value procedures approved by the Companys Board of Directors. Despite such good faith efforts to determine fair value prices, the Funds illiquid securities are subject to the risk that the securitys fair value price may differ from the actual price which the Fund may ultimately realize upon its sale or disposition. Difficulty in selling illiquid securities may result in a loss or may be costly to the Fund. Under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser determines the liquidity of the Funds investments. In determining the liquidity of the Funds investments, the Adviser may consider various factors, including (i) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations, (ii) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (iii) dealer undertakings to make a market, and (iv) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security). The Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities.
Restricted Securities. Restricted securities are securities that may not be sold freely to the public absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act), or an exemption from registration. If consistent with the Funds investment objective, the Fund may invest in Section 4(2) commercial paper. Section 4(2) commercial paper is issued in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the 1933 Act and is generally sold to institutional investors who purchase for investment. Any resale of such commercial paper must be in an exempt transaction, usually to an institutional investor through the issuer or investment dealers who make a market in such commercial paper. The Company believes that Section 4(2) commercial paper is liquid to the extent it meets the criteria established by the Board of Directors of the Company. The Company intends to treat such commercial paper as liquid and not subject to the investment limitations applicable to illiquid securities or restricted securities.
Borrowing. The Fund may borrow money from a bank equal to 5% of its total assets for temporary purposes to meet redemptions or to pay dividends. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of the Funds shares and in the return on the Funds portfolio. Although the principal of any borrowing will be fixed, the
Funds assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. The Fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at a time when it would be disadvantageous to do so in order to make payments with respect to any borrowing. The Fund may be required to earmark or segregate liquid assets in an amount sufficient to meet its obligations in connection with such borrowings. In an interest rate arbitrage transaction, the Fund borrows money at one interest rate and lends the proceeds at another, higher interest rate. These transactions involve a number of risks, including the risks that the borrower will fail or otherwise become insolvent or that there will be a significant change in prevailing interest rates.
Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). The Adviser generally attempts to allocate IPOs on a pro rata basis. However, due to the typically small size of the IPO allocation available to the Fund and the nature and market capitalization of the companies involved in IPOs, pro rata allocation may not always be possible. Because IPO shares frequently are volatile in price, the Fund may hold IPO shares for a very short period of time. As the Funds assets grow, the effect of the Funds investments in IPOs on the Funds performance probably will decline, which could reduce the Funds performance. This may increase the turnover of the Funds portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. By selling shares of an IPO, the Fund may realize taxable capital gains that it will subsequently distribute to shareholders. Most IPOs involve a high degree of risk not normally associated with offerings of more seasoned companies. Companies involved in IPOs generally have limited operating histories, and their prospects for future profitability are uncertain. These companies often are engaged in new and evolving businesses and are particularly vulnerable to competition and to changes in technology, markets and economic conditions. They may be dependent on certain key managers and third parties, need more personnel and other resources to manage growth and require significant additional capital. They may also be dependent on limited product lines and uncertain property rights and need regulatory approvals. Investors in IPOs 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. Stock prices of IPOs can also be highly unstable, due to the absence of a prior public market, the small number of shares available for trading and limited investor information.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past few years 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 Funds 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 Funds 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 Funds holdings.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose
operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
Fundamental Policies
The following investment limitations are fundamental policies of the Fund that cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without the consent of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding shares. The phrase majority of the outstanding shares means the vote of (i) 67% or more of the Funds shares present at a meeting, if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of the Funds outstanding shares, whichever is less.
The Fund may not:
1. Purchase any securities which would cause 25% or more of the total assets of the Fund to be invested in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that this limitation does not apply to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies and instrumentalities and repurchase agreements involving such securities.
2. Borrow money in an amount exceeding 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets, provided that, for purposes of this limitation, investment strategies which either obligate the Fund to purchase securities or require the Fund to segregate assets are not considered to be borrowings. Asset coverage of at least 300% is required for all borrowings, except where the Fund has borrowed money for temporary purposes in amounts not exceeding 5% of its total assets.
3. Make loans if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, except that the Fund may (i) purchase or hold debt instruments in accordance with its investment objective and policies; (ii) enter into repurchase agreements; and (iii) lend its securities.
4. Purchase or sell real estate, physical commodities, or commodities contracts, except that the Fund may purchase (i) marketable securities issued by companies which own or invest in real estate (including REITs), commodities, or commodities contracts; and (ii) commodities contracts relating to financial instruments, such as financial futures contracts and options on such contracts.
5. Issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act except as permitted by rule, regulation or order of the SEC.
6. Act as an underwriter of securities of other issuers except as it may be deemed an underwriter in selling a portfolio security.
The foregoing percentages (except with respect to the limitation on borrowing) will apply at the time of the purchase of a security and shall not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs immediately after or as a result of a purchase of such security. With respect to the restriction under number 2 above, the Fund may borrow money from banks as permitted under the 1940 Act.
Non-Fundamental Policies
The following investment limitations are non-fundamental policies of the Fund and may be changed with respect to the Fund by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval.
The Fund may not:
1. Pledge, mortgage or hypothecate assets except to secure borrowings permitted by the Funds fundamental limitation on borrowing; provided that, such pledging, mortgaging or hypothecation does not exceed 5% of the Funds total assets.
2. Invest in companies for the purpose of exercising control.
3. Purchase securities on margin or effect short sales, except that the Fund may (i) obtain short-term credits as necessary for the clearance of security transactions; (ii) provide initial and variation margin payments in connection with transactions involving futures contracts and options on such contracts; (iii) make short sales against the box; and (iv) make short sales in compliance with the SECs position regarding the asset segregation requirements imposed by Section 18 of the 1940 Act.
4. Invest its assets in securities of any investment company, except as permitted by the 1940 Act.
5. Purchase or hold illiquid securities, i.e., securities that cannot be disposed of for their approximate carrying value in seven days or less (which term includes repurchase agreements and time deposits maturing in more than seven days) if, in the aggregate, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in illiquid securities. The 15% limitation on investments in illiquid securities applies both at the time of initial purchase and while the Fund holds such securities.
6. Enter into futures contracts and options on futures contracts except as permitted by the Prospectus and in this SAI.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose
portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; BBD, LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; Merrill Corporation, the financial printer; and Glass, Lewis & Company, the Funds proxy voting service. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions).
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to (i) certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information, and (ii) financial consultants to assist them in determining the suitability of the Fund as an investment for their clients, in each case in accordance with the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and the Companys and the Advisers fiduciary duties to Fund shareholders. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold
M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address,
Date of Birth |
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
and
|
|
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
During Past 5 Years |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 81 |
|
Director |
|
1988 to present |
|
From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
|
23 |
|
AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Richard Carnall 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 76 |
|
Director |
|
2002 to present |
|
Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
|
23 |
|
None |
Name, Address,
Date of Birth |
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
and
|
|
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
During Past 5 Years |
Robert Sablowsky 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 76 |
|
Director |
|
1991 to present |
|
Since July 2002, Senior Vice President and prior thereto, Executive Vice President, of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (a registered broker-dealer). |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OFFICERS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Salvatore Faia, JD, CPA, CFE Vigilant Compliance Services Brandywine Two 5 Christy Drive, Suite 208 Chadds Ford, PA 19317 Age: 52 |
|
President
Chief Compliance Officer |
|
2009
to present
to present |
|
Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joel Weiss 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 51 |
|
Treasurer |
|
2009 to present |
|
Since 1993, Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diane Drake 301 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 47 |
|
Secretary |
|
2014 to present |
|
Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010 Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 54 |
|
Assistant Treasurer |
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
Name, Address,
Date of Birth |
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
and
|
|
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
During Past 5 Years |
Michael P. Malloy One Logan Square, Ste. 2000 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Age: 55 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale. |
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed. |
|
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company. |
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and also serves on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee: The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Giordano, Reichman, Sablowsky and Chandler. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee convened once during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised of only officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Reichman, Sablowsky, Straniere and Nusblatt. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Reichman, Sablowsky and Nusblatt. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened twice during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios of the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013:
|
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-10,000 |
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
|
|
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
* The Reorganization occurred on March 21, 2014.
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company pays each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended telephonically. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, each Chairman of the Audit Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee receives an additional fee of $7,500 per year for his services, and the Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director (except Mr. Nusblatt) a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee
received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services. From February 2, 2010 to December 31, 2011, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $12,000 per year for his services in this capacity.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President, Treasurer and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Company in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
203.82 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
348.07 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
354.88 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
380.14 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
488.38 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
338.82 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
294.89 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
3,113.14 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
* The Reorganization occurred on March 21, 2014. Compensation is for the period March 21, 2014 through August 31, 2014.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Funds Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser has adopted proxy voting procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Fund. The Adviser employs a third party service provider to assist in the voting of proxies. The Advisers procedures have been provided to the service provider, who analyzes the proxies and votes such proxies in the manner outlined in the procedures. The Advisers proxy policies and procedures are included in Appendix B to this SAI.
Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1-888-572-0968 or by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014, to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
|
|
Number of Shares |
|
Percentage of Shares |
|
Fund/Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Owned as of December 1, 2014 |
|
Owned as of December 2, 2014 |
|
SCOTIA DYNAMIC US GROWTH FUND CLASS I FUND |
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC |
|
|
|
|
|
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR |
|
|
|
|
|
CUST |
|
1,032,031.911 |
|
48.40 |
% |
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR |
|
|
|
|
|
499 WASHINGTON BLVD |
|
|
|
|
|
JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC |
|
|
|
|
|
SPECIAL CUSTODY A/C FBO CUSTOMERS |
|
|
|
|
|
ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS |
|
|
|
|
|
101 MONTGOMERY STREET |
|
|
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94104-4122 |
|
915,086.699 |
|
42.92 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Portfolio of the Company except for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund of which they owned 2.04% and Schneider Value Fund of which they owned 2.70%.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Investment Adviser. Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. (SIAM or the Adviser) is an investment management firm registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. SIAM serves as the Adviser to the Fund. SIAM was established in 1995 and offers investment management services to investors located in the United States. SIAM is a wholly-owned indirect investment subsidiary of The Bank of Nova Scotia, a Canadian-based bank providing retail, commercial, corporate, investment and international banking services. SIAM is an affiliate of Scotia Institutional Investment US, LP (SII US), formerly known as DundeeWealth US, LP. The Predecessor Fund was advised by SII US, and sub-advised by the Adviser.
Advisory Agreement with the Company. The Company and the Adviser have entered into an Investment Management Agreement (the Advisory Agreement). Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser serves as the Investment Adviser for the Fund and continuously reviews, supervises and administers the respective investment program of the Fund, subject to the supervision of, and policies established by, the Directors of the Company. The Adviser makes investment decisions for the Fund. The Advisory Agreement must be specifically approved, (and after the initial term, approved at least annually) (i) by the vote of the Directors or by a vote of the shareholders of the Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Directors who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of any party thereto, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company held on February 27, 2014, the Board of Directors approved the Advisory Agreement and authorized its submission to the initial shareholder of the Fund for approval for an initial term through August 16, 2015. The Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, and is terminable at any time without penalty by the Directors of the Company or by a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund, on not less than 60-days written notice. The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall not be protected against any liability to the Company or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its obligations or duties thereunder.
For its services under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to a fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of the Funds average daily net assets equal to 0.65%.
The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its fee and reimburse expenses in order to keep Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions and interest) for the Institutional Shares, Class I Shares and Class II Shares of the Fund from exceeding the following annual percentage rates of its average daily net assets until December 31, 2015:
Average Daily Net Assets
Institutional |
|
Class I |
|
Class II |
|
0.74 |
% |
0.84 |
% |
0.99 |
% |
If it becomes unnecessary for the Adviser to waive fees or make reimbursements, the Adviser may recapture any of its prior waiver reimbursements for a period not to exceed three years from the date on which the waiver or reimbursement was made to the extent such a recapture does not cause the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions and interest) to exceed 0.74%, 0.84% and 0.99% for the Funds Institutional, Class I and Class II Shares, respectively.
The Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. The Fund bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Fund include, but are not limited to the following (or the Funds share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by the Fund and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of the Fund by the Adviser; (c) filing fees and expenses relating to the registration and qualification of the Company and the Funds shares under federal and/or state securities laws and maintaining such registrations and qualifications; (d) fees and salaries payable to the Companys Directors and officers; (e) taxes (including any income or franchise taxes) and governmental fees; (f) costs of any liability and other insurance or fidelity bonds; (g) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Fund for violation of any law; (h) legal, accounting and auditing expenses, including legal fees of special counsel for the independent Directors; (i) charges of custodians and other agents; (j) expenses of setting in type and printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto for existing shareholders, reports, statements, and confirmations to shareholders and proxy material that are not attributable to a class; (k) costs of mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto to existing shareholders, as well as reports to shareholders and proxy materials that are not attributable to a class; (1) any extraordinary expenses; (m) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (n) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; (o) costs of independent pricing services to value a portfolios securities; and (p) the costs of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Funds investment advisory agreement is available in the Funds semi-annual report to shareholders dated March 31, 2014. Copies of future shareholder reports, may be obtained by calling 1-888-572-0968 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
For the eleven-month fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 SII US and SIAM US earned the advisory fees shown below from the Predecessor Fund and the Fund, and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, SII US earned advisory fees from the Predecessor Fund as follows: (1)
Fiscal Period Ended
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
$ |
396,037 |
|
$ |
328,475 |
|
$ |
378,900 |
|
For the eleven-month fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 SII US and SIAM US waived fees and reimbursed expenses from the Predecessor Fund and the Fund, and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, SII US waived fees and reimbursed expenses from the Predecessor Fund as follows: (1)
Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
Fiscal Year Ended
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
$ |
174,307 |
|
$ |
96,041 |
|
$ |
141,276 |
|
(1) Prior to December 1, 2012, SII US was entitled to advisory fees at the annual rate of 0.75% of the Predecessor Funds average daily net assets and waived and/or reimbursed expenses in order to keep Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions and interest) from exceeding 0.95% and 1.20% of the Predecessor Funds Class I Shares and Class II Shares, respectively.
Portfolio Manager
Description of Compensation. The Adviser compensates the portfolio manager for his management of the Fund. The portfolio managers compensation consists of a salary and a discretionary bonus. The bonus is based on profitability of the firm and individual performance. Individual performance is subjective and may be based on a number of factors, such as the individuals leadership and contribution to the strategic planning and development of the investment team.
Other Accounts . The following information is as of August 31, 2014, assets under management reported in U.S. dollars:
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Number of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
Number of
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
Noah Blackstein |
|
Registered Investment Companies |
|
1 |
|
$ |
118 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
|
12 |
|
$ |
2,570 |
|
6 |
|
$ |
2,086 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Material Conflicts of Interest . As is typical for many money managers, potential conflicts of interest may arise related to portfolio managers management of accounts including the Fund relating to: where not all accounts are able to participate in a desired IPO or another limited opportunity, the use of soft dollars and other brokerage practices, the voting of proxies, employee personal securities trading, the side by side management of accounts with performance based fees and accounts with fixed fees, and a variety of other circumstances. In all cases, however, the Adviser believes it has written policies and procedures in place reasonably designed to prevent violations of the federal securities laws and to prevent material conflicts of interest from arising. The Advisers Form ADV, Part 2 also contains a description of some of its policies and procedures in this regard.
Securities Ownership . The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the portfolio manager in the Fund as of August 31, 2014.
|
|
Dollar ($) Value of Fund Shares |
Portfolio Manager |
|
Beneficially Owned |
|
|
|
Noah Blackstein |
|
None |
Custodian Agreement. The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), with offices at One Wall Street, New York, New York 10286, serves as the custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a Custodian Agreement dated July 18, 2011, as amended and supplemented (the Custodian Agreement). Under the Custodian Agreement, BNY: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of the Fund; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. BNY is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that BNY remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Fund harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian receives a fee based on each Funds average daily gross assets calculated daily and payable monthly, exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
BNY was the custodian for the Predecessor Fund.
Transfer Agency Agreement . BNY Mellon, with corporate offices at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of the shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum monthly fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis, and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee, ranging from $3,000 - $50,000, based on the number of open
accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Funds Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY Mellon $2.25 per customer verification and $0.02 per month per record result maintained.
BNY was the Transfer Agent for the Predecessor Fund.
Distribution Agreement . Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Fund, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Fund.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution
Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
The Distributor for the Predecessor Fund was Foreside Fund Services, LLC. The Predecessor Fund adopted a distribution agreement (the Predecessor Funds Distribution Agreement) under which Foreside Fund Services received no compensation for its distribution services from the Predecessor Fund Trust. Shares were sold with no sales commission; accordingly, Foreside Fund Services, LLC received no sales commissions.
Shareholder Servicing. The Fund has adopted a Shareholder Services Plan (the Shareholder Services Plan). Under the Shareholder Services Plan, the service providers may be entitled to receive aggregate fees for shareholder services not exceeding (i) ten basis points (0.10%) of the Funds average daily net assets attributable to Class I Shares and (ii) twenty-five basis points (0.25%) of the Funds average daily net assets attributable to Class II Shares in return for providing a broad range of shareholder services, including: (i) maintaining accounts relating to shareholders that invest in Shares; (ii) arranging for bank wires; (iii) responding to shareholder inquiries relating to the services performed by service providers; (iv) responding to inquiries from shareholders concerning their investment in the Company; (v) assisting shareholders in changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; (vi) providing information periodically to shareholders showing their position in the Company; (vii) forwarding shareholder communications from the Fund such as proxies, shareholder reports, annual reports, and dividend distribution and tax notices to shareholders; (viii) processing purchase, exchange and redemption requests from shareholders and placing orders with the Fund or their service providers; and (ix) processing dividend payments from the Fund on behalf of shareholders. Institutional Shares do not charge a shareholder servicing fee. For the eleven-month fiscal period ended August 31, 2014, shareholder servicing fees were $60,929 for Class I Shares. As of August 31, 2014 , no other classes of the Fund were offered.
Administration and Accounting Services Agreement. BNY Mellon serves as administrator to the Fund pursuant to an administration and accounting services agreement with respect to the Fund (the Administration Agreement). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Fund statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Fund. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies and prepare materials required by the SEC or any state securities commission having jurisdiction over the Fund. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard. For its services to the Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of:
· .060% of the Funds first $250 million of average daily net assets;
· .050% of the Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets;
· .040% of the Funds next $250 million of average daily net assets; and
· .030% of the Funds average daily net assets in excess of $750 million.
The minimum monthly fee is $5,833 per month, exclusive of Rule 38a-1 base compliance support services fees, costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
BNY Mellon served as the administrator for the Predecessor Fund. For the eleven-month fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 and the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, BNY Mellon received fees in the amount of $67,224 (from the Predecessor Fund and the Fund), $49,369 (from the Predecessor Fund), and $59,943 (from the Predecessor Fund), respectively, for services to the Fund pursuant to the fee schedule in effect during such fiscal period or year.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board of Directors and applicable rules, the Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
The Fund does not have any obligation to deal with any broker or group of brokers in the execution of portfolio transactions. The Adviser may, consistent with the interests of the Fund and subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, select brokers on the basis of the research, statistical and pricing services they provide to the Fund and other clients of the Adviser. Information and research received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the Adviser under its respective contracts. A commission paid to such brokers may be higher than that which another qualified broker would have charged for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the transaction or the overall responsibility of the Adviser to the Fund and its other clients and that the total commissions paid by the Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Fund over the long term.
For the eleven-month fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 the Predecessor Fund and the Fund paid and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012 the Predecessor Fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions as follows:
For the Fiscal Period
|
|
Predecessor Fund
|
|
Predecessor Fund
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
$ |
111,010 |
|
$ |
156,776 |
|
$ |
186,410 |
|
Investment decisions for the Fund and for other investment accounts managed by the Adviser are made independently of each other in the light of differing conditions. However, the same investment decision may be made for two or more of such accounts. In such cases, simultaneous transactions are inevitable. Purchases or sales are then averaged as to price and allocated as to amount according to a formula deemed equitable to each such account. While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the
security as far as the Fund is concerned, in other cases it is believed to be beneficial to the Fund.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Purchase Information
If shares of the Fund are held in a street name account with an authorized dealer, all recordkeeping, transaction processing and payments of distributions relating to the beneficial owners account will be performed by the Authorized Dealer, and not by the Fund and its Transfer Agent. Since the Fund will have no record of the beneficial owners transactions, a beneficial owner should contact the Authorized Dealer to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, to make changes in or give instructions concerning the account or to obtain information about the account. The transfer of shares in a street name account to an account with another dealer or to an account directly with the Fund involves special procedures and will require the beneficial owner to obtain historical purchase information about the shares in the account from the Authorized Dealer.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers (other than Foreside Distributors), financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to the approval of the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and any such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Predecessor Fund qualified during its last taxable year as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. The Fund, as successor to the Predecessor Fund, intends to continue to so qualify. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Funds business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Funds taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
State and Local Taxes
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which the Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares
if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in the Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of Common Stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of each class of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by class on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel . The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. BBD, LLP serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm. KPMG, LLP served as the Predecessor Funds independent registered public accounting firm commencing for the three fiscal years ended September 30, 2013.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders for its fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by BBD LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated by reference into this SAI. Such financial statements have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon such report given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning the Fund at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating
categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
SCOTIA INSTITUTIONAL ASSET MANAGEMENT US, LTD.
PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES
Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. (SIAM), in its capacity as an investment advisor, provides investment management and administrative services to investment companies, trusts, estates, individuals, pension plans and corporations (collectively the Funds).
SIAM is a subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS). BNS is a financial services company which provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, institutions and corporations through a number of operating subsidiaries including SIAM.
The purpose of this document is to outline the general guidelines used by SIAM for voting proxies received from companies held in Funds managed by SIAM.
Subject to compliance with the provisions from time to time of applicable securities and corporate legislation, rules, regulations and policies, SIAM, in its capacity as investment advisor, acting on each Funds behalf, has the right and obligation to vote proxies relating to the issuers of each Funds portfolio securities. In certain circumstances, SIAM may delegate this function to the Funds portfolio advisor or sub-advisor as part of such advisors discretionary authority to manage the Funds assets. In all cases, SIAM, or the portfolio advisor or the sub-advisor, voting proxies on behalf of a Fund must do so in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Fund and its securityholders. The proxy voting guidelines described below form an important part of SIAM fiduciary duty to maximize the long-term value of each Fund for the benefit of its securityholders. While the SIAM proxy voting guidelines are stated below, the portfolio managers will take into consideration all relevant facts and circumstances, and retain the right to vote proxies as deemed appropriate.
Our fundamental policy is that SIAM will vote with management of an issuer on routine business matters, otherwise a Fund will not own or maintain a position in the security of that issuer. Examples of routine business applicable to an issuer are voting on the size, nomination and election of the board of directors as well as the appointment of auditors. All other matters that are special or non-routine are assessed on a case-by-case basis with a focus on the potential impact of the vote on the value of the particular investment of the Fund.
Special or non-routine matters are brought to the attention of the portfolio manager(s) of the applicable Fund, and, after assessment, the portfolio manager(s) will direct that such matters be voted in a way that he or she believes will better protect or enhance the value of the investment for the Fund. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, examples of non-routine business that require assessment on a case-by-case basis before voting the proxies of the issuer are: stock-based compensation plans, executive severance compensation arrangements, shareholders rights plans, corporate restructuring plans, going private transactions in connection with leveraged buyouts, lock-up arrangements,
crown jewel defenses, supermajority approval proposals, stakeholder or shareholder proposals etc. The portfolio managers have responsibility for exercising all proxy votes and in doing so, for acting in the best interest of the Fund and its securityholders.
SIAM fundamental policy to vote proxies on behalf of a Fund in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Fund and its securityholders will always guide any proxy voting decision. If SIAM, on behalf of a Fund, votes against management of an issuer on any particular proposal, whether routine or non-routine, and the Fund continues to own the security of such issuer, documentation of that vote is required along with an explanation to be kept on file. In situations where a portfolio manager decides to vote securities held in his or her Fund differently from another portfolio manager(s) who holds the same security on behalf of another Fund, rationale for the differing vote is documented and kept on file. Factors such as an individual Funds investment objectives and strategies may lead to different judgments and conclusions by different portfolio managers about the expected impact of proxy proposals. On occasion, a portfolio manager may abstain from voting a proxy or a specific proxy item when he or she concludes that the potential benefit of voting the proxy of that issuer is outweighed by the cost. Such instances require that a detailed explanation be kept on file. All such documentation will be submitted to the Portfolio Administrator for filing and record keeping.
SIAM will not vote proxies received for issuers of securities that are no longer held in a Fund. SIAM, on behalf of a Fund, will not vote any of the securities a Fund holds in any of its affiliates or associates. However, SIAM, in its sole discretion, may arrange for securityholders of a Fund to vote their share of those securities.
Where SIAM provides sub advisory investment management services to a registered investment company, SIAM will work with the funds manager to identify the proxy reports the Funds board requires, as well as the frequency of those reports. SIAM will also work with the fund manager to assist in facilitating all required regulatory reporting surrounding proxy voting.
As noted above, SIAM is a subsidiary of BNS. Some of the Funds may hold common shares of BNS or other related entities. There is the potential for a conflict of interest between the interests of the Funds and the interests of SIAM or its employees in connection with the exercise of voting rights of the Funds attached to the BNS shares. There is also the potential for a conflict of interest in connection with the exercise of the Funds voting rights attached to the shares of another issuer, where the outcome of the vote may directly impact the price of BNS shares. To the extent that a portfolio manager has any conflict of interest with respect to a company or a matter presented in a proxy proposal, that portfolio manager is required to report to the Legal and Compliance department any such conflicts of interest. In addition, any new conflict of interest situations must also be referred to the Legal & Compliance department.
In order to balance the interests of the Funds in exercising proxies with the desire to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest, SIAM has instituted procedures to help
ensure that a Funds proxy is voted:
· in accordance with the business judgment of the portfolio manager, uninfluenced by considerations other than the best interests of the Fund; and
· free from any influence by BNS and without taking into account any consideration relevant to BNS or any of its associates or affiliates.
SIAM will maintain records relating to a Funds proxy voting activity. These will include a record of all proxies received; a record of votes cast; a copy of the reasons for voting against management; a copy of reasons for a portfolio manager voting differently from another portfolio manager; and a copy of any documents prepared by SIAM that were material to making a decision on how to vote, or that memorialized the basis for a decision.
It is the responsibility of the Director, Head Compliance and Investment Counsel to amend this document when necessary to reflect changes at SIAM and changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements. At a minimum, the document will be reviewed on an annual basis to determine any necessary amendments.
Inquiries should be directed to the Legal and Compliance Department, 29 th Floor, 1 Adelaide Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 2V9.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
S1 FUND
a series of THE RBB FUND, INC.
I Shares Ticker Symbol: SONEX
R Shares Ticker Symbol: SONRX
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
SIMPLE ALTERNATIVES, LLC
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides supplementary information pertaining to shares of two classes, I Shares and R Shares (collectively, the Shares), representing interests in the S1 Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read only in conjunction with the Funds I Shares and R Shares Prospectuses dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectuses). Copies of the Prospectuses and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free (877) 264-5346. The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION |
S-2 |
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES |
S-2 |
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
S-30 |
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
S-32 |
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
S-33 |
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CODE OF ETHICS |
S-40 |
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PROXY VOTING |
S-40 |
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CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
S-41 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
S-41 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISER |
S-41 |
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INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISERS |
S-43 |
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THE PORTFOLIO MANAGERS |
S-45 |
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ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT |
S-51 |
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CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT |
S-52 |
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TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT |
S-52 |
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DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |
S-53 |
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FUND TRANSACTIONS |
S-55 |
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PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
S-57 |
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TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
S-58 |
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VALUATION OF SHARES |
S-58 |
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TAXES |
S-58 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES |
S-60 |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
S-60 |
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APPENDIX A - DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS |
A-1 |
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APPENDIX B - PROXY VOTING POLICY OF ADVISER |
B-1 |
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APPENDIX C - PROXY VOTING POLICY OF ROARING BLUE LION CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC |
C-1 |
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APPENDIX D - PROXY VOTING POLICY OF COURAGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC |
D-1 |
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APPENDIX D - PROXY VOTING POLICY OF MAERISLAND CAPITAL, LLC |
E-1 |
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APPENDIX E- PROXY VOTING POLICY OF STARWOOD REAL ESTATE SECURITIES, LLC |
F-1 |
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APPENDIX F- PROXY VOTING POLICY OF SONICA CAPITAL LLC |
G-1 |
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APPENDIX G PROXY VOTING POLICY OF GARELICK CAPITAL PARTNERS, L.P. |
H-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating 23 separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the I Shares and R Shares of the S1 Fund. Simple Alternatives, LLC (SA or the Adviser) serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectuses concerning the investment objective and policies of the Fund.
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute (positive) returns and low beta to traditional financial market indices such as the S&P 500 ® Index. The Fund may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectuses and this SAI, or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
Principal Investment Policies and Risks.
Multi-Manager Structure. The Fund is managed by the Adviser and one or more asset managers who are unaffiliated with the Adviser (each a Sub-Adviser and together, the Sub-Advisers). Subject to review by the Funds Board of Directors, the Adviser is responsible for selecting the Funds investment strategies and for allocating and reallocating assets among the Sub-Advisers consistent with the Funds investment objective and strategies. The Adviser is also responsible for recommending to the Board whether an agreement with a Sub-Adviser should be approved, renewed, modified or terminated and for monitoring and evaluating the Sub-Advisers. The Adviser is also responsible for implementing procedures to ensure that each Sub-Adviser complies with the Funds investment objective, strategies and restrictions.
Portfolio Turnover Rate. Portfolio turnover rate is defined under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) rules as the greater of the value of the securities purchased or securities sold, excluding all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one-year or less, divided by the average monthly value of such securities owned during the year. Based on this definition, instruments with remaining maturities of less than one-year are excluded from the calculation of the portfolio turnover rate. Instruments excluded from the calculation of portfolio turnover generally would include the futures contracts in which the Fund may invest since such contracts generally have remaining maturities of less than one-year. The Fund may at times hold investments in other short-term instruments, such as repurchase agreements, which are excluded for purposes of computing portfolio turnover.
Asset-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in asset-backed securities, which represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of assets such as motor vehicle installment sale contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (credit card) agreements and other categories of receivables. Asset-backed securities may also be collateralized by a portfolio of U.S. government securities but are not direct obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Such asset pools are securitized through the use of privately-formed trusts or special purpose corporations. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be guaranteed up to certain amounts and for a certain time period by a letter of credit or a pool insurance policy issued by a financial institution unaffiliated with the trust or corporation, or other credit enhancements may be present, although privately issued obligations collateralized by a portfolio of privately issued asset-backed securities do not involve any government-related guarantee or insurance. In addition to the risks that are presented by mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable to mortgage assets. See Mortgage-Backed Securities below for additional information.
Asset-backed securities acquired by the Fund may also include collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). CDOs include collateralized bond obligations (CBOs) and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and other similarly structured securities.
A CBO is a trust or other special purpose entity (SPE) that is typically backed by a diversified pool of fixed-income securities (which may include high risk, below investment grade securities). A CLO is a trust or other SPE that is typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and non-U.S. senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. Although certain CDOs may receive credit enhancement in the form of a senior-subordinate structure, over-collateralization or bond insurance, such enhancement may not always be present and may fail to protect a Fund against the risk of loss on default of the collateral. Certain CDOs may use derivatives contracts to create synthetic exposure to assets rather than holding such assets directly, which entails the risks of derivative instruments described elsewhere in this SAI. CDOs may charge management fees and administrative expenses, which are in addition to those of the Fund.
For both CBOs and CLOs, the cashflows from the SPE are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The riskiest portion is the equity tranche, which bears the first loss from defaults from the bonds or loans in the SPE and serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default (though such protection is not complete). Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche from a CBO or CLO typically has higher ratings and lower yields than its underlying securities, and may be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, CBO or CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults, as well as investor aversion to CBO or CLO securities as a class. Interest on certain tranches of a CDO may be paid in kind (paid in the form of obligations of the same type rather than cash), which involves continued exposure to default risk with respect to such payments.
The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the type of the collateral securities and the class of the CDO in which the Fund invests. Normally, CBOs, CLOs and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CDOs may be characterized by the Fund as illiquid securities. However, an active dealer market may exist for CDOs, allowing a CDO to qualify for Rule 144A transactions. In addition to the normal risks associated with fixed-income securities and asset-backed securities generally discussed elsewhere in this SAI, CDOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the Fund may invest in tranches of CDOs that are subordinate to other tranches; (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results; and (v) the CDOs manager may perform poorly or default.
Commodity-Linked Investments. The Fund may attempt to provide exposure to the returns of real assets that trade in the commodity markets without direct investment in physical commodities. Real assets include oil, gas, industrial and precious metals, livestock, and agricultural or meat products, or other items that have tangible properties. Commodity-linked derivative instruments include commodity index-linked securities and other derivative instruments that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets. Commodity-linked investments may be more volatile and less liquid than the underlying instruments and their value may be affected by the performance of commodities as well as weather, tax, and other regulatory or political developments, overall market movements and other factors affecting the value of particular industries or commodities, such as disease, embargoes, acts of war or terrorism.
The Fund may invest in commodity-linked derivative instruments such as commodity-linked structured notes. The Fund may invest in commodity-linked notes that pay a return linked to the performance of a commodities index or basket of futures contracts with respect to all of the commodities in an index. In some cases, the return will be based on some multiple of the performance of the index, and this embedded leverage will magnify the positive and negative return the Fund earns from these notes as compared to the index. The principal and/or interest payments of commodity-linked derivatives are tied to the value of a real asset or commodity index. Structured notes may be
structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note. The notes are derivative debt instruments with principal payments generally linked to the value of commodities, commodity futures contracts or the performance of commodity indices and interest and coupon payments pegged to a market-based interest rate, such as LIBOR or a banks prime rate. The value of these notes will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index or investment. These notes expose the Fund economically to movements in commodity prices.
Corporate Obligations. The Fund may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations without limit on credit quality or maturity of debt securities. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value.
Equity Securities. Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
· Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in
value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
· Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers. Investing in equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of depth of management. The securities of smaller companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and even if listed on a national securities exchange may not be traded in volumes typical for that exchange. Consequently, the securities of smaller companies are less likely to be liquid, may have limited market stability, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established growth companies or the market averages in general.
Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are denominated or traded in foreign currencies. The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded or denominated in U.S. dollars (including equity securities of foreign issuers trading in U.S. markets) through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) or International Depositary Receipts (IDRs). ADRs are securities, typically issued by a U.S. financial institution (a depository), that evidence ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a foreign issuer and deposited with the depository. ADRs may be listed on a national securities exchange or may trade in the over-the-counter market. ADR prices are denominated in U.S. dollars; the underlying security may be denominated in a foreign currency. GDRs, EDRs and IDRs are securities that represent ownership interests in a security or pool of securities issued by a non-U.S. or U.S. corporation. Depositary receipts may be available through sponsored or unsponsored facilities. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the security underlying the receipt and the depository, whereas an unsponsored facility is established by the depository without participation by the issuer of the underlying security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all of the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depository of an unsponsored facility is frequently under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through, to the holders of the receipts, voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The depository of unsponsored depositary receipts may provide less information to receipt holders. Investments in depositary receipts do not eliminate the risks in investing in foreign issuers. The underlying security may be subject to foreign government taxes, which would reduce the yield on such securities.
Investments in foreign securities involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity and political stability. Volume and liquidity in most foreign bond markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility or price can be greater than in the United States. Future political and economic information, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on interest income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign holdings, the possible establishment of exchange controls, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions, might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on foreign obligations. Inability to dispose of Fund securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to the Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the securities, or, if the Fund has entered into a contract to sell the securities, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth or gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position.
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 their portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed companies than in the United States.
Settlement mechanics ( e.g. , mail service between the United States and foreign countries) may be slower or less reliable than within the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. 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 a portion of the assets of the Fund is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities.
Although the Fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the Fund values its securities and other assets in U.S. dollars. As a result, the net asset value (NAV) of the Funds shares may fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates as well as the price changes of the Funds securities in the various local markets and currencies. Thus, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the currencies in which the Fund makes its investments could reduce the effect of increases and magnify the effect of decreases in the price of the Funds securities in their local markets. Conversely, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar may have the opposite effect of magnifying the effect of increases and reducing the effect of decreases in the prices of the Funds securities in its foreign markets. In addition to favorable and unfavorable currency exchange rate developments, the Fund is subject to the possible imposition of exchange control regulations or freezes on convertibility of currency. The Fund may invest in obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks (Eurodollars) and U.S. branches of foreign banks (Yankee dollars) as well as foreign branches of foreign banks. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities of U.S. banks, including potential unfavorable political and economic developments, different tax provisions, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest. The Fund may also invest in Yankee bonds, which are issued by foreign governments and their agencies and foreign corporations but pay interest in U.S. dollars and are typically issued in the United States.
Forward Foreign Currency Transactions. The Fund may, to the extent that it invests in foreign securities, enter into forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates. The Fund will conduct its foreign currency exchange transactions either on a spot ( i.e. , cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or through entering into forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. 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 (usually less than one year) 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 conducted directly between traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. Although foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the spread) between the price at which they are buying and selling various currencies.
The Fund is permitted to enter into forward contracts under two circumstances. First, when the Fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security quoted or denominated in a foreign currency, it may desire to lock in the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed number of U.S. dollars, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions, the Fund will be able to insulate itself from a possible loss resulting from a 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 and the date on which payment is made or received.
Second, when the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, believes that the currency of a particular foreign country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, it may cause the Fund to enter a forward contract to sell, for a fixed U.S. dollar amount, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the Funds 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 since 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 the forward contract is entered into and the date it matures.
Although the Fund has no current intention to do so, it may engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in one currency to hedge against fluctuations in the value in securities denominated or quoted in a different currency if the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the two currencies. Cross-hedging may also include entering into a forward transaction involving two foreign currencies, using one foreign currency as a proxy for the U.S. dollar to hedge against variations in the other U.S. foreign currency, if the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, determines that there is a pattern of correlation between the proxy currency and the U.S. dollar.
The Fund will not enter into forward contracts to sell currency or maintain a net exposure to such contracts if the consummation of such contracts would obligate the Fund to deliver an amount of foreign currency in excess of the value of the Funds respective portfolio securities or other assets quoted or denominated in that currency. At the consummation of the forward contract, the Fund may either make delivery of the foreign currency or terminate its contractual obligation by purchasing an offsetting contract obligating it to purchase at the same maturity date, the same amount of such foreign currency. If the Fund chooses to make delivery of foreign currency, it may be required to obtain such delivery through the sale of portfolio securities quoted or denominated in such currency or through conversion of other assets of the Fund into such currency. If the Fund engages in an offsetting transaction, the Fund will realize a gain or a loss to the extent that there has been a change in forward contract prices. Closing purchase transactions with respect to forward contracts are usually effected with the currency trader who is a party to the original forward contract.
The Funds transactions in forward contracts will be limited to those described above. Of course, the Fund is not required to enter into such transactions with regard to its foreign currency quoted or denominated securities, and the Fund will not do so unless deemed appropriate by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable.
When entering into a forward contract, the Fund will segregate either cash or liquid securities quoted or denominated in any currency in an amount equal to the value of the Funds total assets committed to the consummation of forward currency exchange contracts which require the Fund to purchase a foreign currency. If the value of the segregated securities declines, additional cash or securities will be segregated by the Fund on a daily basis so that the value of the segregated securities will equal the amount of the Funds commitments with respect to such contracts.
This method of protecting the value of the Funds 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 can be achieved 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 Funds foreign assets. It also reduces any potential gain which may have otherwise occurred had the currency value increased above the settlement price of the contract.
While the Fund may enter into forward contracts to seek 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 Funds portfolio holdings or 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 the risk of foreign exchange loss.
Forward contracts are subject to the risks 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 clearing house, 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.
The Funds foreign currency transactions (including related options, futures and forward contracts) may be limited by the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), for qualification as a regulated investment company.
Futures And Options On Futures. Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. The Fund will reduce the risk that it will be unable to close out a futures contract by only entering into futures contracts that are traded on a national futures exchange regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Fund may use futures contracts and related options for: bona fide hedging; attempting to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of; attempting to minimize fluctuations in foreign currencies; attempting to gain exposure to a particular market, index or instrument; or other risk management purposes. To the extent futures and/or options on futures are employed by the Fund, the Fund will limit such investments in commodity futures, commodity options contracts and swaps to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). For this reason, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO with respect to the Fund, the disclosure and operations of the Fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made; generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.
When the Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, or sells an option thereon, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may segregate (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the futures contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by purchasing a put option on the same futures contract with a strike price (i.e., an exercise price) as high or higher than the price of the futures contract. In the alternative, if the strike price of the put is less than the price of the futures contract, the Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by taking a short position in the instruments underlying the futures contract, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract. The Fund may cover its short position in a futures contract by taking a long position in the instruments underlying the futures contracts, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract.
The Fund may cover its sale of a call option on a futures contract by taking a long position in the underlying futures
contract at a price less than or equal to the strike price of the call option. In the alternative, if the long position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price greater than the strike price of the written (sold) call, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the call and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a call option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the call option. The Fund may cover its sale of a put option on a futures contract by taking a short position in the underlying futures contract at a price greater than or equal to the strike price of the put option, or, if the short position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price less than the strike price of the written put, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a put option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the put option.
There are significant risks associated with the Funds use of futures contracts and related options, including the following: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on the Advisers or Sub-Advisers ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (4) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (5) government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and options on futures. In addition, some strategies reduce the Funds exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure.
Credit Default Swaps, Interest Rate Swaps, Mortgage Swaps, Currency Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Options on Swaps and Interest Rate Caps, Floors and Collars. The Fund may enter into credit default, interest rate and total return swaps. The Fund may also enter into interest rate caps, floors and collars. In addition, the Fund may enter into mortgage swaps and currency swaps.
The Fund may enter into swap transactions for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. As examples, the Fund may enter into swap transactions for the purpose of attempting to obtain or preserve a particular return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets, to protect against currency fluctuations, as a duration management technique, to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date, or to gain exposure to certain markets in an economical way.
Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are generally calculated with respect to a notional amount, i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate, in a particular foreign currency or security, or in a basket of securities representing a particular index. As examples, credit default swaps involve the receipt of floating or fixed rate payments in exchange for assuming potential credit losses of an underlying security. Credit default swaps give one party to a transaction the right to dispose of or acquire an asset (or group of assets), or the right to receive from or make a payment to the other party, upon the occurrence of specified credit events. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments. Mortgage swaps are similar to interest rate swaps in that they represent commitments to pay and receive interest. The notional principal amount, however, is tied to a reference pool or pools of mortgages. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the parties respective rights to make or receive payments in specified currencies. Total return swaps are contracts that obligate a party to pay or receive interest in exchange for payment by the other party of the total return generated by a security, a basket of securities, an index, or an index component.
The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payment of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling the
interest rate floor. An interest rate collar is the combination of a cap and a floor that preserves a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates.
A great deal of flexibility is possible in the way swap transactions are structured. However, generally the Fund will enter into credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps do not normally involve the delivery of securities, other underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to credit default, interest rate, total return and mortgage swaps is normally limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a credit default, interest rate, total return or mortgage swap defaults, the Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. In contrast, currency swaps may involve the delivery of the entire principal amount of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Therefore, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations.
A credit default swap may have as reference obligations one or more securities that may, or may not, be currently held by the Fund. The protection buyer in a credit default swap is generally obligated to pay the protection seller an upfront or a periodic stream of payments over the term of the swap provided that no credit event, such as a default, on a reference obligation has occurred. If a credit event occurs, the seller generally must pay the buyer the par value (full notional value) of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity described in the swap, or the seller may be required to deliver the related net cash amount, if the swap is cash settled. The Fund may be either the buyer or seller in the transaction. If the Fund is a buyer and no credit event occurs, the Fund may recover nothing if the swap is held through its termination date. However, if a credit event occurs, the buyer generally may elect to receive the full notional value of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity whose value may have significantly decreased. As a seller, the Fund generally receives an upfront payment or a rate of income throughout the term of the swap provided that there is no credit event. As the seller, a Fund would effectively add leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to its total net assets, the Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. If a credit event occurs, the value of any deliverable obligation received by the Fund as seller, coupled with the upfront or periodic payments previously received, may be less than the full notional value it pays to the buyer, resulting in a loss of value to the Fund. To the extent that the Funds exposure in a transaction involving a swap or an interest rate floor, cap or collar is covered by the segregation of cash or liquid assets, or is covered by other means in accordance with SEC guidance, the Fund and the Adviser believe that the transactions do not constitute senior securities under the Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to the Funds borrowing restrictions. The SEC has recently issued the concept release Use of Derivatives by Investment Companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which discusses, among other matters, whether current market practices involving derivatives are consistent with the leverage provisions of the Act. Accordingly, investors should be aware that the SEC may offer additional guidance in the future that may impact the manner in which the Fund operates.
The Fund will not enter into any credit default, interest rate, total return or mortgage swap transactions unless the unsecured commercial paper, senior debt or claims-paying ability of the other party thereto is rated investment grade by S&Ps or Moodys, or, if unrated by such rating organization, determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.
The use of credit default, interest rate, mortgage, total return and currency swaps, as well as interest rate caps, floors and collars, is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of a swap requires an understanding not only of the referenced asset, reference rate, or index but also of the swap itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the swap under all possible market conditions. If the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, credit quality, interest rates and currency exchange rates, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment instruments were not used.
Investing in Emerging Countries, including Asia and Eastern Europe. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers located in emerging countries. The securities markets of emerging countries are less liquid and subject to
greater price volatility, and have a smaller market capitalization, than the U.S. securities markets. In certain countries, there may be fewer publicly traded securities and the market may be dominated by a few issues or sectors. Issuers and securities markets in such countries are not subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial and other reporting requirements or as comprehensive government regulations as are issuers and securities markets in the U.S. In particular, the assets and profits appearing on the financial statements of emerging country issuers may not reflect their financial position or results of operations in the same manner as financial statements for U.S. issuers. Substantially less information may be publicly available about emerging country issuers than is available about issuers in the United States.
Emerging country securities markets are typically marked by a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of ownership of such securities by a limited number of investors. The markets for securities in certain emerging countries are in the earliest stages of their development. Even the markets for relatively widely traded securities in emerging countries may not be able to absorb, without price disruptions, a significant increase in trading volume or trades of a size customarily undertaken by institutional investors in the securities markets of developed countries. The limited size of many of these securities markets can cause prices to be erratic for reasons apart from factors that affect the soundness and competitiveness of the securities issuers. For example, prices may be unduly influenced by traders who control large positions in these markets. Additionally, market making and arbitrage activities are generally less extensive in such markets, which may contribute to increased volatility and reduced liquidity of such markets. The limited liquidity of emerging country securities may also affect the Funds ability to accurately value its portfolio securities or to acquire or dispose of securities at the price and time it wishes to do so or in order to meet redemption requests.
With respect to investments in certain emerging market countries, antiquated legal systems may have an adverse impact on the Fund. For example, while the potential liability of a shareholder in a U.S. corporation with respect to acts of the corporation is generally limited to the amount of the shareholders investment, the notion of limited liability is less clear in certain emerging market countries. Similarly, the rights of investors in emerging market companies may be more limited than those of shareholders in U.S. corporations.
Transaction costs, including brokerage commissions or dealer mark-ups, in emerging countries may be higher than in the United States and other developed securities markets. In addition, existing laws and regulations are often inconsistently applied. As legal systems in emerging countries develop, foreign investors may be adversely affected by new or amended laws and regulations. In circumstances where adequate laws exist, it may not be possible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of the law.
Foreign investment in the securities markets of certain emerging countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit the Funds investment in certain emerging countries and may increase the expenses of the Fund. Certain emerging countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit investment by foreign persons to only a specified percentage of an issuers outstanding securities or a specific class of securities which may have less advantageous terms (including price) than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals. In addition, the repatriation of both investment income and capital from emerging countries may be subject to restrictions which require governmental consents or prohibit repatriation entirely for a period of time. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects of the operation of the Fund. The Fund may be required to establish special custodial or other arrangements before investing in certain emerging countries.
Emerging countries may be subject to a substantially greater degree of economic, political and social instability and disruption than is the case in the United States, Japan and most Western European countries. This instability may result from, among other things, the following: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision making, including changes or attempted changes in governments through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic or social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection or conflict; and (vi) the absence of developed legal structures governing foreign private investments and private property. Such economic, political and social instability could disrupt the principal financial markets in which the Fund may invest
and adversely affect the value of the Funds assets. The Funds investments can also be adversely affected by any increase in taxes or by political, economic or diplomatic developments.
The Fund may seek investment opportunities within former east bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Most Eastern European countries had a centrally planned, socialist economy for a substantial period of time. The governments of many Eastern European countries have more recently been implementing reforms directed at political and economic liberalization, including efforts to decentralize the economic decision-making process and move towards a market economy. However, business entities in many Eastern European countries do not have an extended history of operating in a market-oriented economy, and the ultimate impact of Eastern European countries attempts to move toward more market-oriented economies is currently unclear. In addition, any change in the leadership or policies of Eastern European countries may halt the expansion of or reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring and adversely affect existing investment opportunities.
The economies of emerging countries may differ unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources, self-sufficiency and balance of payments. Many emerging countries have experienced in the past, and continue to experience, high rates of inflation. In certain countries inflation has at times accelerated rapidly to hyperinflationary levels, creating a negative interest rate environment and sharply eroding the value of outstanding financial assets in those countries. Other emerging countries, on the other hand, have recently experienced deflationary pressures and are in economic recessions. The economies of many emerging countries are heavily dependent upon international trade and are accordingly affected by protective trade barriers and the economic conditions of their trading partners. In addition, the economies of some emerging countries are vulnerable to weakness in world prices for their commodity exports. The Funds income and, in some cases, capital gains from foreign stocks and securities will be subject to applicable taxation in certain of the countries in which it invests, and treaties between the U.S. and such countries may not be available in some cases to reduce the otherwise applicable tax rates. See Taxes.
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 a portion of the assets of the Fund remain uninvested and no return is earned on such assets. The inability of the Fund to make intended security purchases or sales 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.
Investment Company Shares. The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to certain restrictions. These investment companies typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by the Fund. The Funds purchase of such investment company securities results in the layering of expenses, such that shareholders would indirectly bear a proportionate share of the operating expenses of such investment companies, including advisory fees, in addition to paying the Funds expenses. Unless an exception is available, Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act prohibits a fund from (i) acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any one investment company, (ii) investing more than 5% of its total assets in any one investment company, and (iii) investing more than 10% of its total assets in all investment companies combined, including its ETF investments.
For hedging or other purposes, the Fund may invest in investment companies that seek to track the composition and/or performance of specific indexes or portions of specific indexes. Certain of these investment companies, known as exchange-traded funds, are traded on a securities exchange. The market prices of index-based investments will fluctuate in accordance with changes in the underlying portfolio securities of the investment company and also due to supply and demand of the investment companys shares on the exchange upon which the shares are traded. Index-based investments may not replicate or otherwise match the composition or performance of their specified index due to transaction costs, among other things.
Pursuant to orders issued by the SEC to each of certain exchange-traded funds (collectively, the ETFs) and procedures approved by the Board, the Fund may invest in the ETFs in excess of the limits described above, provided
that the Fund has described the ETF investments in its prospectus and otherwise complies with the conditions of the SEC, as it may be amended, and any other applicable investment limitations. Neither the ETFs nor their investment advisers make any representations regarding the advisability of investing in the ETFs.
Mortgage-Backed Securities. The Fund may invest in mortgage pass-through certificates and multiple-class pass-through securities, such as real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMIC), pass-through certificates and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs).
Guaranteed mortgage pass-through securities represent participation interests in pools of residential mortgage loans and are issued by U.S. governmental or private lenders and guaranteed by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, including but not limited to the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Ginnie Mae certificates are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government for timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac certificates are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Fannie Mae certificates are guaranteed by Fannie Mae, a federally chartered and privately owned corporation, for full and timely payment of principal and interest on the certificates. Fannie Mae is authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations. Freddie Mac certificates are guaranteed by Freddie Mac, a corporate instrumentality of the U.S. government, for timely payment of interest and the ultimate collection of all principal of the related mortgage loans.
In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in conservatorship under the FHFA. On June 16, 2010, FHFA ordered Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs stock de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of common stock in Fannie Mae fell below the New York Stock Exchanges minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 days. The effect that this conservatorship will have on Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs debt and equity and on securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is unclear.
There is risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. A Fund may purchase U.S. Government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.
CMOs and REMIC pass-through or participation certificates may be issued by, among others, U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities as well as private lenders. CMOs and REMIC certificates are issued in multiple classes and the principal of and interest on the mortgage assets may be allocated among the several classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates in various ways. Each class of CMOs or REMIC certificates, often referred to as a tranche, is issued at a specific adjustable or fixed interest rate and must be fully retired no later than its final distribution date. Generally, interest is paid or accrues on all classes of CMOs or REMIC certificates on a monthly basis.
Typically, CMOs are collateralized by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac certificates but also may be collateralized by other mortgage assets such as whole loans or private mortgage pass-through securities. Debt service on CMOs is provided from payments of principal and interest on collateral of mortgaged assets and any reinvestment income thereon. Unexpected high rates of default on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a mortgage REIT. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. To the extent that a mortgage REITs portfolio is exposed to lower-rated, unsecured or subordinated instruments, the risk of loss may increase, which may have a negative impact on the Fund.
A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment under the Code and invests in certain mortgages primarily secured by interests in real property and other permitted investments. Investors may purchase regular and residual interest shares of beneficial interest in REMIC trusts, although the Fund does not intend to invest in residual interests.
The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by trusts or other entities formed or sponsored by private originators of and institutional investors in mortgage loans and other non-governmental entities (or representing custodial arrangements administered by such institutions). These private originators and institutions include savings and loan associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, insurance companies, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing.
Privately issued mortgage-backed securities are generally backed by pools of conventional ( i.e. , non-government guaranteed or insured) mortgage loans. Since such mortgage-backed securities normally are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit standing of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, in order to receive a high quality rating from the rating organizations ( e.g. , S&Ps or Moodys), they often are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement. Such credit enhancement falls into two categories: (1) liquidity protection and (2) protection against losses resulting after default by a borrower and liquidation of the collateral ( e.g. , sale of a house after foreclosure). Liquidity protection refers to the payment of cash advances to holders of mortgage-backed securities when a borrower on an underlying mortgage fails to make its monthly payment on time. Protection against losses resulting after default and liquidation is designed to cover losses resulting when, for example, the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are insufficient to cover the outstanding amount on the mortgage. Such protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit, through various means of structuring the securities or through a combination of such approaches.
Examples of credit enhancement arising out of the structure of the transaction include senior-subordinated securities (multiple class securities with one or more classes entitled to receive payment before other classes, with the result that defaults on the underlying mortgages are borne first by the holders of the subordinated class), creation of spread accounts or reserve funds (where cash or investments are held in reserve against future losses) and over-collateralization (where the scheduled payments on the underlying mortgages in a pool exceed the amount required to be paid on the mortgage-backed securities). The degree of credit enhancement for a particular issue of mortgage-backed securities is based on the level of credit risk associated with the particular mortgages in the related pool. Losses on a pool in excess of anticipated levels could nevertheless result in losses to security holders since credit enhancement rarely covers every dollar owed on a pool.
Investing in mortgage-backed securities (such as those described above) involves certain risks, including the failure of a counter-party to meet its commitments, adverse interest rate changes and the effects of prepayments on mortgage cash flows. Further, the yield characteristics of mortgage-backed securities differ from those of traditional fixed income securities. The major differences typically include more frequent interest and principal payments (usually monthly), the adjustability of interest rates, and the possibility that prepayments of principal may be made substantially earlier than their final distribution dates.
Prepayment rates are influenced by changes in current interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic, social and other factors and cannot be predicted with certainty. Both adjustable rate mortgage loans and fixed rate mortgage loans may be subject to a greater rate of principal prepayments in a declining interest rate environment and to a lesser rate of principal prepayments in an increasing interest rate environment. Under certain interest rate and prepayment rate scenarios, the Fund may fail to recoup fully its investment in mortgage-backed securities notwithstanding any direct or indirect governmental or agency guarantee. When the Fund reinvests amounts representing payments and unscheduled prepayments of principal, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on existing adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities. Thus, mortgage-backed securities, and adjustable rate mortgage pass-through securities in particular, may be less effective than other types of U.S. government securities as a means of locking in interest rates.
Conversely, in a rising interest rate environment, a declining prepayment rate will extend the average life of many mortgage-backed securities. This possibility is often referred to as extension risk. Extending the average life of a mortgage-backed security increases the risk of depreciation due to future increases in market interest rates. The market for certain types of mortgage-backed securities ( i.e. , certain CMOs) may not be liquid under all interest rate scenarios, which may prevent the Fund from selling such securities held in its portfolio at times or prices that it desires.
Different types of derivative debt securities are subject to different combinations of prepayment, extension and/or interest rate risk. Conventional mortgage pass-through securities and sequential pay CMOs are subject to all of these risks, but are typically not leveraged. Thus, the magnitude of exposure may be less than for more leveraged mortgage-backed securities.
Planned amortization class (PAC) and target amortization class (TAC) CMO bonds involve less exposure to prepayment, extension and interest rate risk than other mortgage-backed securities, provided that prepayment rates remain within expected prepayment ranges or collars. To the extent that prepayment rates remain within these prepayment ranges, the residual or support tranches of PAC and TAC CMOs assume the extra prepayment extension and interest rate risk associated with the underlying mortgage assets.
The Fund may invest in floating rate securities based on the Cost of Funds Index (COFI floaters), other lagging rate floating rate securities, floating rate securities that are subject to a maximum interest rate (capped floaters), and mortgage-backed securities purchased at a discount. The primary risks associated with these derivative debt securities are the potential extension of average life and/or depreciation due to rising interest rates.
Recently, rating agencies have placed on credit watch or downgraded the ratings previously assigned to a large number of mortgage-related securities (which may include certain of the mortgage-related securities in which the Fund may have invested or may in the future be invested), and may continue to do so in the future. In the event that any mortgage-related security held by the Fund is placed on credit watch or downgraded, the value of such mortgage-related security may decline and the Fund may consequently experience losses in respect of such mortgage-related security.
Options. The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on indices and enter into related closing transactions. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at any time during the option period. A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying security at any time during the option period. The premium paid to the writer is the consideration for undertaking the obligations under the option contract.
The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on foreign currencies (traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges or over-the-counter markets) to manage its exposure to exchange rates. Call options on foreign currency written by the Fund will be covered, which means that the Fund will own an equal amount of the underlying foreign currency.
Put and call options on indices are similar to options on securities except that options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the underlying index is greater than (or less than, in the case of puts) the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, expressed in dollars multiplied by a specified number. Thus, unlike options on individual securities, all settlements are in cash, and gain or loss depends on price movements in the particular market represented by the index generally, rather than the price movements in individual securities.
All options written on indices or securities must be covered. When the Fund writes an option on a security, an index or a foreign currency, it will establish a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities in an amount at least equal to the market value of the option and will maintain the account while the option is open or will otherwise cover the transaction.
The Fund may trade put and call options on securities, securities indices and currencies, as the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser determines is appropriate in seeking the Funds investment objective, and except as restricted by the Funds investment limitations. See Investment Limitations.
The initial purchase (sale) of an option contract is an opening transaction. In order to close out an option position, the Fund may enter into a closing transaction, which is simply the sale (purchase) of an option contract on the same security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option contract originally opened. If the Fund is
unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or the Fund delivers the security upon exercise.
The Fund may purchase put and call options on securities to protect against a decline in the market value of the securities in its portfolio or to anticipate an increase in the market value of securities that the Fund may seek to purchase in the future. The Fund purchasing put and call options pays a premium therefor. If price movements in the underlying securities are such that exercise of the options would not be profitable for the Fund, loss of the premium paid may be offset by an increase in the value of the Funds securities or by a decrease in the cost of acquisition of securities by the Fund.
The Fund may write covered call options on securities as a means of increasing the yield on its assets and as a means of providing limited protection against decreases in its market value. When the Fund writes an option, if the underlying securities do not increase or decrease to a price level that would make the exercise of the option profitable to the holder thereof, the option generally will expire without being exercised and the Fund will realize as profit the premium received for such option. When a call option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to sell the underlying securities to the option holder at the strike price, and will not participate in any increase in the price of such securities above the strike price. When a put option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the market value of such securities.
The Fund may purchase and write options on an exchange or over-the-counter. Over-the-counter options (OTC options) differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is done normally by reference to information from a market maker. It is the SECs position that OTC options are generally illiquid.
The market value of an option generally reflects the market price of an underlying security. Other principal factors affecting market value include supply and demand, interest rates, the pricing volatility of the underlying security and the time remaining until the expiration date.
Risks associated with options transactions include: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in prices of options and the securities underlying them; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for options; and (4) while the Fund will receive a premium when it writes covered call options, it may not participate fully in a rise in the market value of the underlying security.
Restricted and Illiquid Securities. The Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, including securities that are illiquid by virtue of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Illiquid securities include: repurchase agreements and time deposits with a notice or demand period of more than seven days; interest rate; currency and mortgage swaps; interest rate caps; floors and collars; municipal leases; certain restricted securities, such as those purchased in a private placement of securities, unless it is determined, based upon a review of the trading markets for a specific restricted security, that such restricted security is liquid; and certain over-the-counter options. Securities that have legal or contractual restrictions on resale but have a readily available market are not considered illiquid for purposes of this limitation.
Mutual funds do not typically hold a significant amount of restricted or other illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities and a mutual fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty in satisfying redemptions within seven days. A mutual fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.
The Fund may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act (Restricted Securities). These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in an underlying investment company during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities.
The Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser will monitor the liquidity of Restricted Securities held by the portion of the assets of the Fund it manages. In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser or Sub-Adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Restricted Securities normally reflect a discount from the price at which such securities trade when they are not restricted, since the restriction makes them less liquid. The amount of the discount from the prevailing market price is expected to vary depending upon the type of security, the character of the issuer, the party who will bear the expenses of registering the Restricted Securities and prevailing supply and demand conditions.
As consistent with the Funds investment objectives, the Fund may also invest in Section 4(2) commercial paper. Section 4(2) commercial paper is issued in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the Act and is generally sold to institutional investors who purchase for investment. Any resale of such commercial paper must be in an exempt transaction, usually to an institutional investor through the issuer or investment dealers who make a market in such commercial paper. The Company believes that Section 4(2) commercial paper is liquid to the extent it meets the criteria established by the Companys Board of Directors. The Company intends to treat such commercial paper as liquid and not subject to the investment limitations applicable to illiquid securities or restricted securities.
Rights Offerings and Purchase Warrants. Rights offerings and purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the rights or warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of rights and/or warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the right and/or warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
Risk Considerations of Medium Grade Securities. Obligations in the lowest investment grade ( i.e. , BBB or Baa), referred to as medium grade obligations, have speculative characteristics, and changes in economic conditions and other factors are more likely to lead to weakened capacity to make interest payments and repay principal on these obligations than is the case for higher rated securities. In the event that a security purchased by the Fund is subsequently downgraded below investment grade, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers will consider such event in its determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold the security.
Risk Considerations of Lower Rated Securities. The Fund may invest in fixed income securities that are not investment grade but are rated as low as B by Moodys or B by S&P ® (or their equivalents or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser to be of comparable credit quality). In the case of a security that is rated differently by two or more rating services, the higher rating is used in connection with the foregoing limitation. In the event that the rating on a security held in the Funds portfolio is downgraded by a rating service, such action will be considered by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser in its evaluation of the overall investment merits of that security, but will not necessarily result in the sale of the security. The widespread expansion of government, consumer and corporate debt within the U.S. economy has made the corporate sector, especially cyclically sensitive industries, more
vulnerable to economic downturns or increased interest rates. An economic downturn could severely disrupt the market for high yield fixed income securities and adversely affect the value of outstanding fixed income securities and the ability of the issuers to repay principal and interest.
The Fund may invest in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. The Fund will invest in high yield debt instruments when the Fund believes that such instruments offer a better risk/reward profile than comparable equity opportunities. High yield fixed income securities (commonly known as junk bonds) are considered speculative investments while generally providing greater income than investments in higher rated securities, involve greater risk of loss of principal and income (including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities) and may involve greater volatility of price (especially during periods of economic uncertainty or change) than securities in the higher rating categories. Since yields vary over time, no specific level of income can ever be assured.
The prices of high yield fixed income securities have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress, which would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a fixed income security owned by the Fund defaulted, the Fund could incur additional expenses in attempting to obtain a recovery. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high yield fixed income securities and the Funds NAV to the extent it holds such securities.
High yield fixed income securities also present risks based on payment expectations. For example, high yield fixed income securities may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a declining interest rate market, the Fund may, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities, have to replace the securities with a lower yielding security, which may result in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high yield fixed income securitys value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of the Funds assets, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities. In addition, to the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield fixed income securities, and this may have an impact on the Advisers and Sub-Advisers ability to accurately value such securities and the Funds assets and on the Funds ability to dispose of such securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield fixed income securities, especially in a thinly traded market.
New laws proposed or adopted from time to time may have an impact on the market for high yield securities.
Finally, there are risks involved in applying credit or dividend ratings as a method for evaluating high yield securities. For example, ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest or dividend payments, not market value risk of high yield securities. Also, since rating agencies may fail to timely change the credit ratings to reflect subsequent events, the Fund will continuously monitor the issuers of high yield securities in its portfolio, if any, to determine if the issuers will have sufficient cash flow and profits to meet required principal and interest payments, and to assure the securitys liquidity so the Fund can meet redemption requests.
Short Sales. As consistent with the Funds investment objectives, the Fund may engage in short sales that are either uncovered or against the box. A short sale is against the box if at all times during which the short position is open, the Fund owns at least an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable without further consideration for, securities of the same issue as the securities that are sold short. A short sale against the box is a taxable transaction to the Fund with respect to the securities that are sold short.
Uncovered short sales are transactions under which the Fund sells a security it does not own. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of the replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender amounts equal to any dividends or interest that accrue during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the
security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.
Until the Fund closes its short position or replaces the borrowed security, the Fund will: (a) maintain a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities at such a level that (i) the amount deposited in the account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the security sold short; and (ii) the amount deposited in the segregated account plus the amount deposited with the broker as collateral will not be less than the market value of the security at the time the security was sold short; or (b) otherwise cover the Funds short position.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years 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 underlying investment companies 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 an underlying investment companys, and thus a Funds, 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 underlying investment companies holdings.
Structured Securities. The Fund may invest in structured securities to the extent consistent with its investment objective. The value of the principal of and/or interest on structured securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, commodities, securities, indices or other financial indicators (the Reference) or the relative change in two or more References. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Examples of structured securities include, but are not limited to, notes where the principal repayment at maturity is determined by the value of the relative change in two or more specified securities or securities indices.
The terms of some structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, the Fund could suffer a total loss of its investment. 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 rate or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of the changes in the value of the Reference. Consequently, structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of securities. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities due to their derivative nature.
Swap Agreements. The Fund may enter into equity index or interest rate swap agreements for purposes of attempting to gain exposure to the stocks making up an index of securities in a market without actually purchasing those stocks, or to hedge a position. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a day to more than one-year. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are calculated with respect to a notional amount, i.e. , the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities representing a particular index. Forms of swap agreements include interest rate caps, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates exceed a specified rate,
or cap, interest rate floors, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates fall below a specified level, or floor, and interest rate dollars, under which a party sells a cap and purchases a floor or vice versa in an attempt to protect itself against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels.
Most swap agreements entered into by the Fund calculate the obligations of the parties to the agreement on a net basis. Consequently, the Funds current obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the net amount). The Funds current obligations under a swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owing to the Fund) and any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty will be covered by segregating assets determined to be liquid. Obligations under swap agreements so covered will not be construed to be senior securities for purposes of the Funds investment restriction concerning senior securities. Because they are two party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid for the Funds illiquid investment limitation. The Fund will not enter into any swap agreement unless the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser believes that the other party to the transaction is creditworthy. The Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty.
The Fund may enter into swap agreements to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. The counterparty to any swap agreement will typically be a bank, investment banking firm or broker/dealer. The counter-party will generally agree to pay the Fund the amount, if any, by which the notional amount of the swap agreement would have increased in value had it been invested in the particular stocks, plus the dividends that would have been received on those stocks. The Fund will agree to pay to the counter-party a floating rate of interest on the notional amount of the swap agreement plus the amount, if any, by which the notional amount would have decreased in value had it been invested in such stocks. Therefore, the return to the Fund on any swap agreement should be the gain or loss on the notional amount plus dividends on the stocks less the interest paid by the Fund on the notional amount.
Swap agreements typically are settled on a net basis, which means that the two payment streams are netted out, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Payments may be made at the conclusion of a swap agreement or periodically during its term. Swap agreements do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to swap agreements is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to a swap agreement defaults, the Funds risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Funds obligations over its entitlements with respect to each equity swap will be accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or liquid assets, having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to such accrued excess will be maintained in a segregated account by the Funds custodian. Inasmuch as these transactions are entered into for hedging purposes or are offset by segregated cash of liquid assets, as permitted by applicable law, the Fund and the Adviser believe that these transactions do not constitute senior securities under the 1940 Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to a Funds borrowing restrictions.
The Adviser and Sub-Advisers, under the supervision of the Board, are responsible for determining and monitoring the liquidity of Fund transactions in swap agreements. The use of equity swaps is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions.
U.S. Government Securities. The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, the
Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).
Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.
See Mortgage-Backed Securities above for additional information about the September 7, 2008 federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
· U.S. Treasury Obligations. U.S. Treasury obligations consist of bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury and separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations that are transferable through the federal book-entry system known as Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities (STRIPS) and Treasury Receipts (TRs).
· Receipts. Interests in separately traded interest and principal component parts of U.S. government obligations that are issued by banks or brokerage firms and are created by depositing U.S. government obligations into a special account at a custodian bank. The custodian holds the interest and principal payments for the benefit of the registered owners of the certificates or receipts. The custodian arranges for the issuance of the certificates or receipts evidencing ownership and maintains the register. TRs and STRIPS are interests in accounts sponsored by the U.S. Treasury. Receipts are sold as zero coupon securities.
· U.S. Government Zero Coupon Securities. STRIPS and receipts are sold as zero coupon securities, that is, fixed income securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons. Zero coupon securities are sold at a (usually substantial) discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. The amount of this discount is accreted over the life of the security, and the accretion constitutes the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, the market prices of zero coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that have similar maturity but that pay interest periodically. Zero coupon securities are likely to respond to a greater degree to interest rate changes than are non-zero coupon securities with similar maturity and credit qualities.
· U.S. Government Agencies. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by agencies of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury, while still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality. Guarantees of principal by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government may be a guarantee of payment at the maturity of the obligation so that in the event of a default prior to maturity there might not be a market and thus no means of realizing on the obligation prior to maturity. Guarantees as to the timely payment of principal and interest do not extend to the value or yield of these securities nor to the value of the Funds shares.
Non-Principal Investment Policies and Risks.
Commercial Paper. Commercial paper is the term used to designate unsecured short-term promissory notes issued by corporations and other entities. Maturities on these issues vary from a few to 270 days.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Dollar Rolls. The Fund may enter into dollar rolls in which the Fund sells fixed income securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts to repurchase substantially similar (same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a specified future date. During the roll period, the Fund would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. However, the Fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the forward price for the future purchase, as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. The return on dollar rolls may be negatively impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. The Fund does not presently intend to engage in dollar roll transactions involving more than 5% of its net assets. For additional information on dollar roll transactions, see the section entitled Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions in this SAI.
Forward Commitment and When-Issued Transactions. The Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis (subject to its investment policies and restrictions). These transactions involve a commitment by a fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date (ordinarily one or two months later). 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 commitments are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges. The Fund will not enter into such transactions for the purpose of leverage.
When-issued purchases and forward commitments enable the Fund to lock in what is believed by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, the Fund might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, the Fund might sell securities it owns and purchase the same or a similar security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. When-issued securities or forward commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date.
The value of securities purchased on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation of the Funds NAV starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the securities, and the Fund is subject to the rights and risks of ownership of the securities on that date. The Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until they are paid for and delivered on the settlement date. When the Fund makes a forward commitment to sell securities it owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are included in the Funds assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities are not reflected in the Funds NAV as long as the commitment to sell remains in effect. Settlement of when-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions generally takes place within two months after the date of the transaction, but the Fund may agree to a longer settlement period.
The Fund will make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued basis or to 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 renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into. The Fund also may 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, and its distributions from any net realized capital gains will be taxable to shareholders. When the Fund purchases securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, the Fund or the Custodian will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities having a value (determined daily) at least equal to the amount of the Funds purchase commitments. These procedures are designed to ensure that the Fund will maintain sufficient assets at all times to cover its obligations under when-issued purchases and forward commitments.
Illiquid Securities. Illiquid securities are securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business (within seven days) at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Because of their illiquid nature, illiquid securities must be priced at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to procedures approved by the Companys Board of Directors. Despite such good faith efforts to determine fair value prices, the Funds illiquid securities are subject to the risk that the securitys fair value price may differ from the actual price which the Fund may ultimately realize upon its sale or disposition. Difficulty in selling illiquid securities may result in a loss or may be costly to the Fund. Under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser and the Sub-Advisers determine the liquidity of the Funds investments. In determining the liquidity of the Funds investments, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers may consider various factors, including: (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations; (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace; (3) dealer undertakings to make a market; and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security). The Fund will not hold more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities.
Inflation-Protected Securities. The Fund may invest in inflation-protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, known as TIPs or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, which are debt securities whose principal and interest payments are adjusted for inflation and interest is paid on the adjusted amount. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index, such as the consumer price index (CPI). A fixed coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that as inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of your investment. Inflation-protected securities normally will decline in price when real interest rates rise. (A real interest rate is calculated by subtracting the inflation rate from a nominal interest rate. For example, if a 10-year Treasury note is yielding 5% and inflation is 2%, the real interest rate is 3%.) If inflation is negative, the principal and income of an inflation-protected security will decline and could result in losses for the Fund.
Any increase in principal for an inflation-protected security resulting from inflation adjustments is considered by IRS regulations to be taxable income in the year it occurs. For direct holders of an inflation-protected security, this means that taxes must be paid on principal adjustments even though these amounts are not received until the bond matures. By contrast, the Fund holding these securities distributes both interest income and the income attributable to principal adjustments in the form of cash or reinvested shares, which are taxable to shareholders.
Initial Public Offerings. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, the Fund may purchase stock in an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a companys first offering of stock to the public. Risks associated with IPOs may include considerable fluctuation in the market value of IPO shares due to certain factors, such as the absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, a limited number of shares available for trading, lack of information about the issuer and limited operating history. The purchase of IPO shares may involve high transaction costs. When the Funds asset base is small, a significant portion of the Funds performance could be attributable to investments in IPOs, because such investments would have a magnified impact on the underlying investment company. As the Funds assets grow, the effect of the Funds investments in IPOs on the Funds performance probably will decline, which could reduce the Funds 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 Funds portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, the Fund cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions. The Fund may enter into mortgage dollar roll transactions in which the Fund sells securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts with the same counterparty to repurchase similar (same type, coupon and maturity), but not identical securities, on a specified future date. For financial reporting and tax purposes, the Fund treats mortgage dollar rolls as two separate transactions; one involving the purchase of a security and a separate transaction involving a sale. The Fund does not currently intend to enter into mortgage dollar rolls for financing and does not treat them as borrowings.
During the roll period, the Fund would forgo principal and interest paid on such securities. The Fund would benefit to the extent of any difference between the price received for the securities sold and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the drop) or fee income plus the interest on the cash proceeds of the securities sold until the settlement date of the forward purchase. Unless such benefits exceed the income, capital appreciation and gain or loss due to mortgage prepayments that would have been realized on the securities sold as part of the mortgage dollar roll, the use of this technique will diminish the investment performance of the Fund compared with what such performance would have been without the use of mortgage dollar rolls. The Fund will hold and maintain in a segregated account until the settlement date cash or liquid, high-grade debt securities in an amount equal to the forward purchase price. Any benefits derived from the use of mortgage dollar rolls may depend upon mortgage prepayment assumptions, which will be affected by changes in interest rates. There is no assurance that mortgage dollar rolls can be successfully employed. For additional information on dollar rolls, please refer to the section entitled Dollar Rolls in this SAI.
Municipal Obligations. The Fund may invest in municipal obligations. Municipal obligations are issued by or on behalf of states, territories and possessions of the United States and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities to obtain funds for various public purposes. The interest on most of these obligations is generally exempt from regular federal income tax in the hands of most individual investors, although it may be subject to the individual and corporate alternative minimum tax. The two principal classifications of municipal obligations are notes and bonds.
Municipal notes are generally used to provide for short-term capital needs and generally have maturities of one year or less. Municipal notes include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, and construction loan notes. Tax anticipation notes are sold to finance working capital needs of municipalities. They are generally payable from specific tax revenues expected to be received at a future date. Revenue anticipation notes are issued in expectation of receipt of other types of revenue such as federal revenues available under the Federal Revenue Sharing Program. Tax anticipation notes and revenue anticipation notes are generally issued in anticipation of various seasonal revenues such as income, sales, use, and business taxes. Bond anticipation notes are sold to provide interim financing.
These notes are generally issued in anticipation of long-term financing in the market. In most cases, these monies provide for the repayment of the notes. Construction loan notes are sold to provide construction financing. After the projects are successfully completed and accepted, many projects receive permanent financing through the Federal Housing Administration under Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae. There are, of course, a number of other types of notes issued for different purposes and secured differently from those described above.
Municipal bonds, which meet longer term capital needs and generally have maturities of more than one year when issued, have two principal classifications, general obligation bonds and revenue bonds. Issuers of general obligation bonds include states, counties, cities, towns and regional districts. The proceeds of these obligations are used to fund a wide range of public projects including the construction or improvement of schools, highways and roads, water and sewer systems and a variety of other public purposes. The basic security of general obligation bonds is the issuers pledge of its faith, credit, and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. The taxes that can be levied for the payment of debt service may be limited or unlimited as to rate or amount or special assessments.
The principal security for a revenue bond is generally the net revenues derived from a particular facility or group of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other specific revenue source. Revenue bonds have been issued to fund a wide variety of capital projects including: electric, gas, water and sewer systems; highways, bridges and tunnels; port and airport facilities; colleges and universities; and hospitals. Revenue obligations
are not backed by the credit and taxing authority of the issuer but are payable solely from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise tax or other specific revenue source. In addition, revenue obligations may be backed by a letter of credit, guarantee or insurance. Revenue obligations include private activity bonds, resource recovery bonds, certificates of participation and certain municipal notes. Although the principal security behind these bonds varies widely, many provide additional security in the form of a debt service reserve fund whose monies may also be used to make principal and interest payments on the issuers obligations. Housing finance authorities have a wide range of security including partially or fully insured, rent subsidized and/or collateralized mortgages, and/or the net revenues from housing or other public projects. In addition to a debt service reserve fund, some authorities provide further security in the form of a states ability (without obligation) to make up deficiencies in the debt service reserve fund. Lease rental revenue bonds issued by a state or local authority for capital projects are secured by annual lease rental payments from the state or locality to the authority sufficient to cover debt service on the authoritys obligations.
Industrial development bonds (now a subset of a class of bonds known as private activity bonds), although nominally issued by municipal authorities, are generally not secured by the taxing power of the municipality but are secured by the revenues of the authority derived from payments by the industrial user.
There is, in addition, a variety of hybrid and special types of municipal obligations as well as numerous differences in the security of municipal obligations both within and between the two principal classifications above. An entire issue of municipal obligations may be purchased by one or a small number of institutional investors such as the Fund. Thus, the issue may not be said to be publicly offered. Unlike securities which must be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), prior to offer and sale unless an exemption from such registration is available, municipal obligations which are not publicly offered may nevertheless be readily marketable. A secondary market exists for municipal obligations that were not publicly offered initially.
The Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, determines whether a municipal obligation is readily marketable based on whether it may be sold in a reasonable time consistent with the customs of the municipal markets (usually seven days) at a price (or interest rate), which accurately reflects its value. In addition, stand-by commitments and demand obligations also enhance marketability.
For the purpose of the Funds investment restrictions, the identification of the issuer of municipal obligations that are not general obligation bonds is made by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, on the basis of the characteristics of the obligation as described above, the most significant of which is the source of funds for the payment of principal of and interest on such obligations.
Yields on municipal obligations depend on a variety of factors, including money market conditions, municipal bond market conditions, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the quality of the issue. High grade municipal obligations tend to have a lower yield than lower rated obligations. Municipal obligations are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the Federal Bankruptcy Code and laws, if any, that may be enacted by Congress or state legislatures extending the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations or municipalities to levy taxes. There is also the possibility that as a result of litigation or other conditions the power or ability of any one or more issuers to pay when due principal of and interest on its or their municipal obligations may be materially affected.
Economic, business or political developments might affect all municipal obligations of a similar type. The Fund believes that the most important consideration affecting risk is the quality of particular issues of municipal obligations rather than factors affecting all, or broad classes of, municipal obligations.
The Fund may invest in variable, floating rate and other municipal securities on which the interest may fluctuate based on changes in market rates. The interest rates payable on variable rate securities are adjusted at designated intervals ( e.g. , daily, monthly, semi-annually), and the interest rates payable on, floating rate securities are adjusted whenever there is a change in the market rate of interest on which the interest payable is based. The interest rate on variable and floating rate securities is ordinarily determined by reference to or is a percentage of a banks prime rate,
the 90-day U.S. Treasury bill rate, the rate of return on commercial paper or bank certificates of deposit, an index of short-term interest rates, or some other objective measure. The value of floating and variable rate securities generally is more stable than that of fixed rate securities in response to changes in interest rate levels. The Fund may consider the maturity of a variable or floating rate municipal security to be shorter than its ultimate maturity if the Fund has the right to demand prepayment of its principal at specified intervals prior to the securitys ultimate maturity.
The Fund may invest in municipal leases and certificates of participation in municipal leases. A municipal lease is an obligation in the form of a lease or installment purchase which is issued by a state or local government to acquire equipment and facilities. Certificates of participation represent undivided interests in municipal leases, installment purchase agreements or other instruments. The certificates are typically issued by a trust or other entity, which has received an assignment of the payments to be made by the state or political subdivision under such leases or installment purchase agreements. The primary risk associated with municipal lease obligations and certificates of participation is that the governmental lessee will fail to appropriate funds to enable it to meet its payment obligations under the lease. Although the obligations may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of non-appropriation or foreclosure might prove difficult, time consuming and costly and may result in a delay in recovering, or the failure to fully recover, the Funds original investment. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated municipal leases or participates in such leases, the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser will monitor on an ongoing basis the credit quality rating and risk of cancellation of such unrated leases. Certain municipal lease obligations and certificates of participation may be deemed illiquid for the purposes of the limitation on investments in illiquid securities.
The Fund may invest in pre-refunded municipal securities. The principal of and interest on pre-refunded municipal securities are no longer paid from the original revenue source for the securities. Instead, the source of such payments is typically an escrow fund consisting of U.S. government securities. The assets in the escrow fund are derived from the proceeds of refunding bonds issued by the same issuer as the pre-refunded municipal securities. Issuers of municipal securities use this advance refunding technique to obtain more favorable terms with respect to securities that are not yet subject to call or redemption by the issuer. For example, advance refunding enables an issuer to refinance debt at lower market interest rates, restructure debt to improve cash flow or eliminate restrictive covenants in the indenture or other governing instrument for the pre-refunded municipal securities. Except for a change in the revenue source from which principal and interest payments are made, the pre-refunded municipal securities remain outstanding on their original terms until they mature or are redeemed by the issuer. Pre-refunded municipal securities are usually purchased at a price, which represents a premium over their face value.
Obligations of Domestic Banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign Branches of U.S. Banks. The Fund may invest in obligations issued by banks and other savings institutions. Investments in bank obligations include obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks. Such investments in domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks may involve risks that are different from investments in securities of domestic branches of U.S. banks. These risks may include future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions which might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held by the Fund. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. Bank obligations include the following:
· Bankers Acceptances . Bankers acceptances are bills of exchange or time drafts drawn on and accepted by a commercial bank. Corporations use bankers acceptances to finance the shipment and storage of goods and to furnish dollar exchange. Maturities are generally six months or less.
· Certificates of Deposit . Certificates of deposit are interest-bearing instruments with a specific maturity. They are issued by banks and savings and loan institutions in exchange for the deposit of funds and normally can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Certificates of deposit with penalties for early withdrawal will be considered illiquid.
· Time Deposits. Time deposits are non-negotiable receipts issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. Like a certificate of deposit, it earns a specified rate of interest over a definite period of time; however, it cannot be traded in the secondary market. Time deposits with a withdrawal penalty or that mature in more than seven days are considered to be illiquid securities.
Pay-in-Kind Securities, Zero Coupon and Capital Appreciation Bonds. To the extent consistent with its investment objective, the Fund may invest in pay-in-kind (PIK) securities. PIK securities may be debt obligations or preferred shares that provide the issuer with the option of paying interest or dividends on such obligations in cash or in the form of additional securities rather than cash. Similarly, zero coupon and capital appreciation bonds are debt securities issued or sold at a discount from their face value and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified date. The amount of the discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. These securities also may take the form of debt securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves or receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations or coupons. A portion of the discount with respect to stripped tax-exempt securities or their coupons may be taxable. Such securities are designed to give an issuer flexibility in managing cash flow. PIK securities that are debt securities can either be senior or subordinated debt and generally trade flat ( i.e. , without accrued interest). The trading price of PIK debt securities generally reflects the market value of the underlying debt plus an amount representing accrued interest since the last interest payment.
PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds do not pay interest periodically to maturity, and, therefore, they involve the additional risk that the Fund will not realize any cash until a specified future payment date unless a portion of such securities is sold, and, if the issuer of such securities defaults, the Fund may not obtain any return at all on its investment. In addition, even though such securities may not provide for the payment of current interest in cash, the Fund is nonetheless required to accrue income on such investments for each taxable year and generally is required to distribute such accrued amounts (net of deductible expenses, if any) to avoid being subject to tax. Because cash generally is not received at the time of the accrual, the Fund may be required to liquidate other portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to satisfy federal tax distribution requirements applicable to the Fund. Additionally, the market prices of PIK securities, zero coupon bonds and capital appreciation bonds generally are more volatile than the market prices of interest bearing securities and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than interest bearing securities having similar maturities and credit quality.
Real Estate Investment Trust Securities. The Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs generally invest directly in real estate, in mortgages or in some combination of the two. Individual REITs may own a limited number of properties and may concentrate in a particular region or property type. A REIT is a corporation, or a business trust that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation, which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level federal income tax and making the REIT a pass-through vehicle for federal income tax purposes. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things, invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs) or cash and government securities, derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property and distribute to shareholders annually a substantial portion of its otherwise taxable income.
Generally, REITs can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity and mortgage REITs. The values of securities issued by REITs are affected by tax and regulatory requirements and by perceptions of management skill. They also are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers or tenants, self-liquidation and the possibility of failing to qualify for tax-free status under the Code or to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act. Unexpected high rates of default on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a mortgage REIT. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. To the extent that
a mortgage REITs portfolio is exposed to lower-rated, unsecured or subordinated instruments, the risk of loss may increase, which may have a negative impact on the Fund.
REITs may be affected by economic forces and other factors related to the real estate industry. REITs are sensitive to factors such as changes in real estate values, property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, occupancy rates, government regulations affecting zoning, land use and rents, and management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Companies in the real estate industry may also be subject to liabilities under environmental and hazardous waste laws. REITS whose underlying assets include long-term health care properties, such as nursing, retirement and assisted living homes, may be affected by federal regulations concerning the health care industry. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses, including management fees, paid by each REIT in which it invests in addition to the expenses of the Fund. The Fund is also subject to the risk that the REITs in which it invests will fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code and/or fail to qualify for an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. A REITs return may be adversely affected when interest rates are high or rising.
Investing in REITs may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, small capitalization stocks, such as REITs, have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 ® .
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which the Fund acquires a fixed income security (generally a security issued by the U.S. government or an agency thereof, a bankers acceptance, or a certificate of deposit) from a commercial bank, broker, or dealer, and simultaneously agrees to resell such security to the seller at an agreed upon price and date (normally, the next business day). Because the security purchased constitutes collateral for the repurchase obligation, a repurchase agreement may be considered a loan that is collateralized by the security purchased. The acquisition of a repurchase agreement may be deemed to be an acquisition of the underlying securities as long as the obligation of the seller to repurchase the securities is collateralized fully. The Fund follows certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with creditworthy financial institutions whose condition will be continually monitored by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. The repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund will provide that the underlying collateral at all times shall have a value at least equal to 102% of the resale price stated in the agreement and consist only of securities permissible under Section 101(47)(A)(i) of the Bankruptcy Code (the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, monitors compliance with this requirement). Under all repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund, the custodian or its agent must take possession of the underlying collateral. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Fund will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of the Funds right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss. It is the current policy of the Fund, not to invest in repurchase agreements that do not mature within seven days if any such investment, together with any other illiquid assets held by that Fund, amounts to more than 15% of the Funds total assets. The investments of the Fund in repurchase agreements, at times, may be substantial when, in the view of the Adviser or applicable Sub-Advisers, liquidity or other considerations so warrant.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities for temporary purposes (such as to obtain cash to meet redemption requests) when the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed disadvantageous or inconvenient by the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to the Funds agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Such agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act and will be limited, together with other borrowings, to 33 1/3% of the Funds total assets (including the amount borrowed) less all liabilities other than borrowings. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account with the Funds custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement and will monitor the account to ensure that such value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price of the securities
the Fund is obligated to repurchase and the interest received on the cash exchanged for the securities.
Securities Lending. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations that meet capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Companys Board of Directors. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33 1/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). The Fund will not lend portfolio securities to the Adviser, any Sub-Adviser or their affiliates unless permissible under the 1940 Act and the rules and promulgations thereunder. Loans of portfolio securities will be fully collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities, and the collateral will be maintained in an amount equal to at least 102% of the current market value of the loaned domestic securities (105% of loaned foreign securities) by marking to market daily. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of the Fund.
The Fund may pay a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral, or other fee, to an unaffiliated or, to the extent consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder, affiliated third party for acting as the Funds securities lending agent.
By lending its securities, the Fund may increase its income by receiving payments from the borrower that reflect the amount of any interest or any dividends payable on the loaned securities as well as by either investing cash collateral received from the borrower in short-term instruments or obtaining a fee from the borrower when U.S. government securities or letters of credit are used as collateral. The Fund does not have the right to vote loaned securities. The Fund will attempt to call all loaned securities back to permit the exercise of voting rights on material matters, if time and jurisdictional restrictions permit. There is no guarantee that all loans can be recalled.
Securities of Unseasoned Issuers. The Fund may invest in securities of unseasoned issuers, including equity securities of unseasoned issuers which are not readily marketable. The term unseasoned refers to issuers which, together with their predecessors, have been in operation for less than three years.
Special Situation Companies. The Fund may invest in Special Situations. The term Special Situation shall be deemed to refer to a security of a company in which an unusual and possibly non-repetitive development is taking place which, in the opinion of the Adviser, may cause the security to attain a higher market value independently, to a degree, of the trend in the securities market in general. The particular development (actual or prospective), which may qualify a security as a Special Situation, may be one of many different types.
Such developments may include, among others, a technological improvement or important discovery or acquisition which, if the expectation for it materialized, would effect a substantial change in the companys business; a reorganization; a recapitalization or other development involving a security exchange or conversion; a merger, liquidation or distribution of cash, securities or other assets; a breakup or workout of a holding company; litigation which, if resolved favorably, would improve the value of the companys stock; a new or changed management; or material changes in management policies. A Special Situation may often involve a comparatively small company, which is not well known, and which has not been closely watched by investors generally, but it may also involve a large company. The fact, if it exists, that an increase in the companys earnings, dividends or business is expected, or that a given security is considered to be undervalued, would not in itself be sufficient to qualify as a Special Situation. The Fund may invest in securities (even if not Special Situations) which, in the opinion of the Adviser, are appropriate investments for the Fund, including securities which the Adviser believes are undervalued by the market.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Fund has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectuses, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Funds investment goals and strategies described in the Prospectuses may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without the approval of the Funds shareholders.
The Fund may not:
1. Borrow money except that (a) the Fund may borrow from banks or through reverse repurchase agreements in amounts up to 33 1 / 3 % of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed); and (b) the Fund may engage in transactions in mortgage dollar rolls which are accounted for as financings. For purposes of this limitation, investment strategies which either obligate the Fund to purchase securities or require the Fund to segregate assets are not considered to be borrowings. Asset coverage of at least 300% is required for all borrowings, except where the Fund has borrowed money for temporary purposes in amounts not exceeding 5% of its total assets;
2. Issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act, except as permitted by rule, regulation or order of the SEC;
3. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the Securities Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
4. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
5. Purchase or sell commodities, except as permitted by the 1940 Act, as amended, and as interpreted or modified by the regulatory authority having jurisdiction from time to time;
6. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan;
7. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that (a) there is no limitation with respect to (i) instruments issued or guaranteed by the United States, any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any of their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, and (ii) repurchase agreements secured by the instruments described in clause (i); (b) wholly-owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents; and (c) utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry; or
8. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations. These non-fundamental restrictions may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by the Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management;
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, transactions in currencies or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin; or
3. Pledge, mortgage or hypothecate assets, except as permitted by the 1940 Act.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. Pursuant to orders issued by the SEC to ETFs and procedures approved by the Board, the Fund may invest in ETFs in excess of the limits of the 1940 Act. As a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment companys expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.
Securities held by the Fund generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser, any Sub-Adviser or their affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act. None of the Fund, the Adviser, or any Sub-Adviser has obtained such an exemptive order.
Under the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain asset coverage of at least 300% for borrowings from a bank. In the event that such asset coverage is below 300%, the Fund will be required to reduce the amount of its borrowings to obtain 300% asset coverage within three business days (not including Sundays and holidays).
The 1940 Act does not directly restrict an investment companys ability to invest in commodities, but does require that every investment company have a fundamental investment policy governing such investments. The Fund has adopted fundamental policies that would permit direct investment in commodities.
Any collateral arrangements with respect to, if applicable, the writing of options and futures contracts, options on futures contracts, short sales and other similar instruments, and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be a pledge of assets. The Fund may pledge, mortgage or hypothecate assets to secure borrowings permitted by the Funds fundamental limitation on borrowing.
Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.
If a percentage restriction under one of the Funds investment policies or limitations or the use of assets is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities issued by the Fund).
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY), the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; Merrill Corporation, the financial printer; and Glass Lewis & Co. and RiskMetrics Group , proxy voting services. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions).
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15 - day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The Companys Leadership Structure
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company as defined in the 1940 Act, are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Product Development, Contract, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Julian A. Brodsky 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 81 |
|
Director |
|
1988 to present |
|
From 1969 to 2011, Director and Vice Chairman, Comcast Corporation (cable television and communications). |
|
23 |
|
AMDOCS Limited (service provider to telecommunications companies). |
|
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
J. Richard Carnall 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 76 |
|
Director |
|
2002 to present |
|
Since 1984, Director of Haydon Bolts, Inc. (bolt manufacturer) and Parkway Real Estate Company (subsidiary of Haydon Bolts, Inc.); since March 2004, Director of Cornerstone Bank. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory P. Chandler 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 48 |
|
Director |
|
2012 to present |
|
Since May 2009, Chief Financial Officer, Emtec, Inc. (information technology consulting/services); from February 2003-April 2009, Managing Director, head of Business Services and IT Services Practice, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (investment banking/brokerage). |
|
23 |
|
Emtec, Inc.; FS Investment Corporation (business development company); FS Energy and Power Fund (business development company). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nicholas A. Giordano 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 71 |
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 1997, Consultant, financial services organizations. |
|
23 |
|
Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust; (registered investment company); Wilmington Funds (registered investment company); WT Mutual Fund (registered investment company) (until March 2012); Independence Blue Cross; Intricon Corp. (producer of medical devices). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold M. Reichman 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 66 |
|
Chairman
Director |
|
2005 to present
1991 to present |
|
Since 2006, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lifebooker, LLC. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert A. Straniere 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 73 |
|
Director |
|
2006 to present |
|
Since 2009, Administrative Law Judge, New York City; since 1980, Founding Partner, Straniere Law Group. |
|
23 |
|
Reich and Tang Group (asset management). |
|
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS(2) |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jay F. Nusblatt 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 53 |
|
Director |
|
2012 to present |
|
Since July 2010, Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing; from 2006 to July 2010, Senior Vice President, Fund Accounting and Administration, PNC Global Investment Servicing. |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert Sablowsky 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 76 |
|
Director |
|
1991 to present |
|
Since July 2002, Senior Vice President and prior thereto, Executive Vice President, of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (a registered broker-dealer). |
|
23 |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OFFICERS |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Salvatore Faia, JD, CPA, CFE Vigilant Compliance Services Brandywine Two 5 Christy Drive, Suite 209 Chadds Ford, PA 19317 Age: 52 |
|
President
Chief Compliance Officer |
|
2009 to present
2004 to present |
|
Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joel Weiss 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 51 |
|
Treasurer |
|
2009 to present |
|
Since 1993, Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diane J. Drake 301 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 47 |
|
Secretary |
|
2014 to present |
|
Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010 Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
|
James G. Shaw 103 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 Age: 54 |
|
Assistant Treasurer |
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Senior Director and Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy One Logan Square, Ste. 2000 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Age: 55 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and has served on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Chandler, Giordano, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee of the Board convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Nusblatt, Reichman, Sablowsky and Straniere. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Nusblatt, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company
is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios in the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013:
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
|||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001 - $50,000 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001 - $50,000 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
|||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
Robert Sablowsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, the Company paid each Director (except Mr. Nusblatt) a retainer at the rate of $27,500 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and the Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President, Treasurer and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Company in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
989 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775.00 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,407 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625.00 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
1,601 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625.00 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
1,566 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625.00 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
2,014 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125.00 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,372 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625.00 |
|
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
None |
|
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,368 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525.00 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
13,075 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996.00 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company, the Adviser, and each Sub-Adviser other than Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC, Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. and Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC, have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company. Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC, Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. and Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that does not permit personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities that may be purchased or held by each Firm on behalf of its clients, including the Fund, respectively.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Funds Adviser and Sub-Advisers, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser and each Sub-Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. The Adviser and each Sub-Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser and each Sub-Adviser will vote proxies in connection with securities in which the portion of the Funds assets allocated to the Adviser and each Sub-Adviser are invested, respectively, in accordance with its proxy policies and procedures, which are included in Appendix B-J to this SAI. To assist Maerisland Capital, LLC (Maerisland) in its responsibility for voting proxies and the overall proxy voting process, Maerisland has retained Risk Metrics Group Inc. (Risk Metrics) as an expert in the proxy voting and corporate governance area. The services provided by
Risk Metrics include in-depth research, global issuer analysis, and voting recommendations as well as vote execution, reporting and record keeping. The proxy policies of the Adviser and each Sub-Adviser differ. If the Adviser and/or one or more Sub-Advisers each has responsibility for voting a particular proxy, it is possible that the Adviser and/or the Sub-Advisers will disagree on how to vote the proxy.
The Company is required to disclose annually the Funds complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX. The Funds proxy voting record for the most recent 12 month period ended June 30th is available upon request by calling 1-866-882-1226. The Funds Form N-PX is also available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014 to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
S 1 Fund Class I |
|
Charles Schwab & Co Inc Special Custody A/C FBO Customers ATTN Mutual Funds 101 Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94104-4122 |
|
2,142,253 |
|
48.35 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S 1 Fund Class I |
|
TD Ameritrade Inc For the Exclusive Benefit of Our Client PO BOX 2226 Omaha, NE 68103-2226 |
|
650,698 |
|
14.69 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Fund of the Company except for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund of which they owned 2.04% and Schneider Value Fund of which they owned 2.70%.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Simple Alternatives, LLC (SA or the Adviser) is a professional investment management firm registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Adviser was established in October 2009. James Dilworth owns 100% of the voting securities of the Adviser.
Advisory Agreement with the Company. The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (Advisory Agreement) dated as of September 30, 2010.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Fund including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Fund, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, or sold by the Fund, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales made for the Fund. The Adviser will provide the services rendered by it in accordance with the Funds investment objective, restrictions and policies as stated in the Prospectuses and in this SAI. The Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment, mistake of law, or for any loss
suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement.
For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive a monthly advisory fee at an annual rate of 2.75% of the Funds average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to forgo all or a portion of its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest, and taxes and any other item as agreed upon by the Company and the Adviser from time to time) exceeds 2.95% and 3.20% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds I Shares and R Shares, respectively. This contractual limitation is in effect until at least December 31, 2015 and may not be terminated without Board approval. Because dividend expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings, extraordinary items, interest, and taxes and any other item as agreed upon by the Company and the Adviser from time to time are excluded from the expense limitation, Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (after fees forgone and expense reimbursements) are expected to exceed the applicable expense limitation. Effective September 23, 2010, if at any time the Funds Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses for that year are less than 2.95% or 3.20%, as applicable, the Adviser is entitled to reimbursement by the Fund of the advisory fees forgone and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made if such reimbursement by the Fund does not cause the Fund to exceed existing expense limitations.
The Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. The Fund bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Fund include, but are not limited to the following (or the Funds share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by the Fund and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of the Fund by the Adviser; (c) filing fees and expenses relating to the registration and qualification of the Company and the Funds shares under federal and/or state securities laws and maintaining such registrations and qualifications; (d) fees and salaries payable to the Companys Directors and officers; (e) taxes (including any income or franchise taxes) and governmental fees; (f) costs of any liability and other insurance or fidelity bonds; (g) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Fund for violation of any law; (h) legal, accounting and auditing expenses, including legal fees of special counsel for the independent Directors; (i) charges of custodians and other agents; (j) expenses of setting in type and printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto for existing shareholders, reports, statements, and confirmations to shareholders and proxy material that are not attributable to a class; (k) costs of mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto to existing shareholders, as well as reports to shareholders and proxy materials that are not attributable to a class; (1) any extraordinary expenses; (m) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (n) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; (o) costs of independent pricing services to value a portfolios securities; and (p) the costs of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
For the past three fiscal years, the Fund paid Simple Alternatives advisory fees and Simple Alternatives waived advisory fees as follows:
|
|
Advisory Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
1,964,955 |
|
$ |
425,749 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
1,780,085 |
|
$ |
288,049 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
1,145,311 |
|
$ |
472,047 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Funds Advisory Agreement is available in the Funds annual report to shareholders dated August 31, 2014. This report may be obtained by calling 1-866-882-1226 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall at all times have all rights in and to the Funds name and all investment models used by or on behalf of the Fund. The Adviser may use the Funds name or any portion thereof in connection with any other mutual fund or business activity without the consent of any shareholder, and the Company has agreed to execute and deliver any and all documents required to indicate its consent to such use.
INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISERS
Each Sub-Adviser shall, subject to the supervision and oversight of the Adviser, manage the investment and reinvestment of such portion of the assets of the Fund, as the Adviser may from time to time allocate to such Sub-Adviser for management. The Adviser pays the Sub-Advisers out of its advisory fees.
The Fund has received an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Adviser to engage or terminate a Sub-Adviser, and to enter into and materially amend an existing Sub-Advisory Agreement, upon the approval of the Board of Directors, without obtaining shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any changes in Sub-Advisers. The Adviser selects Sub-Advisers based upon the Sub-Advisers skills in managing assets pursuant to particular investment styles and strategies. The Adviser monitors existing Sub-Advisers based on their investment styles, strategies, and results in managing assets for specific asset classes. Each Sub-Adviser has discretion to select portfolio securities for its portion of the Fund, but must select those securities according to the Funds investment objectives and restrictions.
The Adviser does not determine what investments will be purchased or sold for the Fund with respect to the portions of the Fund managed by the Sub-Advisers. Because each Sub-Adviser manages its portion of the Fund independently from the others, the same security may be held in two or more different portions of the Fund or may be acquired for one portion at a time when a Sub-Adviser of another portion deems it appropriate to dispose of the security from that other portion. Similarly, under some market conditions, one or more of the Sub-Advisers may believe that temporary, defensive investments in short-term instruments or cash are appropriate when another Sub-Adviser or Sub-Advisers believe continued exposure to the broader securities market is appropriate. Because each Sub-Adviser directs the trading for its portion of the Fund and does not aggregate its transactions with those of the other Sub-Advisers, the Fund may incur higher brokerage costs than would be the case if a single adviser or Sub-Adviser were managing the Fund.
The current Sub-Advisers to the Fund are set forth below.
Sub-Advisers |
|
|
Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC (Blue Lion) 8115 Preston Road, Suite 550 Dallas, TX 75225 |
|
Charles W. Griege, Jr. is the Managing Partner of Blue Lion. Blue Lion employs a long/short strategy with a value oriented bias in managing its portion of the Fund. |
|
|
|
Courage Capital Management, LLC (Courage Capital) 4400 Harding Road Ste. 503 Nashville, Tennessee 37205 |
|
Courage Capital is controlled by its founder, Richard C. Patton. Courage Capital employs an event driven investment strategy, including investments in special situations companies and distressed securities, in managing its portion of the Fund. |
|
|
|
Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. (Garelick) 60 State Street Suite 3730 Boston, MA 02109 |
|
Bruce Garelick is the General Partner and majority owner of Garelick and the sole member of GP BG, LLC, the general partner of Garelick. Garelick employs a long/short equity investment strategy, with a focus on technology securities, in managing its portion of the Fund. |
|
|
|
Maerisland Capital, LLC (Maerisland) 500 Newport Center Drive, Suite 600 Newport Beach, CA 92660 |
|
Mark Beder is the principal owner of Maerisland. Maerisland uses a long/short global investment strategy that focuses on proprietary research in managing its portion of the Fund. |
|
|
|
Sonica Capital LLC (Sonica)
400 Madison Avenue, 17
th
Floor
|
|
Alexander Fodor is the founder, Chief Investment Officer, and Managing Member of Sonica. In managing its portion of the Fund, Sonica employs a fundamental long/short equity investment strategy, with a focus on equities of U.S. companies with understandable business models. |
|
|
|
Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC (SRES) 591 West Putnam Avenue Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 |
|
SRES is jointly owned by Matthew C. Gilman and Barry Sternlich. SRES employs a long/short equity investment strategy, with a focus on public real estate securities, in managing its portion of the Fund. |
Sub-Advisory Agreements with the Adviser. Each of the Sub-Advisory Agreements provides that the Sub-Adviser will manage the investment and reinvestment of such portion of the assets of the Fund as the Adviser may from time to time allocate to the Sub-Adviser in accordance with the Funds objective, policies and restrictions and any investment guidelines established by the Adviser. Each Sub-Adviser will, subject to the supervision and control of the Adviser, determine in its discretion which issuers and securities will be purchased, held, sold or exchanged by the Fund, and will place orders with and give instruction to brokers and dealers to cause the execution of such transactions. The Sub-Advisers are required to furnish at their own expense all investment facilities necessary to perform its obligations under the Sub-Advisory Agreements.
Generally, each Sub-Advisory Agreement may be terminated without penalty by vote of the Companys Board of Directors or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, upon 60 days written notice, or by the Adviser immediately upon notice to the Sub-Adviser, and each such agreement terminates automatically in the event of an assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). Each Sub-Advisory Agreement also may be terminated by a Sub-Adviser upon 30 days written notice and automatically terminates upon termination of the Advisory Agreement.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of each Sub-Advisory Agreement is available in the Funds annual report to
shareholders dated August 31, 2014. This report may be obtained by calling 1-866-882-1226 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
THE PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
This section includes information about the Funds portfolio managers, including information about other accounts they manage, the dollar range of Fund shares they own and how they are compensated.
Simple Alternatives
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. James Dilworth |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Compensation. The Adviser compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. Each of the portfolio managers compensation consists of a cash base salary and a discretionary performance bonus paid in cash that is based on overall profitability of the Adviser and performance of the Fund, and therefore in part based on the value of the Funds net assets and other client accounts they are managing.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with their management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby a portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated, and they will generally be allocated pro rata in proportion to the size of the orders or redemptions placed.
Blue Lion
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Charles W. Griege, Jr. |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
4 |
|
$ |
70.6 |
M |
4 |
|
$ |
70.6 |
M |
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Blue Lion were approximately $80 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. Blue Lion compensates the Funds portfolio manager for his management of the Fund. The portfolio managers compensation consists of a cash base salary and a bonus paid in cash that is based on overall profitability of Blue Lion and the performance of the Fund, and therefore in part based on the value of the Funds net assets and other client accounts they are managing.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with his management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby the portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, Blue Lion has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated.
Courage Capital
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Richard C. Patton |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
12 |
|
$ |
424 |
M |
12 |
|
$ |
424 |
M |
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Courage Capital were approximately $424 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. Courage Capital compensates the Funds portfolio manager for his management of the Fund. Courage Capital pays the portfolio manager out of its total revenues and other resources including the advisory fee earned with respect to the Fund. The portfolio managers compensation includes a fixed base salary and incentive components. It is expected that the portfolio manager will receive an incentive payment based on the revenues earned by Courage Capital from the Fund and from any other client accounts. It is expected that the incentive compensation component with respect to all portfolios managed by the portfolio manager can, and typically will, represent a significant portion of the portfolio managers overall compensation and can vary significantly from year to year.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio manager manages multiple portfolios for multiple clients. These accounts presently include private pooled investment vehicles and other separately managed accounts. The portfolio manager may have responsibility for managing multiple accounts with a common investment strategy or several investment strategies. Accordingly, client portfolios may have investment objectives, strategies, time horizons, tax considerations, and risk profiles that differ from those of the Fund. The portfolio manager makes investment
decisions for the Fund based on its investment objective, policies, practices, cash flows, and other relevant investment considerations. Consequently, the portfolio manager may purchase or sell securities for one client portfolio and not another client portfolio, and the performance of securities purchased for one portfolio may vary from the performance of securities purchased for other portfolios. The portfolio manager may place transactions on behalf of other clients that are directly or indirectly contrary to investment decisions made on behalf of the Fund, which has the potential to adversely impact the Fund, depending on market conditions. In addition, some of these other client account structures may have fee structures, such as performance based fees, that differ (and may be higher than) the Fund. Accordingly conflicts of interest may arise when Courage Capital has a particular financial incentive, such as a performance-based fee relating an account. In recognition of the fact that conflicts of interest are inherent in the investment management business, Courage Capital has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and manage the effects of actual or potential conflicts of interest in the areas of employee personal trading, managing multiple accounts for multiple clients, and allocation of investment opportunities. All employees of Courage Capital are subject to these policies.
Garelick
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Bruce Garelick |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
47.8 |
M |
1 |
|
$ |
47.8 |
M |
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Garelick were approximately $69.5 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. Garelick compensates the portfolio manager for his management of the Fund. As portfolio manager, Mr. Garelick will receive salary and benefits, as well as his ownership participation in the net operating profits of Garelick and any performance allocation from other accounts managed by Garelick. As needed, a portion of this participation will be retained in Garelick as working capital and/or invested in the Fund.
Conflicts of Interests. Garelick has adopted and implemented policies and procedures intended to address conflicts of interest relating to the management of multiple client accounts, including accounts with multiple fee arrangements, and the allocation of investment opportunities. Garelick will review investment decisions for the purpose of ensuring that all accounts with substantially similar investment objectives are treated equitably. The performance of similarly managed accounts will also be periodically compared to determine whether there are any unexplained significant discrepancies. Under Garelicks policies, the duty to disclose and obtain a clients consent to a conflict of interest must always be undertaken in a manner consistent with the employees duty to deal fairly with the client. Therefore, even when taking action with a clients consent, each employee must always seek to assure that the action taken is fair to the client.
Maerisland
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Mark Beder |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
22.1 |
M |
1 |
|
$ |
22.1 |
M |
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
2 |
|
$ |
21.5 |
M |
0 |
|
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Maerisland were approximately $67.1 million, as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. Maerisland compensates the Funds portfolio manager for his management of the Fund. As a member of senior management of the firm, the portfolio manager has ownership of the business and has compensation tied directly to the performance of the business. He is not compensated with any fixed compensation, such as a salary.
Conflicts of Interests. Maerisland will be subject to a variety of conflicts of interest in managing the Funds assets and affairs. For example, Maerisland will manage other U.S. investment partnerships as well as offshore investment funds and other investment accounts, including an offshore investment fund with substantially the same investment objectives as the Fund. These investment partnerships, funds and accounts may afford investors or accountholders more advantageous information, or other rights than those afforded to the Fund and may have different compensation arrangements. Maerisland may in the future manage additional investment funds and/or client accounts, and serve as investment manager or general partner of those entities. Some of those other investment funds and client accounts may have investment objectives similar in some respects or substantially identical to the Funds. Maerisland and its members and affiliates may invest or have an interest in those other investment funds or accounts and may themselves invest or trade in securities and other instruments, including positions in which the Fund invests. Neither Maerisland nor any of its affiliates is obligated to make any particular investment opportunity available to the Fund or to refrain from taking advantage of any opportunity, either for such other accounts or for themselves.
Incentive Allocation. The structure and payment of an incentive allocation to an affiliate of Maerisland by one or more other funds may involve a conflict of interest. The incentive allocation could encourage Maerisland to make riskier or more speculative investments than it otherwise would. The aggregate amounts the General Partner receives from other funds may be greater than amounts received by some investment advisers for similar services, although they may be lower than amounts received by other investment advisers.
Other Business Relationships and Activities. Maerisland and their respective members and employees devote as much of their resources and time to the Funds activities as Maerisland deem necessary and appropriate. Maerisland will serve as investment manager to at least one domestic fund and one offshore investment fund with substantially the same investment objectives as the Fund. Maerisland may in the future serve as investment manager of other investment funds and/or pooled investment vehicles, as well as of separate client accounts. Those other funds, vehicles or accounts may have investment objectives substantially the same as, or that overlap with, those of the Fund, or may have investment objectives that are substantially different from the Funds. These activities could be viewed as creating a conflict of interest in that the time, effort and resources of Maerisland and their personnel must be allocated between managing the Fund and their other activities. Differences in investment objectives and compensation arrangements between the Fund and other accounts managed by Maerisland may also create conflicts with respect to trading activities, investment opportunities and particular portfolio positions.
Transaction and Investment Opportunities. Conflicts of interest may arise in connection with transactions for the Funds account with transactions for other investment vehicles in which Maerisland and/or its affiliates are involved, any other advisory clients Maerisland may have and Maerisland or its members, employees and affiliates. Notwithstanding these conflicts, Maerisland will allocate transactions and opportunities among the various accounts it manages in a manner it believes to be as equitable as possible, considering each accounts objectives, programs, limitations and capital available for investment, but even accounts with similar objectives will often have different investment portfolios. In addition, Maerisland has adopted a Code of Ethics and conduct that describes the standards of business conduct that it requires of employees and accounts
owned predominantly by persons associated with Maerisland, and establishes procedures intended to prevent Maerisland and its personnel, and certain of their relatives, from inappropriately benefiting from Maerisland or relationships with its clients.
Sonica
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Alexander Fodor |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
1 |
|
$ |
47 |
M |
1 |
|
$ |
47 |
M |
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for Sonica Capital were approximately $53 million as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. Sonica compensates the portfolio manager for his management of the Fund. The portfolio managers compensation varies from year to year and is based on the performance and profitability of Sonica. Mr. Fodor is compensated through equity participation in Sonica and is not compensated with any fixed compensation, such as salary.
Conflicts of Interests. Sonica has adopted and implemented policies and procedures intended to address conflicts of interest relating to the management of multiple client accounts, including accounts with multiple fee arrangements, and the allocation of investment opportunities. Sonica will review investment decisions for the purpose of ensuring that all accounts with substantially similar investment objectives are treated equitably. The performance of similarly managed accounts will also be periodically compared to determine whether there are any unexplained significant discrepancies. In addition, Sonicas procedures relating to the allocation of investment opportunities require that similarly managed accounts participate in investment opportunities pro rata based on asset size. Allocations can be made through the advisers trading process based on the assets in each client account, and the advisers trading process is designed to ensure that, to the extent orders are aggregated, such orders are price-averaged. Finally, Sonicas procedures also require the objective allocation for limited opportunities (such as initial public offerings) to ensure fair and equitable allocation among accounts. These areas are monitored by Sonicas Chief Compliance Officer.
SRES
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, the portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. Matthew C. Gilman |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
9 |
|
$ |
572.7 |
M |
9 |
|
$ |
572.7 |
M |
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
* Total assets under management for SRES were approximately $589.4 million, as of August 31, 2014.
Compensation. SRES compensates the Funds portfolio manager for its management of the Fund. The portfolio managers compensation consists of a cash base salary, a discretionary performance bonus paid in cash that is based on overall profitability of SRES and performance of the Fund, an allocation as a general partner in the firm and profit participation in the firm.
Conflicts of Interests. The portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with his management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby the portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, SRES has established policies and procedures designed to address such conflicts, including, among others, policies and procedures relating to allocation of investment opportunities, soft dollars and aggregation of trades.
Fund Shares Owned by Portfolio Managers. The Fund is required to show the dollar amount range of the portfolio managers beneficial ownership of shares of the Fund as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 1934 Act).
As of the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the portfolio managers owned the following amounts of Fund shares:
Name |
|
Dollar Range of Fund Shares |
|
Simple Alternatives, LLC |
|
|
|
James Dilworth |
|
$100,001-$500,000 |
|
Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC |
|
|
|
Charles W. Griege, Jr. |
|
None |
|
Courage Capital Management, LLC |
|
|
|
Richard C. Patton |
|
None |
|
Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. |
|
|
|
Bruce Garelick |
|
None |
|
Maerisland Capital, LLC |
|
|
|
Mark Beder |
|
None |
|
Sonica Capital LLC |
|
|
|
Alexander Fodor |
|
None |
|
Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC |
|
|
|
Matthew C. Gilman |
|
None |
|
ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT
BNY serves as administrator to the Fund pursuant to administration and accounting services agreements dated September 30, 2010, as amended, with respect to the Fund (the Administration Agreements). BNY has agreed to furnish to the Fund statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Fund. In addition, BNY has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies and prepare materials required by the SEC or any state securities commission having jurisdiction over the Fund. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard. For its services to the Fund, BNY is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.08% of the Funds first $250 million of average net assets; 0.065% of the Funds next $250 million of average net assets; 0.055 of the Funds next $250 million of average net assets; 0.040% of the Funds next $750 million of average net assets; and 0.03% of the Funds average net assets in excess of $1.5 billion.
Prior to September 2012, the minimum monthly fee was $5,833 per month, exclusive of financial typesetting fees, costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees, sub-advisor fees, bank loan processing fees and out-of-pocket expenses. From September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013 (the Escalation Date), the minimum monthly fee was $4,375 per month. Effective as of the Escalation Date, for a period of consecutive months equal to the period from September 1, 2012 to the Escalation Date (the Escalation Period), the minimum monthly fee will be $7,292 per month. Following the Escalation Period, the minimum monthly fee will return to $5,833 per month. Due to the effect of the Advisers current contractual fee waiver agreement, the Adviser benefitted in the short-term from the lower minimum monthly fees.
In addition, prior to September 1, 2012, the Fund paid BNY an annual multi-manager fee of $12,000 for each Sub-Adviser to the Fund. Effective September 1, 2012 until the Escalation Date, the annual multi-manager fee was $6,000 per Sub-Adviser. Effective as of the Escalation Date, for the Escalation Period, the annual multi-manager fee will be $18,000 per Sub-Adviser. Following the Escalation Period, the annual multi-manager fee will return to $12,000 per Sub-Adviser. Due to the effect of the Advisers current contractual fee waiver agreement, the Adviser benefitted in the short-term from the lower annual multi-manager fees.
The Fund shall pay a termination fee to BNY if BNY ceases to serve as administrator to the Fund within the period from the Effective Date to the Escalation Date, provided, however, there shall be no termination fee where the Administrator initiates the termination. Such termination fee for a termination within this period is $3,958 multiplied by the number of months that have elapsed from the Effective Date until the termination date. A termination fee shall also apply if BNY ceases to serve as administrator to the Fund within the period from the Escalation Period, provided, however, there shall be no termination fee where the Administrator initiates the termination. Such termination fee for a termination within this period is $3,958 multiplied by the number of months remaining between the termination date and the end of the Escalation Period.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY. Under this agreement, BNY has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Funds registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
For the past three fiscal years, the S1 Fund paid BNY administration, accounting and regulatory administration fees and related out of pocket expenses as follows:
|
|
Administration,
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
248,754 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
123,199 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
172,883 |
|
$ |
12,000 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), One Wall Street, New York, New York 10286, is custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a Custodian Agreement dated July 18, 2011. Under the Custodian Agreement, BNY Mellon: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of the Fund; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. BNY Mellon is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that BNY Mellon remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Fund harmless from the acts and omissions of any sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, BNY Mellon receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Funds average gross assets; exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT
BNY, 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of the shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. BNY may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any affiliate. For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY provides services relating to the implementation of the Funds Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Distributor
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Fund, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Plan of Distribution
The Company has adopted a plan of distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (the Plan) that provides for Fund assets to be used for the payment for distribution services for Class R shares. Under the Plan, the Funds Class R shares will pay to the Distributor a fee at an annual rate of 0.25% of the Funds average net assets. The fee will be calculated daily and paid monthly. Because 12b-1 fees are paid out of
Fund assets attributable to Class R shares on an ongoing basis, they will, over time, increase the cost of an investment and may cost more than other types of sales charges.
The Plan is a compensation plan, which means that the Distributor is compensated regardless of its expenses, as opposed to a reimbursement plan which reimburses only for expenses incurred. Any 12b-1 fees received by the Distributor that are not used are held in retention for future distribution related expenses, and not for the profit of the Distributor.
Among other things, the Plan provides that: (1) the Distributor shall be required to submit quarterly reports to the Directors of the Company regarding all amounts expended under the Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made, including commissions, advertising, printing, interest, carrying charges and any allocated overhead expenses; (2) the Plan will continue in effect only so long as it is approved at least annually, and any material amendment thereto is approved, by the Companys Directors, including a majority of those Directors who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any agreements related to the Plan, acting in person at a meeting called for said purpose; (3) the aggregate amount to be spent by the Fund on the distribution of the Funds R Shares under the Plan shall not be materially increased without shareholder approval; and (4) while the Plan remains in effect, the selection and nomination of the Companys Directors who are not interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) shall be committed to the discretion of such Directors who are not interested persons of the Company.
Mr. Sablowsky, a Director of the Company, has an indirect interest in the operation of the Plan by virtue of his position with Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a broker-dealer.
The Fund did not have Plan expenses for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 because Class R shares were not yet operational.
PAYMENTS TO FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The Adviser and/or its affiliates, at their discretion, may make payments from their own resources and not from Fund assets to affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, banks (including bank trust departments), trust companies, registered investment advisers, financial planners, retirement plan administrators, insurance companies, and any other institution having a service, administration, or any similar arrangement with the Fund, its service providers or their respective affiliates, as incentives to help market and promote the Fund and/or in recognition of their distribution, marketing, administrative services, and/or processing support.
These additional payments may be made to financial intermediaries that sell Fund shares or provide services to the Fund, the Distributor or shareholders of the Fund through the financial intermediarys retail distribution channel and/or fund supermarkets. Payments may also be made through the financial intermediarys retirement, qualified tuition, fee-based advisory, wrap fee bank trust, or insurance (e.g., individual or group annuity) programs. These payments may include, but are not limited to, placing the Fund in a financial intermediarys retail distribution channel or on a preferred or recommended fund list; providing business or shareholder financial planning assistance; educating financial intermediary personnel about the Fund; providing access to sales and management representatives of the financial intermediary; promoting sales of Fund shares; providing marketing and educational support; maintaining share balances and/or for sub-accounting, administrative or shareholder transaction processing services. A financial intermediary may perform the services itself or may arrange with a third party to perform the services.
The Adviser and/or its affiliates may also make payments from their own resources to financial intermediaries for costs associated with the purchase of products or services used in connection with sales and marketing, participation in and/or presentation at conferences or seminars, sales or training programs, client and investor entertainment and other sponsored events. The costs and expenses associated with these efforts may include travel, lodging, sponsorship at educational seminars and conferences, entertainment and meals to the extent permitted by law.
Revenue sharing payments may be negotiated based on a variety of factors, including the level of sales, the amount of Fund assets attributable to investments in the Fund by financial intermediaries customers, a flat fee or other measures as determined from time to time by the Adviser and/or its affiliates. A significant purpose of these payments is to increase the sales of Fund shares, which in turn may benefit the Adviser through increased fees as Fund assets grow.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board and applicable rules, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers are responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers seek to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser and Sub-Advisers generally seek reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
Brokerage Transactions
Generally, equity securities, both listed and over-the-counter, are bought and sold through brokerage transactions for which commissions are payable. Purchases from underwriters will include the underwriting commission or concession, and purchases from dealers serving as market makers will include a dealers mark-up or reflect a dealers mark-down. Money market securities and other debt securities are usually bought and sold directly from the issuer or an underwriter or market maker for the securities. Generally, the Fund will not pay brokerage commissions for such purchases. When a debt security is bought from an underwriter, the purchase price will usually include an underwriting commission or concession. The purchase price for securities bought from dealers serving as market makers will similarly include the dealers mark up or reflect a dealers mark down. When the Fund executes transactions in the over-the-counter market, it will generally deal with primary market makers unless prices that are more favorable are otherwise obtainable.
In addition, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers may place a combined order for two or more accounts they manage, including the Fund, engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security if, in its judgment, joint execution is in the best interest of each participant and will result in best price and execution. Transactions involving commingled orders are allocated in a manner deemed equitable to each account or fund. Although it is recognized that, in some cases, the joint execution of orders could adversely affect the price or volume of the security that a particular account or the Fund may obtain, it is the opinion of the Adviser, the Sub-Advisers and the Companys Board of Directors that the advantages of combined orders outweigh the possible disadvantages of separate transactions. Nonetheless, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers believe that the ability of the Fund to participate in higher volume transactions will generally be beneficial to the Fund.
For the past three fiscal years, the Fund paid the following commissions to brokers on account of research services:
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
328,977 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
287,408 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
133,833 |
|
The following chart shows the aggregate brokerage commissions paid by S1 Fund for the past three fiscal years:
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
1,163,866 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
955,180 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012 |
|
$ |
432.238 |
|
The Fund is required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Fund as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. As of August 31, 2014, there were no securities held by the Fund of its regular broker-dealers.
Brokerage Selection
The Company does not expect to use one particular broker or dealer, and when one or more brokers is believed capable of providing the best combination of price and execution, the Funds Adviser and Sub-Advisers may select a broker based upon brokerage or research services provided to the Adviser or applicable Sub-Adviser. The Adviser and Sub-Advisers may pay a higher commission than otherwise obtainable from other brokers in return for such services only if a good faith determination is made that the commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.
Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits an investment adviser or sub-adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause a fund to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. In addition to agency transactions, certain Sub-Advisers may receive brokerage and research services in connection with certain riskless principal transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC guidance. Brokerage and research services include: (1) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (2) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and (3) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance, settlement, and custody). In the case of research services, the applicable Sub-Advisers believe that access to independent investment research is beneficial to their investment decision-making processes and, therefore, to the Fund.
To the extent research services may be a factor in selecting brokers, such services may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information as to particular companies and securities as well as market, economic, or institutional areas and information which assists in the valuation and pricing of investments. Examples of research-oriented services for which the applicable Sub-Advisers might utilize Fund commissions include research reports and other information on the economy, industries, sectors, groups of securities, individual companies, statistical information, political developments, technical market action, pricing and appraisal services, credit analysis, risk measurement analysis, performance and other analysis. The Sub-Advisers may use research services furnished by brokers in servicing all client accounts and not all services may necessarily be used in connection with the account that paid commissions to the broker providing such services. Information so received by the Sub-Advisers will be in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by the Sub-Adviser under its Sub-Advisory Agreement. Any advisory or other fees paid to the Sub-Advisers are not reduced as a result of the receipt of research services.
In some cases a Sub-Adviser may receive a service from a broker that has both a research and a non-research use. When this occurs, the applicable Sub-Adviser makes a good faith allocation, under all the circumstances, between the research and non-research uses of the service. The percentage of the service that is used for research purposes may be paid for with client commissions, while the applicable Sub-Adviser will use its own funds to pay for the percentage of the service that is used for non-research purposes. In making this good faith allocation, the Sub-Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest, but each applicable Sub-Adviser believes that its allocation procedures are reasonably
designed to ensure that it appropriately allocates the anticipated use of such services to their research and non-research uses.
From time to time, the Fund may purchase new issues of securities for clients in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the seller may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide the Adviser and Sub-Advisers with research services. FINRA has adopted rules expressly permitting these types of arrangements under certain circumstances. Generally, the seller will provide research credits in these situations at a rate that is higher than that which is available for typical secondary market transactions. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e).
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of a Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Company are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse a Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectuses from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or any Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Other Purchase Information
If shares of the Fund are held in a street name account with an Authorized Dealer, all recordkeeping, transaction processing and payments of distributions relating to the beneficial owners account will be performed by the Authorized Dealer, and not by the Fund and its Transfer Agent. Since the Fund will have no record of the beneficial owners transactions, a beneficial owner should contact the Authorized Dealer to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, to make changes in or give instructions concerning the account or to obtain information about the account. The transfer of shares in a street name account to an account with another dealer or to an account directly with the Fund involves special procedures and will require the beneficial owner to obtain historical purchase information about the shares in the account from the Authorized Dealer.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers, financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to the approval of the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectuses. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectuses are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectuses and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Fund qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Funds business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Funds taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total
assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Fund may invest in commodity-linked derivative instruments, such as commodity-linked structured notes, commodity-linked securities and other derivative instruments that provide exposure to commodity markets. The Fund has not obtained a ruling from the IRS that these investments will be treated as securities for purposes of the income and diversification tests described above. The Fund intends to limit its investment in these instruments so that they give rise to less than 10% of its income each year and comprise less than 50% of its assets at the close of each quarter of its taxable year. If the Fund were to fail to limit these investments, and if the investments were determined not to be securities for purposes of the income and diversification tests, the Fund could fail to qualify as a regulated investment company.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
State and Local Taxes
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which the Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectuses, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of Common Stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of the Fund will vote in the aggregate on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Ernst & Young LLP, One Commerce Square, Suite 700, 2005 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
Financial Statements
The audited financial statements, financial highlights, and notes thereto for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 in the Funds Annual Report to shareholders (the Annual Report) have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report, which is incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein.
Copies of the Annual Report may obtained at no charge by telephoning BNY Mellon at the phone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its
obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of
developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond
anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
SIMPLE ALTERNATIVES, LLC
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of the Adviser are set forth below. (The guidelines are reviewed periodically by the Adviser, and, accordingly, are subject to change. For purposes of these Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures described below, we our and us refers to the Adviser). The Adviser will delegate the voting of proxies to the underlying sub-advisers, who will vote in accordance with this policy.
Introduction
As an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act ), we have a fiduciary duty to act solely in the best interests of our clients. As part of this duty, we recognize that we must vote client securities in a timely manner free of conflicts of interest and in the best interests of our clients.
These policies and procedures for voting proxies for our investment advisory clients are intended to comply with Section 206 of, and Rule 206(4)-6 under, the Advisers Act.
Proxy Policies
We vote proxies relating to our portfolio securities in the best interest of our clients. We review on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted to a shareholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by our clients. Although we generally vote against proposals that may have a negative impact on our clients portfolio securities, we may vote for such a proposal if there exists compelling long-term reasons to do so.
Our proxy voting decisions are made by the senior officers who are responsible for monitoring each of our clients investments. To ensure that our vote is not the product of a conflict of interest, we require that: (i) anyone involved in the decision making process disclose to our Chief Compliance Officer any potential conflict that he or she is aware of and any contact that he or she has had with any interested party regarding a proxy vote; and (ii) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how we intend to vote on a proposal in order to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties.
Proxy Voting Records
You may obtain information about how we voted proxies by making a written request for proxy voting information to: Chief Compliance Officer, Simple Alternatives, LLC, 90 Grove Street, Suite 205, Ridgefield, CT 06877.
Adopted: September, 2010
APPENDIX C
PROXY VOTING POLICY OF BLUE LION CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
This statement sets forth the current policies and procedures of the Firm with regard to the voting of proxies over which the Firm has investment responsibility. These policies and procedures are available to the Firms Clients upon request.
The Firm acts in a fiduciary capacity with respect to each of its Clients (including private funds) and, therefore, the Firm must act to maximize the value of the accounts it manages. Each proxy proposal is reviewed on a case-by-case basis by a member of the Firms portfolio management team. It is Firm policy generally to vote against any management proposals that the Firm believes could prevent companies from realizing their maximum market value, or would insulate companies and/or management, from accountability to shareholders or prudent regulatory compliance. For example, the Firm will generally vote against any proposal that attempts to limit shareholder democracy, such as increased indemnification protections for directors or officers, or unequal voting rights, in a way that could restrict the ability of the shareholders to realize the value of their investment. The Firm will generally support proposals aimed at effectuating standard and necessary aspects of business operations, which will not typically have a significant effect on the value of the investment, such as name changes, elections of directors and employee stock purchase or ownership plans.
A record of all proxy decisions and the rationale for voting will be retained and available for inspection by Clients at any time in accordance with the procedures listed below.
Conflicts of Interest . The Firm must act as a fiduciary when voting proxies on behalf of its Clients. In that regard, the Firm will seek to avoid possible conflict of interest in connection with proxy voting as follows:
Where the Firm identifies a potential conflict of interest (such as if the Firm or an Employee is affiliated or associated with the issuer or the Firm holds the issuers securities on a proprietary basis), the Firm will initially determine whether such potential conflict is material. Where the Firm determines there is a potential for a material conflict of interest regarding a proxy, the Firm will take one or some of the following steps: (i) inform the Client of the material conflict and the Firms voting decision; (ii) discuss the proxy vote with the Client; (iii) fully disclose the material facts regarding the conflict and seek the Clients consent to vote the proxy as intended; and/or (iv) seek the recommendations of an independent third party. The Firm will document the steps it took to evidence that the proxy vote or abstention was in the best interest of the Client and not the product of any material conflict. Such documentation will be maintained in accordance with required recordkeeping procedures. See Recordkeeping above.
Disclosure of Policies and Procedures. The Firm will provide a summary of these policies and procedures in its Form ADV, Part II (or in a separate disclosure) to be furnished to Clients. The Firm will further provide a copy of these policies and procedures to any Client upon request. In addition, the Firm will inform its Clients how they can obtain further proxy voting information about their own proxies.
Disclosure of Voting Record . Upon a request from a Client, the Firm will furnish to such Client its proxy voting record with respect to such Clients securities.
ERISA Considerations. ERISA prohibits fiduciaries from acting on behalf of a plan in situations in which the fiduciary is subject to a conflict of interest. Thus, if the Firm determines that it has a conflict of interest with respect to the voting of proxies, the Firm must either seek the Clients informed direction or retain an independent person to direct the Firm how to vote the proxy in the best interests of the ERISA account.
Procedures
Receipt of Proxy Materials. The Firm receives proxy materials from issuers, custodians or broker-dealers through the mail in hard copy form with respect to any securities held in Client accounts.
Voting Decisions. The portfolio manager(s) has (have) responsibility for reviewing proxy materials and deciding how to vote on each issue or initiative for the securities he or she trades. RBL utilizes ProxyEdge to implement its voting instructions.
Recusal from Voting. Any Employee who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any issue presented for voting, or any relationship with the issuer, must so inform the Chief Compliance Officer and recuse him or herself from decisions on how proxies with respect to that issuer are voted.
Record of Votes Cast. Each year a member of each responsible portfolio management team creates a spreadsheet showing each security with respect to which votes were cast, the number of shares voted and how they were voted on each issue. The spreadsheet is maintained and updated to show such information for each proxy received throughout the year.
Client Requests for Votes. If a Client requests that their proxies be voted in a specific way on a specific issue, the portfolio manager or a member of the portfolio management team will advise the Client that it cannot accommodate the request
Client Requests for Voting Record . Clients may request information concerning how their proxies were voted. The portfolio manager or a member of the portfolio management team will notify the Chief Compliance Officer if he or she receives such request and will respond to such requests showing how Client shares were voted on particular issues. The Chief Compliance Officer will maintain a copy of all such requests and responses.
APPENDIX D
COURAGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
I. Statement of Policy
Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised. When the Adviser has discretion to vote the proxies of its clients, it will vote those proxies in the best interest of its clients and in accordance with these policies and procedures.
II. Proxy Voting Procedures
All proxies received by the Adviser will be sent to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer will:
· Keep a record of each proxy received;
· Forward the proxy to the Chief Manager;
· Determine which accounts managed by the Adviser hold the security to which the proxy relates;
· Provide the Chief Manager with a list of accounts that hold the security, together with the number of votes each account controls (reconciling any duplications), and the date by which the Adviser must vote the proxy in order to allow enough time for the completed proxy to be returned to the issuer prior to the vote taking place.
· Absent material conflicts (see Section IV below), the Chief Manager will determine how the Adviser should vote the proxy. The Chief Manager will send its decision on how the Adviser will vote a proxy to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer is responsible for completing the proxy and mailing the proxy in a timely and appropriate manner.
· The Adviser may retain a third party to assist it in coordinating and voting proxies with respect to client securities. If so, the Compliance Officer will monitor the third party to assure that all proxies are being properly voted and appropriate records are being retained.
III. Voting Guidelines
In the absence of specific voting guidelines from the client, the Adviser will vote proxies in the best interests of each particular client, which may result in different voting results for proxies for the same issuer. The Adviser believes that voting proxies in accordance with the following guidelines is in the best interests of its clients.
· Generally, the Adviser will vote in favor of routine corporate housekeeping proposals, including election of directors (where no corporate governance issues are implicated), selection of auditors, and increases in or reclassification of common stock.
· Generally, the Adviser will vote against proposals that make it more difficult to
replace members of the issuers board of directors, including proposals to stagger the board, cause management to be overrepresented on the board, introduce cumulative voting, introduce unequal voting rights, and create supermajority voting.
For other proposals, the Adviser shall determine whether a proposal is in the best interests of its clients and may take into account the following factors, among others:
· whether the proposal was recommended by management and the Advisers opinion of management;
· whether the proposal acts to entrench existing management; and
· whether, in the Advisers opinion, the proposal fairly or overly compensates management for past and future performance.
IV. Conflicts of Interest
1. The Chief Manager shall disclose all known conflicts to the Compliance Officer.
2. The Compliance Officer will identify any additional conflicts that exist between the interests of the Adviser and its clients. This examination will include a review of the relationship of the Adviser and its affiliates with the issuer of each security and any of the issuers affiliates to determine if the issuer is a client of the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser or has some other relationship with the Adviser or a client of the Adviser.
If a material conflict exists, the Adviser will determine whether voting in accordance with the voting guidelines and factors described above is in the best interests of the client. The Adviser will also determine whether it is appropriate to disclose the conflict to the affected clients and, except in the case of clients that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), give the clients the opportunity to vote their proxies themselves. In the case of ERISA clients, if the Investment Management Agreement reserves to the ERISA client the authority to vote proxies when the Adviser determines it has a material conflict that affects its best judgment as an ERISA fiduciary, the Adviser will give the ERISA client the opportunity to vote the proxies themselves. Absent the client reserving voting rights, the Adviser will vote the proxies solely in accordance with the policies outlined in Section III. Voting Guidelines above.
V. Disclosure
1. The Adviser will disclose in its Form ADV Part II that clients may contact the Compliance Officer, via e-mail or telephone, in order to obtain information on how the Adviser voted such clients proxies, and to request a copy of these policies and procedures. If a client requests this information, the Compliance Officer will prepare a written response to the client that lists, with respect to each voted proxy about which the client has inquired, (a) the name of the issuer; (b) the proposal voted upon, and (c) how the Adviser voted the clients proxy.
2. A concise summary of this Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures will be included in the Advisers Form ADV Part II, and will be updated whenever these policies and procedures are updated. The Compliance Officer will arrange for a copy of this summary to be sent to all existing clients (who will already have been sent Advisers Form ADV Part II, which is required to be offered to clients annually) either as a separate mailing or along with a periodic account statement or other correspondence sent to clients.
VI. Recordkeeping
The Compliance Officer will maintain files relating to the Advisers proxy voting procedures in an easily accessible place. Records will be maintained and preserved for five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on a record, with records for the first two years kept in the offices of the Adviser. Records of the following will be included in the files:
· Copies of this proxy voting policy and procedures, and any amendments thereto.
· A copy of each proxy statement that the Adviser receives.
· A record of each vote that the Adviser casts.
· A copy of each written client request for information on how the Adviser voted such clients proxies, and a copy of any written response to any (written or oral) client request for information on how the Adviser voted its proxies.
APPENDIX E
MAERISLAND CAPITAL, LLC
PROXY AND CORPORATE ACTION VOTING
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
1. Proxy Guidelines
Generally, Maerisland Capital, LLC (Maerisland) will vote based upon the recommendations of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), an unaffiliated third party corporate governance research service that provides in-depth analyses of shareholder meeting agendas, vote recommendations, recordkeeping and vote disclosure services .
The Supplement to Appendix C of this Compliance Manual contains a summary of the Proxy Voting Guidelines employed by ISS and adopted by Maerisland for voting proxies. Although ISS analyses are reviewed and considered in making a final voting decision, Maerisland will make the ultimate decision. As a matter of policy, the employees, officers, or principals of Maerisland will not be influenced by outside sources whose interests conflict with the interests of its Clients.
In addition, unless prior approval is obtained from Maerislands COO, the following must be adhered to:
· Maerisland shall not engage in conduct that involves an attempt to change or influence the control of a public company. In addition, all communications regarding proxy issues or corporate actions between companies or their agents, or with fellow shareholders shall be for the sole purpose of expressing and discussing Maerislands concerns for its advisory clients interests and not for an attempt to influence or control management.
· Maerisland will not announce its voting intentions and the reasons therefore.
· Maerisland shall not participate in a proxy solicitation or otherwise seek proxy-voting authority from any other public company shareholder.
Maerisland has the responsibility to process proxies and maintain proxy records pursuant to SEC rules and regulations. Therefore, Maerisland will attempt to process every vote it receives for all domestic and foreign proxies. However, there may be situations in which Maerisland cannot vote proxies. For example:
If the cost of voting a proxy outweighs the benefit of voting, Maerisland may refrain from processing that vote.
If Maerisland has outstanding sell orders or intends to sell, the proxies for those meetings may not be voted in order to facilitate the sale of those securities. Although Maerisland may hold shares on a companys record date, should it sell them prior to the companys meeting date, Maerisland ultimately may decide not to vote those shares.
Maerisland will generally refrain from voting proxies on foreign securities that are subject to share blocking restrictions.
Maerisland may vote against an agenda item where no further information is provided, particularly in non- U.S. markets. Maerisland may also enter an abstain vote on the election of certain directors from time to time based on individual situations, particularly where Maerisland is not in favor of electing a director and there is no provision for voting against such director.
If a Maerisland portfolio manager determines that the interests of clients is best served to vote differently from the ISS recommended vote, approval must be obtained from the COO or designee. Maerisland will adhere to the Conflict of Interest (below) section of this policy in all instances where the recommended vote is not taken.
Maerisland will periodically review the outside partys voting standards and guidelines to make certain that proxy issues are voted in accordance with the adopted proxy voting guidelines and the avoidance of conflicts of interest.
2. Proxy Procedures
Maerisland intends to engage ISS to assist in the administrative aspects for the voting of proxies. ISS is responsible for coordinating with Clients custodians to ensure that all proxy materials received by the custodians relating to the Clients portfolio securities are processed in a timely fashion. To the extent applicable, ISS votes all proxies in accordance with its own proxy voting guidelines (please see Proxy Guidelines above), which have been reviewed and adopted by Maerisland.
Upon request, Maerisland will furnish a copy of the policies and procedures to the requesting client and information on how the clients proxies were voted.
3. Conflicts of Interest
Occasions may arise where a person or organization involved in the proxy voting process may have a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest may exist, for example, if Maerisland has a business relationship with (or is actively soliciting business from) either the company soliciting the proxy or a third party that has a material interest in the outcome of a proxy vote or that is actively lobbying for a particular outcome of a proxy vote. Any individual with knowledge of a personal conflict of interest (e.g., familial relationship with company management) relating to a particular referral item shall disclose that conflict to the Chief Operating Officer and otherwise remove him or herself from the proxy voting process. The COO will review each item referred to by Maerislands investment professionals to determine if a conflict of interest exists and will draft a Conflicts Report for each referral item that (1) describes any conflict of interest; (2) discusses the procedures used to address such conflict of interest; and (3) discloses any contacts from parties outside Maerisland (other than routine communications from proxy solicitors) with respect to the referral item not otherwise reported in an investment professionals recommendation. The Conflicts Report will also include written confirmation that any recommendation from an investment professional provided under circumstances where a conflict of interest exists was made solely on the investment merits and without regard to any other consideration.
Procedures use to address the conflict address are as follows:
(a) Vote in Accordance with the Guidelines . To the extent that Adviser has little or no discretion to deviate from the Guidelines with respect to the proposal in question, Adviser shall vote in accordance with such pre-determined voting policy.
(b) Obtain Consent of Clients . To the extent that Adviser has discretion to deviate from the Guidelines with respect to the proposal in question, Adviser will disclose the conflict to the relevant clients and obtain their consent to the proposed vote prior to voting the securities. The disclosure to the client will include sufficient detail regarding the matter to be voted on and the nature of Advisers conflict that the client would be able to make an informed decision regarding the vote. If a client does not respond to such a conflict disclosure request or denies the request, Adviser will abstain from voting the securities held by that clients account.
(c) Client Directive to Use an Independent Third Party . Alternatively, a client may, in writing, specifically direct Adviser to forward all proxy matters in which Adviser has a conflict of interest regarding the clients securities to an identified independent third party for review and recommendation or to consult with an identified independent third partys recommendations. Where such independent third partys recommendations are received on a timely basis or are otherwise publicly available, Adviser will vote all such proxies in accordance with such third partys recommendation. If the third partys recommendations are not timely received, Adviser will abstain from voting the securities held by that clients account.
The Chief Operating Officer will review the proxy proposal for conflicts of interest as part of the overall vote review process.
APPENDIX F
STARWOOD REAL ESTATE SECURITIES, LLC
PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
Introduction
The rules under the Advisers Act require every registered investment adviser to adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes proxies in the best interest of its clients.
Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC (SRES) has voting authority and responsibility with respect to securities held by the Funds and may have voting authority with respect to securities held by other Clients. In addition to proxy solicitations in connection with equity securities of traditional operating companies, proxy voting is also deemed to include any consent requested in matters such as bankruptcy or insolvency, covenant waivers in connection with debt, approvals regarding the restructuring of debt and other rights and remedies with respect to securities.
In the case of managed accounts, it will be clearly stated in the pertinent investment advisory agreement whether or not SRES has proxy voting authority and responsibility. If SRES inadvertently receives any proxy materials on behalf of a Client for which it does not have proxy voting responsibility, SRES will promptly forward such materials to the Client.
Any questions about this document should be directed to the SRESs Chief Compliance Officer (CCO).
General Policy
In voting proxies, SRES is guided by general fiduciary principles. SRES votes proxies in the manner that it believes is consistent with efforts to achieve a Clients stated investment objectives, including maximizing the value of the Clients portfolio.
SRESs general policy is to vote in accordance with the recommendation of an issuers management on routine and administrative matters, unless SRES has a particular reason to vote to the contrary. This general policy should not be interpreted as a pre-determination, however, to vote in favor of the issuers management, as SRES will review all Client proxies in accordance with the general fiduciary principles noted above. With respect to non-recurring or extraordinary matters, SRES will vote on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the goals of achieving a Clients stated objectives.
SRES at times may determine that refraining from voting a proxy is in a Clients best interest, such as when SRESs analysis of a particular proxy indicates that the cost of voting the proxy may exceed the expected benefit to the Client. The CCO is responsible for conducting or supervising an appropriate cost- benefit analysis when there is reason to believe that voting a particular proxy may not be in a Clients best interest. The CCO will maintain documentation of any cost-benefit analysis with respect to any Client proxy that is not voted by SRES.
In certain situations, a Client may provide SRES with a statement of proxy voting policy or guidelines. In these situations, SRES will seek to comply with such policy or guidelines to the extent that it would not be inconsistent with applicable regulation or SRESs fiduciary responsibilities.
General Procedures
The CCO, as appropriate, will provide proxy solicitation information and materials to SRESs pertinent investment personnel for their review and recommendations.
The CCO (or his designee) is responsible for ensuring that all proxy votes are submitted to the correct
party in a timely manner.
SRES will not vote proxies received after a Client terminates its advisory relationship with SRES. The CCO will promptly return such proxies to the sender, accompanied by a statement indicating that SRESs advisory relationship with the Client has terminated, or forward to prior Clients attention.
SRES in the future may utilize a third party service provider to assist in the proxy voting process. At such time, additional provisions will be added to these Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures with respect to SRESs use, oversight and evaluation of such service provider.
SRES presently advises a plan asset account subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. Pertinent provisions are attached as Attachment 2 hereto.
Conflicts of Interest
The CCO will monitor the potential for conflicts of interest on the part of SRES with respect to proxy voting as a result of personal relationships, significant Client relationships, potential conflicts of interest among Clients or special circumstances that may arise during the conduct of SRESs business. If a conflict of interest is identified, SRES will not make related proxy voting decisions until it has been determined that the conflict of interest is not material or a method for resolving the conflict of interest has been agreed upon and implemented.
The CCO will determine whether a conflict of interest is material. Materiality determinations will be based on an assessment of the particular facts and circumstances. The CCO (or his designee) will maintain a written record of all materiality determinations.
If it is determined that a conflict of interest is not material, SRES may vote the proxy, notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.
If it is determined that a conflict of interest is material, one or more methods may be used to resolve the conflict, including:
· disclosing the conflict to the Client and obtaining its consent before voting;
· engaging a third party to recommend a vote with respect to the proxy; or
· such other method as is deemed appropriate under the circumstances given the nature of the conflict.
The CCO (or his designee) will maintain a written record of the method used to resolve a material conflict of interest.
Disclosure to Clients
Registered investment advisers are required to describe to clients their proxy voting policy, provide copies of the policy on request and disclose to clients how they can obtain information from the adviser on how their securities were voted.
A concise summary of these Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures is disclosed in Part 2 of SRESs Form ADV along with other required information ( e.g. , whether, and if so how, clients may direct the proxy vote).
Clients and Fund Investors may request a copy of these Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures, as well as relevant proxy voting records, by contacting SRES.
It is the SRESs policy not to comment on specific proxy votes with respect to securities held in a Client account in response to inquiries from persons who are not specifically authorized by such Client.
Recordkeeping
SRES will retain the following information in connection with each proxy vote:
· the issuers name;
· the securitys ticker symbol or CUSIP number, as applicable;
· the shareholder meeting date;
· the number of shares voted;
· a brief identification of the matter voted on;
· whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;
· whether SRES casts a vote;
· how SRES casts its vote ( e.g. , for or against the proposal, or abstain); and
· whether SRES casts its vote with or against management
SRES also will maintain the following records:
· a copy of these Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures;
· a copy of each proxy statement that SRES receives regarding client securities;
· documentation relating to identifying and resolving conflicts of interest, if applicable;
· any documents created by SRES that were material to a proxy voting decision or that memorialized the basis for that recommendation; and
· a copy of each written Client request for information on how SRES voted proxies on behalf of the Client and a copy of any written response by SRES to any (written or oral) Client request for information on how SRES voted proxies on behalf of the requesting Client.
Such records shall be maintained and preserved in an easily accessible place for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on such record, the first two years in SRESs office.
In lieu of keeping copies of proxy statements, SRES may rely on proxy statements filed on the SECs EDGAR system.
Class Action Notices
SRES does not commit to participate in all class actions that may arise with regard to Client portfolio securities. Upon receipt of class action information, the CCO will evaluate the costs versus the benefits of participation in the suit for each pertinent Client. Unless the CCO determines that it would be in the best interests of the Client, SRES will not participate in the class action on behalf of the Client.
ATTACHMENT 1
REPORT OF PROXY VOTING CONFLICTS
To: [LEGAL COUNSEL]
From: [NAME]
Date: [DATE]
Re: Proxy Voting Conflict of Interest
Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC votes proxies in the best interest of its clients.
Per that policy, I have listed below any conflicts of interest that came to my attention and the manner in which such conflicts were mitigated:
Signature: |
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Date: |
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ATTACHMENT 2
Proxy Voting for ERISA Advisory Clients
· An investment adviser to an ERISA plan is subject to fiduciary duties under ERISA with respect to the plan, including regarding proxy voting if the adviser has authority to vote proxies appurtenant to the plan assets.
· Fiduciary obligations . An adviser with authority to vote plan asset proxies (the Adviser) must vote such proxies in accordance with the ERISA fiduciary obligations of prudence and loyalty (the Fiduciary Obligations).
· Duty of loyalty . Section 404(a)(1)(A) of ERISA requires plan fiduciaries (including investment advisers) to discharge their duties solely in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries.
· Duty of prudence . Section 404(a)(1)(B) requires plan fiduciaries to act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence that a prudent person acting in a similar capacity would exercise under similar circumstances. This is considered primarily a procedural requirement.
· Economic value . The Fiduciary Obligations require the Adviser, acting in accordance with reasonable and prudent procedures, to consider only those factors that relate to the economic value of the plans investment when voting plan asset proxies and not subordinate the interests of the participants and their beneficiaries to unrelated objectives.
· Votes shall only be cast in accordance with a plans economic interests.
· The Department of Labor (the DOL) takes the position that active monitoring and communication with corporate management is consistent with a fiduciarys obligations under ERISA when there is a reasonable expectation that such activities, taking into account the costs involved, are likely to enhance the value of the plans investment.
· Cost of voting . The Fiduciary Obligations require the Adviser to vote proxies on issues that may affect the economic value of the plans investment. However, if the Adviser reasonably determines that the cost of voting (including the research, if necessary, to determine how to vote) is likely to exceed the expected economic benefits of voting, or if the exercise of voting results in the imposition of unwarranted trading or other restrictions, the adviser has an obligation to refrain from voting.
· In making this determination, objectives, considerations and economic effects unrelated to the plans economic interests cannot be considered.
· Investment policy statements . Many plans have investment policy statements, which may provide guidelines or general instructions concerning proxy voting decisions.
· ERISA Section 404(a)(1)(D) requires a fiduciary (including a plans investment adviser) to discharge its duties in accordance with the documents and instruments governing the plan insofar as such documents and instruments are consistent with ERISA requirements. If a plan provision conflicts with ERISA requirements, a fiduciary must ignore the plan provision.
· As a condition of the pertinent investment management agreement, the Adviser may be required to comply with the terms of a plans investment policy statement, including with respect to proxy voting.
· The Adviser must comply with such investment policy statement to the extent permitted by Section 404(a)(1)(D). However, if the investment policy statement is not consistent with the Fiduciary Obligations, then the directives/guidelines must not be followed.
· Pooled vehicles . Advisers of pooled investment accounts holding the assets of more than one
plan may be subject to conflicting statements of investment policies.
· The DOL has determined that advisers of pooled accounts that are required to comply with multiple proxy voting policies must, to the extent possible, comply with each policy (assuming compliance with each policy would be consistent with Section 404(a)(1)(D)).
· In the case of conflicting proxy voting policies, the Adviser must vote proxies to reflect each policy in proportion to the respective plans interest in the pooled account, unless in the particular situation voting in such a manner would be imprudent or otherwise inconsistent with applicable law.
· Alternatively, the Adviser may maintain a single investment policy, including a proxy voting policy, and require all participating investors (including ERISA plans) to adopt the policy as a condition of investing in the pooled account. A policy initiated by the Adviser and adopted by the participating plans would be regarded as an instrument governing the participating plans, and the Advisers compliance with such a policy would be governed by Section 404(a)(1)(D).
· Record maintenance . The Adviser must maintain accurate proxy voting records.
· The named fiduciary appointing the Adviser periodically must monitor the Advisers decisions made and actions taken with regard to proxy voting decisions.
· The Adviser must maintain proxy voting records that will enable the named fiduciary to review not only the Advisers voting procedure with respect to plan-owned stock, but also to review the actions taken in individual proxy voting situations.
APPENDIX G
SONICA CAPITAL LLC
PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
I. STATEMENT OF POLICY
Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised. When the Adviser has discretion to vote the proxies of its clients, it will vote those proxies in the best interest of its clients and in accordance with these policies and procedures.
II. PROXY VOTING PROCEDURES
All proxies received by the Adviser will be sent to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer will:
· Keep a record of each proxy received;
· Forward the proxy to the portfolio manager or other person who makes the voting decision in the firm (hereafter referred to as Chief Investment Officer);
· Determine which accounts managed by the Adviser hold the security to which the proxy relates;
· Provide the Chief Investment Officer with a list of accounts that hold the security, together with the number of votes each account controls (reconciling any duplications), and the date by which the Adviser must vote the proxy in order to allow enough time for the completed proxy to be returned to the issuer prior to the vote taking place.
· Absent material conflicts (see Section IV below), the Chief Investment Officer will determine how the Adviser should vote the proxy. The Chief Investment Officer will send its decision on how the Adviser will vote a proxy to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer is responsible for completing the proxy and mailing the proxy in a timely and appropriate manner.
· The Adviser may retain a third party to assist it in coordinating and voting proxies with respect to client securities. If so, the Compliance Officer will monitor the third party to assure that all proxies are being properly voted and appropriate records are being retained.
III. VOTING GUIDELINES
In the absence of specific voting guidelines from the client, the Adviser will vote proxies in the best interests of each particular client, which may result in different voting results for proxies for the same issuer. The Adviser believes that voting proxies in accordance with the following guidelines is in the best interests of its clients.
· Generally, the Adviser will vote in favor of routine corporate housekeeping proposals, including election of directors (where no corporate governance issues are implicated), selection of auditors, and increases in or reclassification of common stock.
· Generally, the Adviser will vote against proposals that make it more difficult to replace members of the issuers board of directors, including proposals to stagger the board, cause management to be overrepresented on the board, introduce cumulative voting, introduce unequal voting rights, and create supermajority voting.
For other proposals, the Adviser shall determine whether a proposal is in the best interests of its clients and may take into account the following factors, among others:
· whether the proposal was recommended by management and the Advisers opinion of management;
· whether the proposal acts to entrench existing management; and
· whether the proposal fairly compensates management for past and future performance.
IV. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
1. The Compliance Officer will identify any conflicts that exist between the interests of the Adviser and its clients. This examination will include a review of the relationship of the Adviser and its affiliates with the issuer of each security and any of the issuers affiliates to determine if the issuer is a client of the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser or has some other relationship with the Adviser or a client of the Adviser.
2. If a material conflict exists, the Adviser will determine whether voting in accordance with the voting guidelines and factors described above is in the best interests of the client. The Adviser will also determine whether it is appropriate to disclose the conflict to the affected clients and, except in the case of clients that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), give the clients the opportunity to vote their proxies themselves. In the case of ERISA clients, if the Investment Management Agreement reserves to the ERISA client the authority to vote proxies when the Adviser determines it has a material conflict that affects its best judgment as an ERISA fiduciary, the Adviser will give the ERISA client the opportunity to vote the proxies themselves. Absent the client reserving voting rights, the Adviser will vote the proxies solely in accordance with the policies outlined in Section III, Voting Guidelines above.
V. DISCLOSURE
1. The Adviser will disclose in its Form ADV Part 2 that clients may contact the Compliance Officer, via e-mail or telephone, in order to obtain information on how the Adviser voted such clients proxies, and to request a copy of these policies and procedures. If a client requests this information, the Compliance Officer will prepare a written response to the client that lists, with respect to each voted proxy about which the client has inquired, (a) the name of the issuer; (b) the proposal voted upon, and (c) how the Adviser voted the clients proxy.
2. A concise summary of this Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures will be included in the Advisers Form ADV Part 2, and will be updated whenever these policies and procedures are updated. The Compliance Officer will arrange for a copy of this summary to be sent to all existing clients either as a separate mailing or along with a periodic account statement or other correspondence sent to clients.
VI. RECORDKEEPING
The Compliance Officer will maintain files relating to the Advisers proxy voting procedures in an easily accessible place. Records will be maintained and preserved for five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on a record, with records for the first two years kept in the offices of the Adviser. Records of the following will be included in the files:
· Copies of this proxy voting policy and procedures, and any amendments thereto.
· A copy of each proxy statement that the Adviser receives, provided however that the Adviser may rely on obtaining a copy of proxy statements from the SECs EDGAR system for those proxy statements that are so available.(1)
· A record of each vote that the Adviser casts.(2)
· A copy of any document the Adviser created that was material to making a decision how to vote proxies, or that memorializes that decision.
· A copy of each written client request for information on how the Adviser voted such clients proxies, and a copy of any written response to any (written or oral) client request for information on how the Adviser voted its proxies.
(1) The Adviser may choose instead to have a third party retain a copy of proxy statements (provided that the third party undertakes to provide a copy of the proxy statements promptly upon request).
(2) The Adviser may also rely on a third party to retain a copy of the votes cast (provided that the third party undertakes to provide a copy of the record promptly upon request).
APPENDIX H
GARELICK CAPITAL PARTNERS, L.P.
PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES (April, 2013)
The Company has adopted a written proxy voting policy and related procedures which are intended to assure that client securities are voted in the best interests of the client, and which address material conflicts of interest that may arise between the investment adviser and its clients. A copy of the policy is set forth below. All Employees involved in portfolio management and/or the voting of client proxies must familiarize themselves with and adhere to this policy, a copy of which is set forth below. A summary of the Companys proxy voting policies and procedures will be set forth in the Companys Form ADV Part 2, when and if applicable , along with information about how each client may learn of the Companys specific votes of proxies with respect to the clients securities. The Company will furnish a copy of the full policies and procedures to clients upon request.
Voting Procedures
General . The Company reviews each proxy solicitation to determine if a Fund has a material interest in the outcome of a Vote and how a Vote may be in furtherance of such interest. Although the Company may engage outside advisors or other service providers to act as voting agent, to provide analysis of issuer and shareholder proposals, or to provide voting guidelines for reference, the Company generally does not delegate the proxy voting decision to, or defer to the recommendation of, outside advisors or other service providers. The Managing Partner may, in his sole discretion, abstain from voting under certain circumstances, such as when the particular Fund is no longer a shareholder of an issuer on the date of a Vote, a Fund does not have a material holding in the issuer, the Managing Partner determines that the cost of a Vote would exceed the expected benefit of the Vote to a Fund, or any other time that the Managing Partner determines a Vote would be immaterial to a Fund.
Conflicts of Interest. The Companys Managing Partner has the responsibility to review all Votes. To the extent the Managing Partner believes a Vote presents any conflicts of interest, regardless of whether they are actual or perceived, he will consult with the CCO in making a determination of how to vote or whether to abstain from voting. In addition, if at any time any Company employee becomes aware of any potential or actual conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest regarding any particular Voting decision, he or she should contact the Managing Partner and CCO. If any investment professional is pressured or lobbied either from within or outside of the Company with respect to any particular Voting decision, he or she should contact the Managing Partner and CCO.
Where the Managing Partner and CCO deem appropriate in their sole discretion, unaffiliated third parties may be used to help resolve conflicts. In this regard, the CCO shall have the power to retain independent fiduciaries, consultants, or professionals to assist with voting decisions and/or to delegate voting or consent powers to such fiduciaries, consultants or professionals.
Voting. All Company personnel are responsible for promptly forwarding all proxy materials, consent or voting requests or notices or materials related thereto to the Managing Partner. In most cases, the Managing Partner will make the decision as to the appropriate vote for any particular Vote, in consultation with the CCO, as necessary.
Recordkeeping. The Companys Votes shall be maintained in the Companys proxy binder which includes all proxies received by the Company and a record of all voting decisions made with respect to any proxies voted by the Company. The Companys Recordkeeping Policies and Procedures apply to Votes. Company personnel should refer to the Recordkeeping Policies and Procedures for additional guidance and information
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS U.S. LOW VOLATILITY EQUITY FUND
a series of THE RBB FUND, INC.
Class A Shares Ticker Symbol: LVOLX
Retail Shares Ticker Symbol: SGLVX
Class I Shares Ticker Symbol: SILVX
December 31, 2014
Investment Adviser:
SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides supplementary information pertaining to shares of three classes, Class A Shares, Retail Shares and Class I Shares (collectively, the Shares), representing interests in the Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read only in conjunction with the Funds Prospectus dated December 31, 2014 (the Prospectus) and the Funds Annual Report dated August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report). The financial statements and notes contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other part of the Annual Report is incorporated by reference herein. Copies of the Prospectus and Annual Report may be obtained free of charge by calling toll-free 855-744-8500.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION |
1 |
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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES |
1 |
|
|
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS |
1 |
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NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS |
2 |
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS |
12 |
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|
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS |
14 |
|
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MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY |
15 |
|
|
CODE OF ETHICS |
21 |
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PROXY VOTING |
21 |
|
|
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |
22 |
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES |
22 |
|
|
INVESTMENT ADVISER |
22 |
|
|
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS |
24 |
|
|
ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT |
25 |
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|
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT |
25 |
|
|
TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT |
26 |
|
|
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |
26 |
|
|
PAYMENTS TO FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES |
28 |
|
|
FUND TRANSACTIONS |
28 |
|
|
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION |
31 |
|
|
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES |
33 |
|
|
VALUATION OF SHARES |
33 |
|
|
TAXES |
33 |
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|
MISCELLANEOUS |
35 |
|
|
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
36 |
|
|
APPENDIX A - DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS |
A-1 |
|
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APPENDIX B - PROXY VOTING |
B-1 |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Company is an open-end management investment company currently operating 23 separate portfolios. The Company is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and was organized as a Maryland corporation on February 29, 1988. This SAI pertains to the Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund. Summit Global Investments, LLC (Summit or the Adviser) serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES
The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Fund.
The Fund seeks to outperform the S&P 500 Index over a market cycle while reducing overall volatility. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. The Fund may not necessarily invest in all of the instruments or use all of the investment techniques permitted by the Funds Prospectus and this SAI, or invest in such instruments or engage in such techniques to the full extent permitted by the Funds investment policies and limitations.
Portfolio Turnover Rate. Portfolio turnover rate is defined under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) rules as the greater of the value of the securities purchased or securities sold, excluding all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less, divided by the average monthly value of such securities owned during the year. Based on this definition, instruments with remaining maturities of less than one year are excluded from the calculation of the portfolio turnover rate. The Fund may at times hold investments in other short-term instruments, such as repurchase agreements, which are excluded for purposes of computing portfolio turnover.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS
Equity Securities. Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and consist of common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate. The Fund purchases equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Equity securities are described in more detail below:
· Common Stock. Common stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock.
· Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common stock in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock.
· Warrants. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy an equity security at a specific price for a specific period of time. Changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying security. The price of a warrant may be more volatile than the price of its underlying security, and a warrant may offer greater potential for capital appreciation as well as capital loss. Warrants do not entitle a holder to dividends or voting rights with respect to the underlying security and do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company. A warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. These factors can make warrants more speculative than other types of investments.
· Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.
Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at a price above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.
· Small and Medium Capitalization Issuers. Investing in equity securities of small and medium capitalization companies often involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of depth of management. The securities of smaller companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and even if listed on a national securities exchange may not be traded in volumes typical for that exchange. Consequently, the securities of smaller companies are less likely to be liquid, may have limited market stability, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.
Special Note Regarding Market Events. Events in the financial sector over the past several years have resulted in reduced liquidity in credit and fixed income markets and 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 Funds 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 Funds 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.
NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS
Commercial Paper. Commercial paper is the term used to designate unsecured short-term promissory notes issued by corporations and other entities. Maturities on these issues vary from a few to 270 days.
Corporate Obligations. The Fund may invest in debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations without limit on credit quality or maturity. See Appendix A to this SAI for a description of corporate debt ratings. An issuer of debt obligations may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal. Also, changes in the financial strength of an issuer or changes in the credit rating of a security may affect its value.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be prone to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cyber security include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber-attacks. Cyber security breaches affecting the Fund or its Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber security breaches may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its NAVs, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential business information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Funds investment in such companies to lose value.
Forward Commitment and When-Issued Transactions. The Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis (subject to its investment policies and restrictions). These transactions involve a commitment by the Fund to purchase or sell securities at a future date (ordinarily one or two months later). 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 commitments are negotiated directly with the other party, and such commitments are not traded on exchanges. The Fund will not enter into such transactions for the purpose of leverage.
When-issued purchases and forward commitments enable the Fund to lock in what is believed by the Adviser to be an attractive price or yield on a particular security for a period of time, regardless of future changes in interest rates. For instance, in periods of rising interest rates and falling prices, the Fund might sell securities it owns on a forward commitment basis to limit its exposure to falling prices. In periods of falling interest rates and rising prices, the Fund might sell securities it owns and purchase the same or a similar security on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, thereby obtaining the benefit of currently higher yields. When-issued securities or forward commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date.
The value of securities purchased on a when-issued or forward commitment basis and any subsequent fluctuations in their value are reflected in the computation of the Funds Net Asset Value (NAV) starting on the date of the agreement to purchase the securities, and the Fund is subject to the rights and risks of ownership of the securities on that date. The Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until they are paid for and delivered on the settlement date. When the Fund makes a forward commitment to sell securities it owns, the proceeds to be received upon settlement are included in the Funds assets. Fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities are not reflected in the Funds NAV as long as the commitment to sell remains in effect. Settlement of when-issued purchases and forward commitment transactions generally takes place within two months after the date of the transaction, but the Fund may agree to a longer settlement period.
The Fund will make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued basis or to 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 renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into. The Fund also may 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, and its distributions from any net realized capital gains will be taxable to shareholders. When the Fund purchases securities on a when-issued or forward commitment basis, the Fund or the custodian will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities having a value (determined daily) at least equal to the amount of the Funds purchase commitments. These procedures are designed to ensure that the Fund will maintain sufficient assets at all times
to cover its obligations under when-issued purchases and forward commitments.
Futures and Options on Futures. Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. The Fund will reduce the risk that it will be unable to close out a futures contract by only entering into futures contracts that are traded on a national futures exchange regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Fund may use futures contracts and related options for: bona fide hedging; attempting to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of; attempting to minimize fluctuations in foreign currencies; attempting to gain exposure to a particular market, index or instrument; or other risk management purposes. To the extent futures and/or options on futures are employed by the Fund, the Fund will limit such investments in commodity futures, commodity options contracts and swaps to below the de minimis thresholds adopted by the CFTC in its recent amendments to Rule 4.5 (see below for a description of these thresholds). For this reason, the Adviser is not required to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) under the Commodity Exchange Act at this time.
With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other derivatives used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order to claim an exemption from being considered a commodity pool or a CPO. First, the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment companys positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment companys portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets. In the event that the Adviser was required to register as a CPO with respect to the Fund, the disclosure and operations of the Fund would need to comply with all applicable CFTC regulations.
An index futures contract is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the securities comprising the index is made; generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contract.
When the Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, or sells an option thereon, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit leveraging and related risks. To cover its position, the Fund may segregate (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the futures contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. The segregated account functions as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by purchasing a put option on the same futures contract with a strike price (i.e., an exercise price) as high or higher than the price of the futures contract. In the alternative, if the strike price of the put is less than the price of the futures contract, the Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its long position in a futures contract by taking a short position in the instruments underlying the futures contract, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract. The Fund may cover its short position in a futures contract by taking a long position in the instruments underlying the futures contracts, or by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the futures contract.
The Fund may cover its sale of a call option on a futures contract by taking a long position in the underlying futures contract at a price less than or equal to the strike price of the call option. In the alternative, if the long position in the
underlying futures contract is established at a price greater than the strike price of the written (sold) call, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the call and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a call option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the call option. The Fund may cover its sale of a put option on a futures contract by taking a short position in the underlying futures contract at a price greater than or equal to the strike price of the put option, or, if the short position in the underlying futures contract is established at a price less than the strike price of the written put, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal in value to the difference between the strike price of the put and the price of the futures contract. The Fund may also cover its sale of a put option by taking positions in instruments with prices which are expected to move relatively consistently with the put option.
There are significant risks associated with the Funds use of futures contracts and related options, including the following: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on the Advisers ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by the Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (4) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (5) government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and options on futures. In addition, some strategies reduce the Funds exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure.
Illiquid Securities. Illiquid securities are securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business (within seven days) at approximately the prices at which they are valued. Because of their illiquid nature, illiquid securities must be priced at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to procedures approved by the Companys Board of Directors. Despite such good faith efforts to determine fair value prices, the Funds illiquid securities are subject to the risk that the securitys fair value price may differ from the actual price which the Fund may ultimately realize upon its sale or disposition. Difficulty in selling illiquid securities may result in a loss or may be costly to the Fund. Under the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser determines the liquidity of the Funds investments. In determining the liquidity of the Funds investments, the Adviser may consider various factors, including: (1) the frequency and volume of trades and quotations; (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace; (3) dealer undertakings to make a market; and (4) the nature of the security and the market in which it trades (including any demand, put or tender features, the mechanics and other requirements for transfer, any letters of credit or other credit enhancement features, any ratings, the number of holders, the method of soliciting offers, the time required to dispose of the security, and the ability to assign or offset the rights and obligations of the security). The Fund will not hold more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities.
Inflation-Protected Securities. The Fund may invest in inflation-protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, known as TIPs or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, which are debt securities whose principal and interest payments are adjusted for inflation and interest is paid on the adjusted amount. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index, such as the consumer price index. A fixed coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that as inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of the investment. Inflation-protected securities normally will decline in price when real interest rates rise. (A real interest rate is calculated by subtracting the inflation rate from a nominal interest rate. For example, if a 10-year Treasury note is yielding 5% and inflation is 2%, the real interest rate is 3%.) If inflation is negative, the principal and income of an inflation-protected security will decline and could result in losses for the Fund.
Any increase in principal for an inflation-protected security resulting from inflation adjustments is considered by Internal Revenue Service regulations to be taxable income in the year it occurs. For direct holders of an inflation-protected security, this means that taxes must be paid on principal adjustments even though these amounts are not received until the bond matures. By contrast, the Fund holding these securities distributes both interest income and the income attributable to principal adjustments in the form of cash or reinvested shares, which are taxable to shareholders.
Initial Public Offerings. To the extent consistent with its investment policies and limitations, the Fund may purchase stock in an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a companys first offering of stock to the public. Risks associated with IPOs may include considerable fluctuation in the market value of IPO shares due to certain factors, such as the
absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, a limited number of shares available for trading, lack of information about the issuer and limited operating history. The purchase of IPO shares may involve high transaction costs. When the Funds asset base is small, a significant portion of the Funds performance could be attributable to investments in IPOs, because such investments would have a magnified impact on the underlying investment company. As the Funds assets grow, the effect of the Funds investments in IPOs on the Funds performance probably will decline, which could reduce the Funds 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 Funds portfolio and may lead to increased expenses to the Fund, such as commissions and transaction costs. In addition, the Fund cannot guarantee continued access to IPOs.
Investment Company Shares. The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to certain restrictions. These investment companies typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by the Fund. The Funds purchase of such investment company securities results in the layering of expenses, such that shareholders would indirectly bear a proportionate share of the operating expenses of such investment companies, including advisory fees, in addition to paying the Funds expenses. Unless an exception is available, Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act prohibits a fund from (i) acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any one investment company, (ii) investing more than 5% of its total assets in any one investment company, and (iii) investing more than 10% of its total assets in all investment companies combined. These limits will not apply to the investment of uninvested cash balances in shares of registered or unregistered money market funds whether affiliated or unaffiliated. The foregoing exemption, however, only applies to an unregistered money market fund that (i) limits its investments to those in which a money market fund may invest under Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act, and (ii) undertakes to comply with all the other provisions of Rule 2a-7.
For hedging or other purposes, the Fund may invest in investment companies that seek to track the composition and/or performance of specific indexes or portions of specific indexes. Certain of these investment companies, known as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), are traded on a securities exchange. The market prices of index-based investments will fluctuate in accordance with changes in the underlying portfolio securities of the investment company and also due to supply and demand of the investment companys shares on the exchange upon which the shares are traded. Index-based investments may not replicate or otherwise match the composition or performance of their specified index due to transaction costs, among other things.
Investments by the Fund in other investment companies, including ETFs, will be subject to the limitations of the 1940 Act except as permitted by SEC orders. The Fund may rely on SEC orders that permit them to invest in certain ETFs beyond the limits contained in the 1940 Act, subject to certain terms and conditions. Generally, these terms and conditions require the Board to approve policies and procedures relating to certain of the Funds investments in ETFs. These policies and procedures require, among other things, that (i) the Adviser conducts the Funds investment in ETFs without regard to any consideration received by the Fund or any of its affiliated persons and (ii) the Adviser certifies to the Board quarterly that it has not received any consideration in connection with an investment by the Fund in an ETF, or if it has, the amount and purpose of the consideration will be reported to the Board and an equivalent amount of advisory fees shall be waived by the Adviser.
Certain investment companies whose securities are purchased by the Fund may not be obligated to redeem such securities in an amount exceeding 1% of the investment companys total outstanding securities during any period of less than 30 days. Therefore, such securities that exceed this amount may be illiquid.
If required by the 1940 Act, the Fund expects to vote the shares of other investment companies that are held by it in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such securities.
Obligations of Domestic Banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign Branches of U.S. Banks. The Fund may invest in obligations issued by banks and other savings institutions. Investments in bank obligations include obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks. Such investments in domestic branches of foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks may involve risks that are different from investments in securities of domestic branches of U.S. banks. These risks may include future unfavorable political and economic developments, possible withholding taxes on interest income, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations, or other governmental restrictions which might affect the payment of principal or interest on the securities held by the Fund. Additionally, these institutions may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different
accounting, auditing, reporting and recordkeeping requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. Bank obligations include the following:
· Bankers Acceptances . Bankers acceptances are bills of exchange or time drafts drawn on and accepted by a commercial bank. Corporations use bankers acceptances to finance the shipment and storage of goods and to furnish dollar exchange. Maturities are generally six months or less.
· Certificates of Deposit . Certificates of deposit are interest-bearing instruments with a specific maturity. They are issued by banks and savings and loan institutions in exchange for the deposit of funds and normally can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Certificates of deposit with penalties for early withdrawal will be considered illiquid.
· Time Deposits. Time deposits are non-negotiable receipts issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. Like a certificate of deposit, it earns a specified rate of interest over a definite period of time; however, it cannot be traded in the secondary market. Time deposits with a withdrawal penalty or that mature in more than seven days are considered to be illiquid securities.
Options. The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on securities and securities indices and enter into related closing transactions. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at any time during the option period. A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying security at any time during the option period. The premium paid to the writer is the consideration for undertaking the obligations under the option contract.
Put and call options on securities indices are similar to options on securities except that options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the underlying index is greater than (or less than, in the case of puts) the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, expressed in dollars multiplied by a specified number. Thus, unlike options on individual securities, all settlements are in cash, and gain or loss depends on price movements in the particular market represented by the index generally, rather than the price movements in individual securities.
All options written on indices or securities must be covered. When the Fund writes an option on a security or an index, it will establish a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities in an amount at least equal to the market value of the option and will maintain the account while the option is open or will otherwise cover the transaction.
The Fund may trade put and call options on securities and securities indices, as the Adviser determines is appropriate in seeking the Funds investment objective, and except as restricted by the Funds investment limitations. See Investment Limitations.
The initial purchase (sale) of an option contract is an opening transaction. In order to close out an option position, the Fund may enter into a closing transaction, which is simply the sale (purchase) of an option contract on the same security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option contract originally opened. If the Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or the Fund delivers the security upon exercise.
The Fund may purchase put and call options on securities to protect against a decline in the market value of the securities in its portfolio or to anticipate an increase in the market value of securities that the Fund may seek to purchase in the future. The Fund purchasing put and call options pays a premium therefor. If price movements in the underlying securities are such that exercise of the options would not be profitable for the Fund, loss of the premium paid may be offset by an increase in the value of the Funds securities or by a decrease in the cost of acquisition of securities by the Fund.
The Fund may write covered call options on securities as a means of increasing the yield on its assets and as a means of providing limited protection against decreases in its market value. When the Fund writes an option, if the underlying securities do not increase or decrease to a price level that would make the exercise of the option profitable to the holder
thereof, the option generally will expire without being exercised and the Fund will realize as profit the premium received for such option. When a call option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to sell the underlying securities to the option holder at the strike price, and will not participate in any increase in the price of such securities above the strike price. When a put option of which the Fund is the writer is exercised, the Fund will be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the market value of such securities.
The Fund may purchase and write options on an exchange or over-the-counter. Over-the-counter options (OTC options) differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is done normally by reference to information from a market maker. It is the SECs position that OTC options are generally illiquid.
The market value of an option generally reflects the market price of an underlying security. Other principal factors affecting market value include supply and demand, interest rates, the pricing volatility of the underlying security and the time remaining until the expiration date.
Risks associated with options transactions include: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in prices of options and the securities underlying them; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for options; and (4) while the Fund will receive a premium when it writes covered call options, it may not participate fully in a rise in the market value of the underlying security.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which the Fund acquires a fixed income security (generally a security issued by the U.S. government or an agency thereof, a bankers acceptance, or a certificate of deposit) from a commercial bank, broker, or dealer, and simultaneously agrees to resell such security to the seller at an agreed upon price and date (normally, the next business day). Because the security purchased constitutes collateral for the repurchase obligation, a repurchase agreement may be considered a loan that is collateralized by the security purchased. The acquisition of a repurchase agreement may be deemed to be an acquisition of the underlying securities as long as the obligation of the seller to repurchase the securities is collateralized fully. The Fund follows certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with creditworthy financial institutions whose condition will be continually monitored by the Adviser. The repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund will provide that the underlying collateral at all times shall have a value at least equal to 102% of the resale price stated in the agreement and consist only of securities permissible under Section 101(47)(A)(i) of the Bankruptcy Code (the Adviser monitors compliance with this requirement). Under all repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund, the custodian or its agent must take possession of the underlying collateral. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Fund will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of the Funds right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss. It is the current policy of the Fund, not to invest in repurchase agreements that do not mature within seven days if any such investment, together with any other illiquid assets held by that Fund, amounts to more than 15% of the Funds total assets. The investments of the Fund in repurchase agreements, at times, may be substantial when, in the view of the Adviser, liquidity or other considerations so warrant.
Restricted Securities. The Fund may purchase securities which are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act) but which may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the 1933 Act (Restricted Securities). These securities will not be considered illiquid so long as it is determined by the Adviser that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in an underlying investment company during any period that qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing restricted securities. In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser may consider, among others, the following factors: (1) the unregistered nature of the security; (2) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (3) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (4) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (5) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).
The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Restricted Securities normally reflect a discount from the price at which such securities trade when they are not restricted, since the restriction makes them less liquid. The amount of the discount from the prevailing market price is expected to vary depending upon the type of security, the character of the issuer, the party who will bear the expenses of registering the Restricted Securities and prevailing supply and demand conditions.
As consistent with the Funds investment objective, the Fund may also invest in Section 4(2) commercial paper. Section 4(2) commercial paper is issued in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the Act and is generally sold to institutional investors who purchase for investment. Any resale of such commercial paper must be in an exempt transaction, usually to an institutional investor through the issuer or investment dealers who make a market in such commercial paper. The Company believes that Section 4(2) commercial paper is liquid to the extent it meets the criteria established by the Companys Board of Directors. The Company intends to treat such commercial paper as liquid and not subject to the investment limitations applicable to illiquid securities or restricted securities.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to portfolio securities for temporary purposes (such as to obtain cash to meet redemption requests) when the liquidation of portfolio securities is deemed disadvantageous or inconvenient by the Adviser. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to the Funds agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and rate of interest. Such agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act and may be entered into only for temporary or emergency purposes. While reverse repurchase transactions are outstanding, the Fund will maintain in a segregated account with the Funds custodian or a qualified sub-custodian, cash or liquid securities of an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities, plus accrued interest, subject to the agreement and will monitor the account to ensure that such value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund is obligated to repurchase and the interest received on the cash exchanged for the securities.
Rights Offerings and Purchase Warrants. Rights offerings and purchase warrants are privileges issued by a corporation which enable the owner to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Subscription rights normally have a short lifespan to expiration. The purchase of rights or warrants involves the risk that the Fund could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not executed prior to the rights or warrants expiration. Also, the purchase of rights and/or warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the right and/or warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed securitys market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
Risk Considerations of Medium Grade Securities. Debt obligations in the lowest investment grade ( i.e. , BBB or Baa), referred to as medium grade obligations, have speculative characteristics, and changes in economic conditions and other factors are more likely to lead to weakened capacity to make interest payments and repay principal on these obligations than is the case for higher rated securities. In the event that a security purchased by the Fund is subsequently downgraded below investment grade, the Adviser will consider such event in its determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold the security.
Risk Considerations of Lower Rated Securities. The Fund may invest in fixed income securities that are not investment grade but are rated as low as B by Moodys or B by S&P ® (or their equivalents or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser to be of comparable credit quality). In the case of a security that is rated differently by two or more rating services, the higher rating is used in connection with the foregoing limitation. In the event that the rating on a security held in the Funds portfolio is downgraded by a rating service, such action will be considered by the Adviser in its evaluation of the overall investment merits of that security, but will not necessarily result in the sale of the security. The widespread expansion of government, consumer and corporate debt within the U.S. economy has made the corporate sector, especially cyclically sensitive industries, more vulnerable to economic downturns or increased interest rates. An economic downturn could severely disrupt the market for high yield fixed income securities and adversely affect the value of outstanding fixed income securities and the ability of the issuers to repay principal and interest.
The Fund may invest in high yield debt obligations, such as bonds and debentures, issued by corporations and other business organizations. The Fund will invest in high yield debt instruments when the Fund believes that such instruments
offer a better risk/reward profile than comparable equity opportunities. High yield fixed income securities (commonly known as junk bonds) are considered speculative investments while generally providing greater income than investments in higher rated securities, involve greater risk of loss of principal and income (including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities) and may involve greater volatility of price (especially during periods of economic uncertainty or change) than securities in the higher rating categories. Since yields vary over time, no specific level of income can ever be assured.
The prices of high yield fixed income securities have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress, which would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a fixed income security owned by the Fund defaulted, the Fund could incur additional expenses in attempting to obtain a recovery. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high yield fixed income securities and the Funds NAV to the extent it holds such securities.
High yield fixed income securities also present risks based on payment expectations. For example, high yield fixed income securities may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercises these provisions in a declining interest rate market, the Fund may, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities, have to replace the securities with a lower yielding security, which may result in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high yield fixed income securitys value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of the Funds assets, to the extent it holds such fixed income securities. In addition, to the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield fixed income securities, and this may have an impact on the Advisers ability to accurately value such securities and the Funds assets and on the Funds ability to dispose of such securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield fixed income securities, especially in a thinly traded market.
New laws proposed or adopted from time to time may have an impact on the market for high yield securities.
Finally, there are risks involved in applying credit or dividend ratings as a method for evaluating high yield securities. For example, ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest or dividend payments, not market value risk of high yield securities. Also, since rating agencies may fail to timely change the credit ratings to reflect subsequent events, the Fund will continuously monitor the issuers of high yield securities in its portfolio, if any, to determine if the issuers will have sufficient cash flow and profits to meet required principal and interest payments, and to assure the securitys liquidity so the Fund can meet redemption requests.
Securities Lending. The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to financial institutions. Such loans would involve risks of delay in receiving additional collateral in the event the value of the collateral decreases below the value of the securities loaned or of delay in recovering the securities loaned or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, loans will be made only to borrowers which the Adviser deems to be of good standing and only when, in the Advisers judgment, the income to be earned from the loans justifies the attendant risks. The Fund may not make loans in excess of 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets. The Fund does not have the right to vote loaned securities. The Fund may attempt to call loaned securities back to permit the exercise of voting rights if time and jurisdictional restrictions permit. There is no guarantee that all loans can be recalled.
Special Situation Companies. The Fund may invest in Special Situations. The term Special Situation shall be deemed to refer to a security of a company in which an unusual and possibly non-repetitive development is taking place which, in the opinion of the Adviser, may cause the security to attain a higher market value independently, to a degree, of the trend in the securities market in general. The particular development (actual or prospective), which may qualify a security as a Special Situation, may be one of many different types.
Such developments may include, among others, a technological improvement or important discovery or acquisition which, if the expectation for it materialized, would effect a substantial change in the companys business; a reorganization; a recapitalization or other development involving a security exchange or conversion; a merger, liquidation or distribution of cash, securities or other assets; a breakup or workout of a holding company; litigation which, if resolved favorably, would
improve the value of the companys stock; a new or changed management; or material changes in management policies. A Special Situation may often involve a comparatively small company, which is not well known, and which has not been closely watched by investors generally, but it may also involve a large company. The fact, if it exists, that an increase in the companys earnings, dividends or business is expected, or that a given security is considered to be undervalued, would not in itself be sufficient to qualify as a Special Situation. The Fund may invest in securities (even if not Special Situations) which, in the opinion of the Adviser, are appropriate investments for the Fund, including securities which the Adviser believes are undervalued by the market.
U.S. Government Securities. The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).
Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.
The extreme and unprecedented volatility and disruption that impacted the capital and credit markets during late 2008 and into 2009 have led to increased market concerns about Freddie Macs and Fannie Maes ability to withstand future credit losses associated with securities held in their investment portfolios, and on which they provide guarantees, without the direct support of the federal government. On September 6, 2008, both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were placed under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Under the plan of conservatorship, the FHFA has assumed control of, and generally has the power to direct, the operations of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and is empowered to exercise all powers collectively held by their respective shareholders, directors and officers, including the power to (1) take over the assets of and operate Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae with all the powers of the shareholders, the directors, and the officers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and conduct all business of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae; (2) collect all obligations and money due to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae; (3) perform all functions of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which are consistent with the conservators appointment; (4) preserve and conserve the assets and property of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae; and (5) contract for assistance in fulfilling any function, activity, action or duty of the conservator. In addition, in connection with the actions taken by the FHFA, the U.S. Treasury Department (the Treasury) has entered into certain preferred stock purchase agreements with each of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which establish the Treasury as the holder of a new class of senior preferred stock in each of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which stock was issued in connection with financial contributions from the Treasury to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The conditions attached to the financial contribution made by the Treasury to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and the issuance of this senior preferred stock place significant restrictions on the activities of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae must obtain the consent of the Treasury to, among other things, (i) make any payment to purchase or redeem its capital stock or pay any dividend other than in respect of the senior preferred stock, (ii) issue capital stock of any kind, (iii) terminate the conservatorship of the FHFA except in connection with a receivership, or (iv) increase its debt beyond certain specified levels. In addition, significant restrictions are placed on the maximum size of each of Freddie Macs and Fannie Maes respective portfolios of mortgages and mortgage-backed securities portfolios,
and the purchase agreements entered into by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae provide that the maximum size of their portfolios of these assets must decrease by a specified percentage each year. The future status and role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could be impacted by (among other things) the actions taken and restrictions placed on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae by the FHFA in its role as conservator, the restrictions placed on Freddie Macs and Fannie Maes operations and activities as a result of the senior preferred stock investment made by the Treasury, market responses to developments at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and future legislative and regulatory action that alters the operations, ownership, structure and/or mission of these institutions, each of which may, in turn, impact the value of, and cash flows on any mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
· U.S. Treasury Obligations. U.S. Treasury obligations consist of bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury and separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations that are transferable through the federal book-entry system known as Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities (STRIPS) and Treasury Receipts (TRs).
· Receipts. Interests in separately traded interest and principal component parts of U.S. government obligations that are issued by banks or brokerage firms and are created by depositing U.S. government obligations into a special account at a custodian bank. The custodian bank holds the interest and principal payments for the benefit of the registered owners of the certificates or receipts. The custodian bank arranges for the issuance of the certificates or receipts evidencing ownership and maintains the register. TRs and STRIPS are interests in accounts sponsored by the U.S. Treasury. Receipts are sold as zero coupon securities.
· U.S. Government Zero Coupon Securities. STRIPS and receipts are sold as zero coupon securities, that is, fixed income securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons. Zero coupon securities are sold at a (usually substantial) discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. The amount of this discount is accreted over the life of the security, and the accretion constitutes the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, the market prices of zero coupon securities are generally more volatile than the market prices of securities that have similar maturity but that pay interest periodically. Zero coupon securities are likely to respond to a greater degree to interest rate changes than are non-zero coupon securities with similar maturity and credit qualities.
· U.S. Government Agencies. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by agencies of the U.S. government are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury, while still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality. Guarantees of principal by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government may be a guarantee of payment at the maturity of the obligation so that in the event of a default prior to maturity there might not be a market and thus no means of realizing on the obligation prior to maturity. Guarantees as to the timely payment of principal and interest do not extend to the value or yield of these securities nor to the value of the Funds shares.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Fund has adopted the following fundamental investment limitations which may not be changed with respect to the Fund without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding shares (as defined in Section 2(a) (42) of the 1940 Act). As used in this SAI and in the Prospectus, shareholder approval and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund means, with respect to the approval of an investment advisory agreement, a distribution plan or a change in a fundamental investment limitation, the lesser of (1) 67% of the shares of the Fund represented at a meeting at which the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present in person or by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. Unless otherwise noted, the Funds investment goals and strategies described in the Prospectus may be changed by the Companys Board of Directors without the approval of the Funds shareholders.
The Fund may not:
1. Borrow money or issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from banks and enter into reverse repurchase agreements provided that there is at least 300% asset coverage for the borrowings of the Fund. The
Fund may not mortgage, pledge or hypothecate any assets, except in connection with any such borrowing and then in amounts not in excess of one-third of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing. However, the amount shall not be in excess of lesser of the dollar amounts borrowed or 33 1/3% of the value of the Funds total assets at the time of such borrowing, provided that: (a) short sales and related borrowings of securities are not subject to this restriction; and (b) for the purposes of this restriction, collateral arrangements with respect to options, short sales, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin and collateral arrangements with respect to derivatives instruments are not deemed to be a pledge or other encumbrance of assets. Securities held in escrow or separate accounts in connection with the Funds investment practices are not considered to be borrowings or deemed to be pledged for purposes of this limitation;
2. Act as an underwriter of securities within the meaning of the 1933 Act, except insofar as it might be deemed to be an underwriter upon disposition of certain portfolio securities acquired within the limitation on purchases of restricted securities;
3. Purchase or sell real estate (including real estate limited partnership interests), provided that the Fund may invest: (a) in securities secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein; or (b) in real estate investment trusts;
4. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may purchase and sell options, futures contracts and related options on such futures contracts;
5. Make loans, except through loans of portfolio securities and repurchase agreements, provided that for purposes of this restriction the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other debt instruments or interests therein and investment in government obligations, loan participations and assignments, short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers acceptances shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan;
6. Invest 25% or more of its total assets, taken at market value at the time of each investment, in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry, provided that (a) there is no limitation with respect to (i) instruments issued or guaranteed by the United States, any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or any of their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions, and (ii) repurchase agreements secured by the instruments described in clause (i); (b) wholly-owned finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents; and (c) utilities will be divided according to their services, for example, gas, gas transmission, electric and gas, electric and telephone will each be considered a separate industry; or
7. Purchase the securities of any one issuer, other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, if immediately after and as a result of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer would be owned by the Fund, except that up to 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested without regard to such limitations.
In addition to the fundamental investment limitations specified above, the Fund is subject to the following non-fundamental limitations, which may be changed without shareholder approval, in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. The Fund may not:
1. Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management, but investments by the Fund in wholly-owned investment entities created under the laws of certain countries will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control or management; or
2. Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use margin to the extent necessary to engage in short sales and may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of portfolio transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies within the limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. As a shareholder of another investment company, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment companys expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory and other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with its own operations.
Securities held by the Fund generally may not be purchased from, sold or loaned to the Adviser or its affiliates or any of their directors, officers or employees, acting as principal, unless pursuant to a rule or exemptive order under the 1940 Act.
If a percentage restriction under one of the Funds investment policies or limitations or the use of assets is adhered to at the time a transaction is effected, later changes in percentages resulting from changing values will not be considered a violation (except with respect to any restrictions that may apply to borrowings or senior securities issued by the Fund).
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Company has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a policy relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. The policies relating to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings are designed to allow disclosure of portfolio holdings information where necessary to the Funds operation without compromising the integrity or performance of the Fund. It is the policy of the Company that disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings to a select person or persons prior to the release of such holdings to the public (selective disclosure) is prohibited, unless there are legitimate business purposes for selective disclosure.
The Company discloses portfolio holdings information as required in regulatory filings and shareholder reports, discloses portfolio holdings information as required by federal and state securities laws and may disclose portfolio holdings information in response to requests by governmental authorities. As required by the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the Company will disclose the Funds portfolio holdings in applicable regulatory filings, including shareholder reports, reports on Form N-CSR and Form N-Q or such other filings, reports or disclosure documents as the applicable regulatory authorities may require.
The Company may distribute or authorize the distribution of information about the Funds portfolio holdings that is not publicly available to its third-party service providers, which include The Bank of New York Mellon, the custodian; BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent; Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, legal counsel; and Merrill Corporation, the financial printer. These service providers are required to keep such information confidential, and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Fund. Such holdings are released on conditions of confidentiality, which include appropriate trading prohibitions. Conditions of confidentiality include confidentiality terms included in written agreements, implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g. attorney-client relationship), or required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custody services provided by financial institutions).
Portfolio holdings may also be disclosed, upon authorization by a designated officer of the Adviser, to certain independent reporting agencies recognized by the SEC as acceptable agencies for the reporting of industry statistical information. Disclosures to financial consultants are also subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions as well as a 15 - day time lag. The foregoing disclosures are made pursuant to the Companys policy on selective disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board of Directors of the Company or a committee thereof may, in limited circumstances, permit other selective disclosure of portfolio holdings subject to a confidentiality agreement and/or trading restrictions. Portfolio holdings may also be provided earlier to shareholders and their agents who receive redemptions in kind that reflect a pro rata allocation of all securities held in the Funds portfolio.
The Adviser reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any request for portfolio holdings information from a shareholder or non-shareholder if it believes that providing such information will be contrary to the best interests of the Fund.
Any violations of the policy set forth above as well as any corrective action undertaken to address such violations must be reported by the Adviser, director, officer or third party service provider to the Companys Chief Compliance Officer, who will determine whether the violation should be reported immediately to the Board of Directors of the Company or at its next quarterly Board meeting.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The business and affairs of the Company are managed under the oversight of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board), subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and the Companys Charter. The Directors are responsible for deciding matters of overall policy and overseeing the actions of the Companys service providers. The officers of the Company conduct and supervise the Companys daily business operations.
Directors who are not deemed to be interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) are referred to as Independent Directors. Directors who are deemed to be interested persons of the Company are referred to as Interested Directors. The Board is currently composed of six Independent Directors and two Interested Directors. The Board has selected Arnold M. Reichman, an Independent Director, to act as Chairman. Mr. Reichmans duties include presiding at meetings of the Board and interfacing with management to address significant issues that may arise between regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings. In the performance of his duties, Mr. Reichman will consult with the other Independent Directors and the Companys officers and legal counsel, as appropriate. The Chairman may perform other functions as requested by the Board from time to time.
The Board meets as often as necessary to discharge its responsibilities. Currently, the Board conducts regular, in-person meetings at least four times a year, and holds special in-person or telephonic meetings as necessary to address specific issues that require attention prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board also relies on professionals, such as the Companys independent registered public accounting firms and legal counsel, to assist the Directors in performing their oversight responsibilities.
The Board has established seven standing committees Audit, Contract, Product Development, Executive, Nominating and Governance, Valuation and Regulatory Oversight Committees. The Board may establish other committees, or nominate one or more Directors to examine particular issues related to the Boards oversight responsibilities, from time to time. Each Committee meets periodically to perform its delegated oversight functions and reports its findings and recommendations to the Board. For more information on the Committees, see the section Standing Board Committees, below.
The Board has determined that the Companys leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to effectively perform its oversight responsibilities.
Directors and Executive Officers
The Directors and executive officers of the Company, their ages, business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.
Name, Address, and
|
|
Position(s)
|
|
Term of Office
|
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
|
Number of
|
|
Other Directorships
|
OFFICERS |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Salvatore Faia, JD,
|
|
President
|
|
2009 to present
|
|
Since 2004, President, Vigilant Compliance Services; since 2005, Director of Energy Income Partnership. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joel Weiss
|
|
Treasurer |
|
2009 to present |
|
Since 1993, Vice President and Managing Director, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diane Drake
|
|
Secretary |
|
2014 to present |
|
Since 2010, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company); from 2008-2010, Vice President and Counsel, PNC Global Investment Servicing (US) Inc. |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James G. Shaw
|
|
Assistant
|
|
2005 to present |
|
Since 1995, Senior Director and Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (financial services company). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael P. Malloy
|
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
1999 to present |
|
Since 1993, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (law firm). |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
* Each Director oversees twenty-three portfolios of the Company that are currently offered for sale.
(1) Subject to the Companys Retirement Policy, each Director may continue to serve as a Director until the last day of the calendar year in which the applicable Director attains age 75 or until his successor is elected and qualified or his death, resignation or removal. The Board reserves the right to waive the requirements of the Policy with respect to an individual Director. The Board has approved waivers of the policy with respect to Messrs. Brodsky, Carnall, and Sablowsky. Each officer holds office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors until the next special meeting of the Company or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed.
(2) Messrs. Sablowsky and Nusblatt are considered interested persons of the Company as that term is defined in the 1940 Act and are referred to as Interested Directors. Mr. Sablowsky is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as a senior officer of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Nusblatt is considered an Interested Director of the Company by virtue of his position as the Head of U.S. Fund Accounting and Administration at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, administrator and accounting agent and transfer agent to the Company.
Director Experience, Qualifications, Attributes and/or Skills
The information above includes each Directors principal occupations during the last five years. Each Director possesses extensive additional experience, skills and attributes relevant to his qualifications to serve as a Director. The cumulative background of each Director led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director of the Company. Mr. Giordano has years of experience as a consultant to financial services organizations and also serves on the boards of other registered investment companies. Mr. Reichman brings decades of investment management experience to the Board, in addition to senior executive-level management experience. Mr. Straniere has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and has served on the boards of an asset management company and another registered investment company. Mr. Brodsky has over 40 years of senior executive level management experience in the cable television and communications industry. Mr. Sablowsky has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Nusblatt has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Carnall has decades of senior executive-level management experience in the banking and financial services industry and also serves on the boards of various corporations and a bank. Mr. Chandler has demonstrated leadership and management abilities as evidenced by his senior executive level positions in the investment technology consulting/services and investment banking/brokerage industries, and also serves on various boards.
Standing Committees
The responsibilities of each Committee of the Board and its members are described below.
Audit Committee. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of three Independent Directors. The current members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Brodsky, Giordano and Chandler. The Audit Committee, among other things, reviews results of the annual audit and approves the firm(s) to serve as independent auditors. The Audit Committee convened six times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Contract Committee. The Board has a Contract Committee comprised of one Interested Director and two Independent Directors. The current members of the Contract Committee are Messrs, Chandler, Sablowsky, and Brodsky. The Contract Committee reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the approval and continuation of agreements and plans of the Company. The Contract Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Executive Committee. The Board has an Executive Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Executive Committee are Messrs. Giordano, Reichman, Sablowsky and Chandler. The Executive Committee may generally carry on and manage the business of the Company when the Board of Directors is not in session. The Executive Committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a Nominating and Governance Committee comprised only of Independent Directors. The current members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Giordano, and Reichman. The Nominating and Governance Committee recommends to the Board of Directors all persons to be nominated as Directors of the Company. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations should be submitted to the Committee care of the Companys Secretary. The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Valuation Committee. Effective January 1, 2014, the Board has a Valuation Committee comprised of one Interested Director and three officers of the Company. Prior to January 1, 2014, the Companys Valuation Committee was comprised only of officers of the Company. The members of the Valuation Committee are Messrs. Faia, Sablowsky, Shaw and Weiss. The Valuation Committee is responsible for reviewing fair value determinations. The Valuation Committee of the Board convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Regulatory Oversight Committee . The Board has a Regulatory Oversight Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and three Independent Directors. The current members of the Regulatory Oversight Committee are Messrs. Carnall, Reichman, Sablowsky, Straniere and Nusblatt. The Regulatory Oversight Committee monitors regulatory
developments in the mutual fund industry and focuses on various regulatory aspects of the operation of the Company. The Regulatory Oversight Committee convened four times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Product Development Committee. The Board has a Product Development Committee comprised of two Interested Directors and one Independent Director. The current members of the Product Development Committee are Messrs. Nusblatt, Reichman and Sablowsky. The Product Development Committee oversees the process regarding the addition of new investment advisers and investment products to the Company and evaluates the Companys current investment advisers and investment products. The Product Development Committee convened two times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.
Risk Oversight
The Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function for the Company through a combination of (1) direct oversight by the Board as a whole and Board committees and (2) indirect oversight through the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, Company officers and the Companys Chief Compliance Officer. The Company is subject to a number of risks, including but not limited to investment risk, compliance risk, operational risk, reputational risk, credit risk and counterparty risk. Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Company is the responsibility of the Companys investment advisers or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk) that carry out the Companys investment management and business affairs. Each of the investment advisers and the other service providers have their own independent interest in risk management and their policies and methods of risk management will depend on their functions and business models and may differ from the Companys and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls.
The Board provides risk oversight by receiving and reviewing on a regular basis reports from the Companys investment advisers or other service providers, receiving and approving compliance policies and procedures, periodic meetings with the Companys portfolio managers to review investment policies, strategies and risks, and meeting regularly with the Companys Chief Compliance Officer to discuss compliance reports, findings and issues. The Board also relies on the Companys investment advisers and other service providers, with respect to the day-to-day activities of the Company, to create and maintain procedures and controls to minimize risk and the likelihood of adverse effects on the Companys business and reputation.
Board oversight of risk management is also provided by various Board Committees. For example, the Audit Committee meets with the Companys independent registered public accounting firms to ensure that the Companys respective audit scopes include risk-based considerations as to the Companys financial position and operations.
The Board may, at any time and in its discretion, change the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Boards oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Companys investments or activities.
Director Ownership of Shares of the Company
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Director in the Fund and in all of the portfolios in the Company (which for each Director comprise all registered investment companies within the Companys family of investment companies overseen by him), as of December 31, 2013:
Name of Director |
|
Dollar Range of
|
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
|
|
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS |
|||||
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
J. Richard Carnall |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
None |
|
$1-$10,000 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
None |
|
$10,001-$50,000 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman |
|
None |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Robert A. Straniere |
|
None |
|
None |
|
INTERESTED DIRECTORS |
|||||
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
None |
|
None |
|
Robert Sablowsky |
|
$50,001-$100,000 |
|
Over $100,000 |
|
Directors and Officers Compensation
Effective January 1, 2015, the Company will pay each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $50,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, and $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person or telephonically. The Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Regulatory Oversight Committee will receive an additional fee of $7,500 for his services. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity. The Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, the Company paid each Director, except Jay Nusblatt (who is not compensated by the Company for his service on the Board), a retainer at the rate of $35,000 annually, $3,500 for each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, $2,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors attended in-person and $1,000 for each committee meeting or special meeting of the Board of Directors and Committee meeting attended telephonically. Prior to January 1, 2015, the Chairman of the Board received an additional fee of $17,500 per year for his services in this capacity, and each Chairman of each of the Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee received an additional fee of $4,000 per year for his services.
Directors are reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. The Company also compensates its President and Chief Compliance Officer for his services to the Company. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, each of the following members of the Board of Directors and the President, Treasurer and Chief Compliance Officer received compensation from the Company in the following amounts:
Name of Director/Officer |
|
Aggregate
|
|
Pension or
|
|
Estimated
|
|
Total
|
|
||
FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Independent Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Julian A. Brodsky, Director |
|
$ |
744 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
61,775 |
|
J. Richard Carnall, Director |
|
$ |
1,204 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
64,625 |
|
Gregory P. Chandler, Director |
|
$ |
1,380 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
71,625 |
|
Nicholas A. Giordano, Director |
|
$ |
1,342 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
70,625 |
|
Arnold M. Reichman, Director and Chairman |
|
$ |
1,779 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
82,125 |
|
Robert A. Straniere, Director |
|
$ |
1,190 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
60,625 |
|
Interested Directors: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Jay F. Nusblatt, Director |
|
$ |
0 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Robert Sablowsky, Director |
|
$ |
1,146 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
67,525 |
|
Officer: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Salvatore Faia, Esquire, CPA Chief Compliance Officer and President |
|
$ |
12,434 |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
$ |
339,996 |
|
Effective with the calendar year ending December 31, 2014, each compensated Director is entitled to participate in the Companys deferred compensation plan (the DC Plan). Under the DC Plan, a compensated Director may elect to defer all or a portion of his compensation and have the deferred compensation treated as if it had been invested by the Company in shares of one or more of the portfolios of the Company. The amount paid to the Directors under the DC Plan will be determined based upon the performance of such investments.
As of December 31, 2013, the Independent Directors and their respective immediate family members (spouse or dependent children) did not own beneficially or of record any securities of the Companys investment advisers or distributor, or of any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment advisers or distributor.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company and the Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act that permits personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Company.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Directors has delegated the responsibility of voting proxies with respect to the portfolio securities purchased and/or held by the Fund to the Funds Adviser, subject to the Boards continuing oversight. In exercising its voting obligations, the Adviser is guided by its general fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the interest of the Fund. The Adviser will consider factors affecting the value of the Funds investments and the rights of shareholders in its determination on voting portfolio securities.
The Adviser will vote proxies in accordance with its proxy policies and procedures, which are included in Appendix B to this SAI.
The Company is required to disclose annually the Funds complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX. The Funds proxy voting record for the most recent 12 month period ended June 30th is available upon request by calling 855-744-8500 or by writing to the Fund at: Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund, c/o BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., PO Box 9841, Providence, Rhode Island 02940. The Funds Form N-PX is also available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of December 1, 2014, to the Companys knowledge, the following named persons at the addresses shown below were owners of record of approximately 5% or more of the total outstanding shares of the Fund as indicated below. See Additional Information Concerning Company Shares below. Any shareholder that owns 25% or more of the outstanding shares of a portfolio or class may be presumed to control (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) the portfolio or class. Shareholders controlling a portfolio or class could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of the portfolio or class on any matter requiring approval of the shareholders of the portfolio or class.
Name of Fund |
|
Shareholder Name and Address |
|
Number and Percentage of
|
|
||
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund Class I |
|
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC
|
|
3,511,635.050 |
|
76.01 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund Class I |
|
NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC
|
|
562,788.053 |
|
12.18 |
% |
As of December 1, 2014, Directors and Officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Fund of the Company except for the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund of which they owned 2.04% and Schneider Value Fund of which they owned 2.70%.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Summit Global Investments, LLC (Summit or the Adviser) is a Limited Liability Company registered with the State of Utah in October 2010. The Adviser is 100% privately-owned and is controlled by David Harden.
Advisory Agreement with the Company. The Adviser renders advisory services to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (Advisory Agreement) dated as of February 28, 2012.
Subject to the supervision of the Companys Board of Directors, the Adviser will provide for the overall management of the Fund including (i) the provision of a continuous investment program for the Fund, including investment research and management with respect to all securities, investments, cash and cash equivalents, (ii) the determination from time to time of the securities and other investments to be purchased, retained, or sold by the Fund, and (iii) the placement from time to time of orders for all purchases and sales of securities and other investments made for the Fund. The Adviser will provide the services rendered by it in accordance with the Funds investment objective, restrictions and policies as stated in the Prospectus and in this SAI. The Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment, mistake of law, or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of the Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from a
breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement.
For its services to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to an advisory fee computed daily and payable monthly at the annual rate of 0.70% of the Funds average daily net assets. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fees and reimburse expenses through December 31, 2015, to the extent that the Funds total annual operating expenses (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceed 1.23% for Class A Shares, 1.23% for Retail Shares and 0.98% for Class I Shares.
The Adviser will pay all expenses incurred by it in connection with its activities under the Advisory Agreement. The Fund bears all of its own expenses not specifically assumed by the Adviser. General expenses of the Company not readily identifiable as belonging to a portfolio of the Company are allocated among all investment portfolios by or under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors in such manner as it deems to be fair and equitable. Expenses borne by the Fund include, but are not limited to the following (or the Funds share of the following): (a) the cost (including brokerage commissions) of securities purchased or sold by the Fund and any losses incurred in connection therewith; (b) fees payable to and expenses incurred on behalf of the Fund by the Adviser; (c) filing fees and expenses relating to the registration and qualification of the Company and the Funds shares under federal and/or state securities laws and maintaining such registrations and qualifications; (d) fees and salaries payable to the Companys Directors and officers; (e) taxes (including any income or franchise taxes) and governmental fees; (f) costs of any liability and other insurance or fidelity bonds; (g) any costs, expenses or losses arising out of a liability of or claim for damages or other relief asserted against the Company or the Fund for violation of any law; (h) legal, accounting and auditing expenses, including legal fees of special counsel for the independent Directors; (i) charges of custodians and other agents; (j) expenses of setting in type and printing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto for existing shareholders, reports, statements, and confirmations to shareholders and proxy material that are not attributable to a class; (k) costs of mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements thereto to existing shareholders, as well as reports to shareholders and proxy materials that are not attributable to a class; (1) any extraordinary expenses; (m) fees, voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (n) costs of mailing and tabulating proxies and costs of shareholders and Directors meetings; (o) costs of independent pricing services to value a portfolios securities; and (p) the costs of investment company literature and other publications provided by the Company to its Directors and officers. Distribution expenses, transfer agency expenses, expenses of preparation, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy statements and reports to shareholders, and organizational expenses and registration fees, identified as belonging to a particular class of the Company, are allocated to such class.
The advisory fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the past three fiscal years or periods, as applicable, are as follows:
|
|
Advisory Fees Paid
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
149,203 |
|
$ |
170,961 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
(139,028 |
) |
$ |
91,823 |
|
$ |
139,028 |
|
For the fiscal period February 29, 2012 through August 31, 2012* |
|
$ |
(137,356 |
) |
$ |
5,241 |
|
$ |
137,365 |
|
*Commencement of operations February 29, 2012.
Disclosure relating to the material factors and the conclusions with respect to those factors that formed the basis for the Board of Directors approval of the Funds investment advisory agreement is available in the Funds annual report to shareholders for the fiscal period ended August 31, 2014 and may be obtained by calling 855-744-8500 or visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall at all times have all rights in and to the Funds name and all investment models used by or on behalf of the Fund. The Adviser may use the Funds name or any portion thereof in
connection with any other mutual fund or business activity without the consent of any shareholder, and the Company has agreed to execute and deliver any and all documents required to indicate its consent to such use.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
This section includes information about the Funds portfolio managers, including information about other accounts they manage, the dollar range of Fund shares they own and how they are compensated.
Description of Compensation . The Adviser compensates the Funds portfolio managers for their management of the Fund. The portfolio managers are compensated through equity ownership of the Adviser, adjusted to reflect current market rates, and therefore compensation is in part based on the value of the Funds net assets and other client accounts they are managing. The Advisers Board of Managers reviews the compensation of each portfolio manager periodically and may make modifications in compensation as it deems necessary to reflect changes in the market.
Other Accounts. In addition to the Fund, each portfolio manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The information below is provided as of November 30, 2014.
Name of Portfolio Manager
|
|
Type of Accounts |
|
Total
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
# of Accounts
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
||
1. David Harden |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
3 |
|
$ |
131 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
2. Rick Jaster, CFA |
|
Other Registered Investment Companies: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles: |
|
8 |
|
$ |
60 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
Other Accounts: |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
Conflict of Interest . The portfolio managers management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with his management of the Funds investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby a portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts it manages are fairly and equitably allocated.
Securities Ownership . The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager in the Fund or Funds managed by each such portfolio manager as of August 31, 2014.
Portfolio Manager |
|
Dollar Value of Securities Beneficially Owned |
|
|
|
|
|
David Harden |
|
$1 - $10,000 |
|
Rick Jaster |
|
None |
|
ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING AGREEMENT
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. (BNY Mellon), 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 1980, serves as administrator to the Fund pursuant to administration and accounting services agreements with respect to the Fund (the Administration Agreements). BNY Mellon has agreed to furnish to the Fund statistical and research data, clerical, accounting and bookkeeping services, and certain other services required by the Fund. In addition, BNY Mellon has agreed to prepare and file various reports with the appropriate regulatory agencies and prepare materials required by the SEC or any state securities commission having jurisdiction over the Fund. The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall be obligated to exercise care and diligence in the performance of its duties, to act in good faith and to use its best efforts, within reasonable limits, in performing services thereunder. BNY Mellon shall be responsible for failure to perform its duties under the Administration Agreement arising out of its willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard. For its services to the Fund, BNY Mellon is entitled to receive a fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.08% of the Funds first $250 million of average net assets; 0.065% of the Funds next $250 million of average net assets; 0.055 of the Funds next $250 million of average net assets; 0.040% of the Funds next $750 million of average net assets; and 0.03% of the Funds average net assets in excess of $1.5 billion.
The minimum monthly fee is $5,833 per month, exclusive of Rule 38a-1 base compliance support services fees, costs of obtaining independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
The Administration Agreement provides that BNY Mellon shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or any loss suffered by the Company or the Fund in connection with the performance of the agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard by it of its duties and obligations thereunder.
On June 1, 2003, the Company entered into a regulatory administration services agreement with BNY Mellon. Under this agreement, BNY Mellon has agreed to provide regulatory administration services to the Company. These services include the preparation and coordination of the Companys annual post-effective amendment filing and supplements to the Funds registration statement, the preparation and assembly of board meeting materials, and certain other services necessary to the Companys regulatory administration. BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the average daily net assets of the portfolios of the Company.
The administration fees, including waivers and reimbursements for the past three fiscal years or periods, as applicable, are as follows:
|
|
Administration,
|
|
Waivers |
|
Reimbursements |
|
|||
For the fiscal year August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
91,015 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the fiscal year August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
87,191 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
For the fiscal period August 31, 2012 * |
|
$ |
41,860 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
*Commencement of operations February 29, 2012.
CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
The Bank of New York (the Custodian), One Wall Street, New York, New York 10286, is custodian of the Funds assets pursuant to a custodian agreement dated July 19, 2011. Under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian: (a) maintains a separate account or accounts in the name of the Fund; (b) holds and transfers portfolio securities on account of the Fund; (c) accepts receipts and makes disbursements of money on behalf of the Fund; (d) collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the Funds portfolio securities; and (e) makes periodic reports
to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the Funds operations. The Custodian is authorized to select one or more banks or trust companies to serve as sub-custodian on behalf of the Fund, provided that the Custodian remains responsible for the performance of all of its duties under the Custodian Agreement and holds the Fund harmless from the acts and omissions of any affiliate, sub-custodian or domestic sub-custodian. The Fund has made arrangements with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company (formerly, PFPC Trust Company) to serve as custodian for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). For its services to the Fund under the Custodian Agreement, the Custodian receives a fee, calculated daily and payable monthly, based on the Funds average gross assets calculated daily and payable monthly, exclusive of transaction charges and out-of-pocket expenses, which are also charged to the Fund.
TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT
BNY Mellon also serves as the transfer and dividend disbursing agent for the Fund pursuant to a transfer agency agreement dated November 5, 1991, as supplemented (the Transfer Agency Agreement), under which BNY Mellon: (a) issues and redeems shares of the Fund; (b) addresses and mails all communications by the Fund to record owners of the shares, including reports to shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy materials for its meetings of shareholders; (c) maintains shareholder accounts and, if requested, sub-accounts; and (d) makes periodic reports to the Companys Board of Directors concerning the operations of the Fund. BNY Mellon may, on 30 days notice to the Company, assign its duties as transfer and dividend disbursing agent to any affiliate . For its services to the Fund under the Transfer Agency Agreement, BNY Mellon receives an annual fee based on the number of accounts in the Fund, subject to a minimum monthly fee payable monthly on a pro rata basis, and also receives reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses.
BNY Mellon also provides services relating to the implementation of the Companys Anti-Money Laundering Program. The Company pays an annual fee based on the number of open accounts in each portfolio of the Company. In addition, BNY Mellon provides services relating to the implementation of the Funds Customer Identification Program, including verification of required customer information and the maintenance of records with respect to such verification. The Fund will pay BNY Mellon a fee for each customer verification and a monthly fee for each record result maintained.
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Distributor
Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (the Distributor), whose principal business address is 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312, serves as the underwriter to the Fund pursuant to the terms of a distribution agreement (the Distribution Agreement). The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with the Company, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Fund, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company.
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund supermarket platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund.
Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediarys procedures and
should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Company on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the Company in connection with the performance of the Distributors obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributors willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Plan of Distribution
Class I Shares . Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor acts as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering of the Funds shares. the Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Company for the distribution of the Funds Class I shares; however, the Adviser pays an annual fee to The Distributor as compensation for underwriting services rendered to the Fund pursuant to the Distribution Agreement.
Class A Shares and Retail Shares . Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement and the related Plans of Distribution for Class A Shares and Retail shares (together, the Plans), which were adopted by the Company in the manner prescribed by Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, the Distributor will act as the agent of the Company in connection with the continuous offering for the sale of the Funds Class A Shares and Retail shares, respectively. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Company. Payments to the Distributor under the Plans are to compensate it for distribution assistance and expenses assumed and activities intended to result in the sale of Class A Shares and Retail shares, including advertising, printing and mailing of prospectuses to others than current shareholders, compensation of underwriters, compensation to broker-dealers, compensation to sales personnel, and interest, carrying or other financing changes. As compensation for its distribution services, the Distributor receives, pursuant to the terms of the Distribution Agreement, a distribution fee under the Plans, to be calculated daily and paid monthly by the Class A Shares and Retail shares of the Fund at the annual rates set forth in the Class A Shares Prospectus and Retail shares Prospectus, respectively.
Among other things, the Plans provide that: (1) the Distributor shall be required to submit quarterly reports to the Directors of the Company regarding all amounts expended under the Plans and the purposes for which such expenditures were made, including commissions, advertising, printing, interest, carrying charges and any allocated overhead expenses; (2) the Plans will continue in effect only so long as they are approved at least annually, and any material amendment thereto is approved, by the Companys Directors, including a majority of those Directors who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plans or any agreements related to the Plans, acting in person at a meeting called for said purpose; (3) the aggregate amount to be spent by the Fund on the distribution of the Funds Class A Shares and Retail shares under the respective Plans shall not be materially increased without shareholder approval; and (4) while the Plans remain in effect, the selection and nomination of the Companys Directors who are not interested persons of the Company (as defined in the 1940 Act) shall be committed to the discretion of such Directors who are not interested persons of the Company.
Mr. Sablowsky, a Director of the Company, has an indirect interest in the operation of the Plans by virtue of his position with Oppenheimer Co., Inc., a broker-dealer.
PAYMENTS TO FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The Adviser and/or its affiliates, at their discretion, may make payments from their own resources and not from Fund assets to affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, banks (including bank trust departments), trust companies, registered investment advisers, financial planners, retirement plan administrators, insurance companies, and any other institution having a service, administration, or any similar arrangement with the Fund, its service providers or their respective affiliates, as incentives to help market and promote the Fund and/or in recognition of their distribution, marketing, administrative services, and/or processing support.
These additional payments may be made to financial intermediaries that sell Fund shares or provide services to the Fund, the Distributor or shareholders of the Fund through the financial intermediarys retail distribution channel and/or fund supermarkets. Payments may also be made through the financial intermediarys retirement, qualified tuition, fee-based advisory, wrap fee bank trust, or insurance (e.g., individual or group annuity) programs. These payments may include, but are not limited to, placing the Fund in a financial intermediarys retail distribution channel or on a preferred or recommended fund list; providing business or shareholder financial planning assistance; educating financial intermediary personnel about the Fund; providing access to sales and management representatives of the financial intermediary; promoting sales of Fund shares; providing marketing and educational support; maintaining share balances and/or for sub-accounting, administrative or shareholder transaction processing services. A financial intermediary may perform the services itself or may arrange with a third party to perform the services.
The Adviser and/or its affiliates may also make payments from their own resources to financial intermediaries for costs associated with the purchase of products or services used in connection with sales and marketing, participation in and/or presentation at conferences or seminars, sales or training programs, client and investor entertainment and other sponsored events. The costs and expenses associated with these efforts may include travel, lodging, sponsorship at educational seminars and conferences, entertainment and meals to the extent permitted by law.
Revenue sharing payments may be negotiated based on a variety of factors, including the level of sales, the amount of Fund assets attributable to investments in the Fund by financial intermediaries customers, a flat fee or other measures as determined from time to time by the Adviser and/or its affiliates. A significant purpose of these payments is to increase the sales of Fund shares, which in turn may benefit the Adviser through increased fees as Fund assets grow.
FUND TRANSACTIONS
Subject to policies established by the Board and applicable rules, the Adviser is responsible for the execution of portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage transactions for the Fund. In executing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as the price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of the order, difficulty of execution and operational facilities of the firm involved. While the Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive commission rates, payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions.
Brokerage Transactions.
Generally, equity securities, both listed and over-the-counter, are bought and sold through brokerage transactions for which commissions are payable. Purchases from underwriters will include the underwriting commission or concession, and purchases from dealers serving as market makers will include a dealers mark-up or reflect a dealers mark-down. Money market securities and other debt securities are usually bought and sold directly from the issuer or an underwriter or market maker for the securities. Generally, the Fund will not pay brokerage commissions for such purchases. When a debt security is bought from an underwriter, the purchase price will usually include an underwriting commission or concession. The purchase price for securities bought from dealers serving as market makers will similarly include the dealers mark up or reflect a dealers mark down. When the Fund executes transactions in the over-the-counter market, it will generally deal with primary market makers unless prices that are more favorable are otherwise obtainable.
In addition, the Adviser may place a combined order for two or more accounts they manage, including the Fund, engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security if, in its judgment, joint execution is in the best interest of each participant and will result in best price and execution. Transactions involving commingled orders are allocated in a manner deemed equitable to each account and the fund. Although it is recognized that, in some cases, the joint execution of orders could adversely affect the price or volume of the security that a particular account or the Fund may obtain, it is the opinion of the Adviser and the Companys Board of Directors that the advantages of combined orders outweigh the possible disadvantages of separate transactions. Nonetheless, the Adviser believes that the ability of the Fund to participate in higher volume transactions will generally be beneficial to the Fund.
For the period from February 29, 2012 through August 31, 2012, and the fiscal years ended August 31, 2013 and August 31, 2014, the Fund paid the following commissions to brokers on account of research services:
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal period February 29, 2012 through August 31, 2012* |
|
$ |
0 |
|
*Commencement of operations February 29, 2012.
The following chart shows the aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for the fiscal period from February 29, 2012 through August 31, 2012 and for the fiscal years ended August 31, 2013 and August 31, 2014:
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 |
|
$ |
25,056 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
8,483 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the fiscal period February 29, 2012 through August 31, 2012* |
|
$ |
1,561 |
|
*Commencement of operations February 29, 2012.
The Fund is required to identify any securities of the Companys regular broker-dealers (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act) or their parents held by the Fund as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. As of August 31, 2014, there were no securities held by the Fund of its regular broker-dealers.
Brokerage Selection.
The Company does not expect to use one particular broker or dealer, and when one or more brokers is believed capable of providing the best combination of price and execution, the Funds Adviser may select a broker based upon brokerage or research services provided to the Adviser. The Adviser may pay a higher commission than otherwise obtainable from other brokers in return for such services only if a good faith determination is made that the commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.
Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, permits an investment adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause a fund to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. In addition to agency transactions, the Adviser may receive brokerage and research services in connection with certain riskless principal transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC guidance. Brokerage and research services include: (1) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (2) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and (3) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance, settlement, and custody). In the case of research services, the Adviser believes that access to independent investment research is beneficial to their investment decision-making processes and, therefore, to the Fund.
To the extent research services may be a factor in selecting brokers, such services may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information as to particular companies and securities as well as market, economic, or institutional areas and information which assists in the valuation and pricing of investments. Examples of research-oriented services for which the Adviser might utilize Fund commissions include research reports and other information on the economy, industries, sectors, groups of securities, individual companies, statistical information, political developments, technical market action, pricing and appraisal services, credit analysis, risk measurement analysis, performance and other analysis. The Adviser may use research services furnished by brokers in servicing all client accounts and not all services may necessarily be used in connection with the account that paid commissions to the broker providing such services. Information so received by the Adviser will be in addition to and not in lieu of the services required to be performed by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement. Any advisory or other fees paid to the Adviser are not reduced as a result of the receipt of research services.
In some cases the Adviser may receive a service from a broker that has both a research and a non-research use. When this occurs, the Adviser makes a good faith allocation, under all the circumstances, between the research and non-research uses of the service. The percentage of the service that is used for research purposes may be paid for with client commissions, while the Adviser will use its own funds to pay for the percentage of the service that is used for non-research purposes. In making this good faith allocation, the Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest, but the Adviser believes that its allocation procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that it appropriately allocates the anticipated use of such services to their research and non-research uses.
From time to time, the Fund may purchase new issues of securities for clients in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the seller may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide the Adviser with research services. FINRA has adopted rules expressly permitting these types of arrangements under certain circumstances. Generally, the seller will provide research credits in these situations at a rate that is higher than that which is available for typical secondary market transactions. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e).
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION
Read the Funds Prospectus for information regarding the purchase and redemption of Fund shares, including, in the case of Class A Shares, any applicable sales charges. The following information supplements information in the Funds Prospectus.
You may purchase shares through an account maintained by your brokerage firm, financial institutions and industry professionals (Service Organizations) and you may also purchase shares directly by mail or wire. The Company reserves the right, if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable, to honor any request for redemption or repurchase of the Funds shares by making payment in whole or in part in securities chosen by the Company and valued in the same way as they would be valued for purposes of computing the Funds NAV. If payment is made in securities, a shareholder may incur transaction costs in converting these securities into cash. A shareholder will also bear any market risk or tax consequences as a result of a payment in securities. The Company has elected, however, to be governed by Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act so that the Fund is obligated to redeem its shares solely in cash up to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its NAV during any 90-day period for any one shareholder of the Fund. A shareholder will bear the risk of a decline in market value and any tax consequences associated with a redemption in securities.
Under the 1940 Act, the Company may suspend the right to redemption or postpone the date of payment upon redemption for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), or during which the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE or determines an emergency exists as a result of which disposal or valuation of portfolio securities is not reasonably practicable, or for such other periods as the SEC may permit. (The Company may also suspend or postpone the recordation of the transfer of its shares upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing conditions).
Shares of the Fund are subject to redemption by the Company, at the redemption price of such shares as in effect from time to time, including, without limitation: (1) to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of a shareholder to make full payment for shares purchased by the shareholder or to collect any charge relating to a transaction effected for the benefit of a shareholder as provided in the Prospectus from time to time; (2) if such redemption is, in the opinion of the Companys Board of Directors, desirable in order to prevent the Company or the Fund from being deemed a personal holding company within the meaning of the Code; (3) or if the net income with respect to any particular class of common stock should be negative or it should otherwise be appropriate to carry out the Companys responsibilities under the 1940 Act.
The Fund has the right to redeem your shares at current NAV at any time and without prior notice if, and to the extent that, such redemption is necessary to reimburse the Fund for any loss sustained by reason of your failure to make full payment for shares of the Fund you previously purchased or subscribed for.
Class A Shares of the Fund may be subject to sales charges as described below.
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge on Certain Redemptions . Purchases of $1,000,000 or more of Class A Shares are not subject to an initial sales charge; however, a contingent deferred sales charge is payable on these investments in the event of a share redemption within 18 months following the share purchase, at the rate of 1% of the lesser of the value of the shares redeemed (exclusive of reinvested dividends and capital gain distributions) or the total cost of such shares. In determining whether a contingent deferred sales charge is payable, and the amount of the charge, it is assumed that shares purchased with reinvested dividend and capital gain distributions and then other shares held the longest are the first redeemed. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the event of (a) the death or disability (as defined in Section 72(m)(7) of the Code) of the shareholder, (b) a lump sum distribution from a benefit plan qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), or (c) systematic withdrawals from ERISA plans if the shareholder is at least 59 1/2 years old. The Fund applies the waiver for death or disability to shares held at the time of death or the initial determination of disability of either an individual shareholder or one who owns the shares of a joint tenant with the right of survivorship or as a tenant in common.
Reducing or Eliminating the Front-End Sales Charge
The Funds Class A Shares are offered to the public at NAV plus a front-end sales charge. You can reduce or eliminate the front-end sales charge on Class A Shares of the Fund as follows:
Quantity Discounts . Purchases of at least $50,000 can reduce the sales charges you pay, and purchases of at least $1,000,000 can eliminate the sales charges you pay.
Combined Purchase Privilege . The following purchases may be combined for purposes of determining the amount of purchase: (a) individual purchases, if made at the same time, by a single purchaser, the purchasers spouse and children under the age of 25 purchasing Class A Shares for their own accounts, including shares purchased by a qualified retirement plan(s) exclusively for the benefit of such individual(s) (such as an IRA, individual-type section 403(b) plan or single-participant Keogh-type plan) or by a Company, as defined in Section 2(a)(8) of the 1940 Act, solely controlled, as defined in the 1940 Act, by such individual(s), or (b) individual purchases by trustees or other fiduciaries purchasing Class A Shares (i) for a single trust estate or a single fiduciary account, including an employee benefit plan, or (ii) concurrently by two or more employee benefit plans of a single employer or of employers affiliated with each other in accordance with Section 2(a)(3)(c) of the 1940 Act (excluding in either case an employee benefit plan described in (a) above), provided such trustees or other fiduciaries purchase shares in a single payment. Purchases made for nominee or street name accounts may not be combined with purchases made for such other accounts.
Cumulative Quantity Discount. You may combine the value of Class A Shares held in the Fund, along with the dollar amount of Class A Shares being purchased, to qualify for a cumulative quantity discount. The value of Class A Shares held is the higher of their cost or current net asset value. For example, if you hold Class A Shares having a value of $225,000 and purchase $25,000 of additional Class A Shares, the sales charge applicable to the additional investment would be 2.50%, the rate applicable to a single purchase of $250,000. In order to receive the cumulative quantity discount, the value of Class A Shares held must be brought to the attention of your investment broker or other Service Organization at the time of your purchase.
Letter of Intent . You can sign a Letter of Intent committing to purchase at least $50,000 in Class A Shares of the Fund within a 13-month period to combine such purchases in calculating the sales charge. A portion of your Fund shares will be held in escrow. If you complete your purchase commitments as stated in the Letter of Intent, your Fund shares held in escrow will be released to your account. If you do not fulfill the Letter of Intent, the appropriate amount of Fund shares held in escrow will be redeemed to pay the sales charges that were not applied to your purchases.
Dealer Reallowances
As shown in the table below, the Distributor for the shares of the Fund, may provide dealer reallowances up to the full sales charge for purchases of the Funds Class A Shares in which a front-end sales charge is applicable.
Amount of Purchase |
|
Sales Charge as a
|
|
Commission as a
|
|
Less than $50,000 |
|
5.25 |
% |
4.75 |
% |
At least $50,000 but less than $100,000 |
|
4.75 |
% |
4.25 |
% |
At least $100,000 but less than $250,000 |
|
3.50 |
% |
3.25 |
% |
At least $250,000 but less than $500,000 |
|
2.50 |
% |
2.25 |
% |
At least $500,000 but less than $750,000 |
|
2.00 |
% |
1.90 |
% |
At least $750,000 but less than $1,000,000 |
|
1.50 |
% |
1.45 |
% |
$1,000,000 or greater |
|
None |
|
* |
|
* No sales charge is payable at the time of purchase on investments of $1,000,000 or more; however, a 1% contingent deferred sales charge is imposed in the event of redemption within 18 months following any such purchase. The Funds distributor may pay a commission at the rate of 1% to certain brokerage firms, financial institutions and other industry professionals, including affiliates of the Adviser, who initiate and are responsible for purchases of $1,000,000 or more.
Other Purchase Information
If shares of the Fund are held in a street name account with an authorized dealer, all recordkeeping, transaction processing and payments of distributions relating to the beneficial owners account will be performed by the authorized dealer, and not by the Fund and its Transfer Agent. Since the Fund will have no record of the beneficial owners transactions, a beneficial owner should contact the authorized dealer to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, to make changes in or give instructions concerning the account or to obtain information about the account. The transfer of shares in a street name account to an account with another dealer or to an account directly with the Fund involves special procedures and will require the beneficial owner to obtain historical purchase information about the shares in the account from the authorized dealer.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTION PROCEDURES
The Companys telephone transaction procedures include the following measures: (1) requiring the appropriate telephone transaction privilege forms; (2) requiring the caller to provide the names of the account owners, the account social security number and name of the Fund, all of which must match the Companys records; (3) requiring the Companys service representative to complete a telephone transaction form, listing all of the above caller identification information; (4) permitting exchanges (if applicable) only if the two account registrations are identical; (5) requiring that redemption proceeds be sent only by check to the account owners of record at the address of record, or by wire only to the owners of record at the bank account of record; (6) sending a written confirmation for each telephone transaction to the owners of record at the address of record within five (5) business days of the call; and (7) maintaining tapes of telephone transactions for six months, if the Company elects to record shareholder telephone transactions. For accounts held of record by broker-dealers, financial institutions, securities dealers, financial planners and other industry professionals, additional documentation or information regarding the scope of a callers authority is required. Finally, for telephone transactions in accounts held jointly, additional information regarding other account holders is required. Telephone transactions will not be permitted in connection with IRA or other retirement plan accounts or by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney.
VALUATION OF SHARES
Subject to approval by the Companys Board of Directors, the Fund may employ outside organizations, which may use a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indices, matrices, yield curves and other specific adjustments in determining the approximate market value of portfolio investments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price that differs from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables, and current payables are carried on the Funds books at their face value. Other assets, if any, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Funds Valuation Committee under the direction of the Companys Board of Directors.
TAXES
General
The following summarizes certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussions here and in the Prospectus are not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Potential investors should consult their tax advisers with specific reference to their own tax situations.
The discussions of the federal tax consequences in the Prospectus and this SAI are based on the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) and the regulations issued under it, and court decisions and administrative interpretations, as in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly alter the statements included herein, and such changes or decisions may be retroactive.
The Fund qualified during its last taxable year and intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1, of the Code. As such, the Fund generally will be exempt from federal income tax
on its net investment income and realized capital gains that it distributes to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company, it must meet three important tests each year.
First, the Fund must derive with respect to each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, other income derived with respect to the Funds business of investing in stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Second, generally, at the close of each quarter of the Funds taxable year, at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of the issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets may be invested in the securities of (1) any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies), (2) two or more issuers that the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or (3) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Third, the Fund must distribute an amount equal to at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (net investment income and the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss) and 90% of its tax-exempt income, if any, for the year.
The Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If the Fund were to fail to make sufficient distributions, it could be liable for corporate income tax and for excise tax in respect of the shortfall or, if the shortfall is large enough, the Fund could be disqualified as a regulated investment company. If for any taxable year the Fund were not to qualify as a regulated investment company, all its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders. In that event, shareholders would recognize dividend income on distributions to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, and corporate shareholders could be eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
The Code imposes a nondeductible 4% excise tax on regulated investment companies that fail to distribute each year an amount equal to specified percentages of their ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income (excess of capital gains over capital losses). The Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions each year to avoid liability for this excise tax.
State and Local Taxes
Although the Fund expects to qualify as a regulated investment company and to be relieved of all or substantially all federal income taxes, depending upon the extent of its activities in states and localities in which its offices are maintained, in which its agents or independent contractors are located or in which it is otherwise deemed to be conducting business, the Fund may be subject to the tax laws of such states or localities.
Taxation of Certain Investments
The tax principles applicable to transactions in financial instruments, such as futures contracts and options, that may be engaged in by the Fund, and investments in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), are complex and, in some cases, uncertain. Such transactions and investments may cause the Fund to recognize taxable income prior to the receipt of cash, thereby requiring the Fund to liquidate other positions, or to borrow money, so as to make sufficient distributions to shareholders to avoid corporate-level tax. Moreover, some or all of the taxable income recognized may be ordinary income or short-term capital gain, so that the distributions may be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
In addition, in the case of any shares of a PFIC in which the Fund invests, the Fund may be liable for corporate-level tax on any ultimate gain or distributions on the shares if the Fund fails to make an election to recognize income annually during the period of its ownership of the shares.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING COMPANY SHARES
The Company has authorized capital of 100 billion shares of common stock at a par value of $0.001 per share. Currently, 82.373 billion shares have been classified into 153 classes, however, the Company only has 31 active share classes that have begun investment operations. Under the Companys charter, the Board of Directors has the power to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock from time to time.
Each share that represents an interest in the Fund has an equal proportionate interest in the assets belonging to such Fund with each other share that represents an interest in such Fund, even where a share has a different class designation than another share representing an interest in that Fund. Shares of the Company do not have preemptive or conversion rights. When issued for payment as described in the Prospectus, shares of the Company will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Company does not currently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. The Companys amended By-Laws provide that shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding shares of all classes of common stock of the Company have the right to call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more directors. To the extent required by law, the Company will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.
Holders of shares of the Fund will vote in the aggregate and not by class on all matters, except where otherwise required by law. Further, shareholders of the Company will vote in the aggregate and not by portfolio except as otherwise required by law or when the Board of Directors determines that the matter to be voted upon affects only the interests of the shareholders of a particular portfolio or class of shares. Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of such Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Company shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each portfolio affected by the matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a portfolio shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each portfolio in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the portfolio. Under Rule 18f-2 the approval of an investment advisory agreement or distribution agreement or any change in a fundamental investment objective or fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a portfolio only if approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such portfolio. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the selection of independent public accountants and the election of directors are not subject to the separate voting requirements and may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of an investment company voting without regard to a portfolio. Shareholders of the Company are entitled to one vote for each full share held (irrespective of class or portfolio) and fractional votes for fractional shares held. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate shares of common stock of the Company may elect all of the Directors.
Notwithstanding any provision of Maryland law requiring a greater vote of shares of the Companys common stock (or of any class voting as a class) in connection with any corporate action, unless otherwise provided by law (for example by Rule 18f-2 discussed above), or by the Companys Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, the Company may take or authorize such action upon the favorable vote of the holders of more than 50% of all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voting without regard to class (or portfolio).
MISCELLANEOUS
Counsel
The law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, One Logan Square, Ste. 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6996, serves as independent counsel to the Company and the Independent Directors.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Ernst & Young LLP, One Commerce Square, Suite 700, 2005 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Funds Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 (the Annual Report) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Funds independent registered public accounting firm, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated by reference into this SAI. Such financial statements have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon such report given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing. Copies of the Annual Report may be obtained at no charge by telephoning the Fund at the telephone number appearing on the front page of this SAI.
APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors short-term issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poors for short-term issues:
A-1 A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category and indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2 A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3 A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D A short-term obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) short-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments.
Moodys employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:
P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch, Inc. / Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as short-term based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations:
F1 Securities possess the highest short-term credit quality. This designation indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2 Securities possess good short-term credit quality. This designation indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3 Securities possess fair short-term credit quality. This designation indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B Securities possess speculative short-term credit quality. This designation indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C Securities possess high short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity
ratings only.
D Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.
The DBRS® Ratings Limited (DBRS) short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the sub-categories (high), (middle), and (low).
The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for commercial paper and short-term debt:
R-1 (high) - Short-term debt rated R-1 (high) is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
R-1 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-1 (middle) is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
R-1 (low) Short-term debt rated R-1 (low) is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
R-2 (high) Short-term debt rated R-2 (high) is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
R-2 (middle) Short-term debt rated R-2 (middle) is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.
R-2 (low) Short-term debt rated R-2 (low) is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuers ability to meet such obligations.
R-3 Short-term debt rated R-3 is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.
R-4 Short-term debt rated R-4 is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.
R-5 Short-term debt rated R-5 is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
D Short-term debt rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Long-Term Credit Ratings
The following summarizes the ratings used by Standard & Poors for long-term issues:
AAA An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC and C Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The CC rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poors expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C An obligation rated C is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.
D An obligation rated D is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligations rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Standard & Poors issuer credit ratings make a distinction between foreign currency ratings and local currency ratings. An issuers foreign currency rating will differ from its local currency rating when the obligor has a different capacity to meet its obligations denominated in its local currency, vs. obligations denominated in a foreign currency.
Moodys long-term ratings are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for long-term debt:
Aaa Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
Aa Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
A Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moodys appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.
The following summarizes long-term ratings used by Fitch :
AAA Securities considered to be of the highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA Securities considered to be of very high credit quality. AA ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A Securities considered to be of high credit quality. A ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB Securities considered to be of good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB Securities considered to be speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B Securities considered to be highly speculative. B ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.
CCC A CCC rating indicates that substantial credit risk is present.
CC A CC rating indicates very high levels of credit risk.
C A C rating indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.
Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Fitch believes that this approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.
Plus (+) or minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories (high) and (low). The absence of either a (high) or (low) designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. The following summarizes the ratings used by DBRS for long-term debt:
AAA - Long-term debt rated AAA is of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.
AA Long-term debt rated AA is of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.
A Long-term debt rated A is of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.
BBB Long-term debt rated BBB is of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.
BB Long-term debt rated BB is of speculative, non-investment grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.
B Long-term debt rated B is of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.
CCC, CC and C Long-term debt rated in any of these categories is of very highly
speculative credit quality. I n danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.
D A security rated D is assigned when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods, a downgrade to D may occur. DBRS may also use SD (Selective Default) in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a distressed exchange.
Municipal Note Ratings
A Standard & Poors U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poors opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poors analysis will review the following considerations:
· Amortization schedule - the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and
· Source of payment - the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.
Municipal Short-Term Note rating symbols are as follows:
SP-1 A municipal note rated SP-1 exhibits a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2 A municipal note rated SP-2 exhibits a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3 A municipal note rated SP-3 exhibits a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
Moodys uses the Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuers long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels MIG-1 through MIG-3 while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG. The following summarizes the ratings used by Moodys for short-term municipal obligations:
MIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market
for refinancing.
MIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
In the case of variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs), a two-component rating is assigned: a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moodys evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (demand feature). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG rating scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG scale. The rating transitions on the VMIG scale differ from those on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support generally will terminate if the issuers long-term rating drops below investment grade.
VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issues specific structural or credit features.
VMIG-1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
VMIG-3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.
NR Is assigned to an unrated obligation.
About Credit Ratings
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an
obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poors view of the obligors capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Moodys credit ratings must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities.
Fitchs credit ratings provide an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Fitch credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. Fitchs credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign (including supranational and sub-national), financial, bank, insurance, municipal and other public finance entities and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
DBRS credit ratings are opinions based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of information sourced and received by DBRS, which information is not audited or verified by DBRS. Ratings are not buy, hold or sell recommendations and they do not address the market price of a security. Ratings may be upgraded, downgraded, placed under review, confirmed and discontinued.
APPENDIX B
Proxy Voting
Issue
Rule 206(4)-6 under the Advisers Act requires every investment adviser to adopt and implement written policies and procedures, reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes proxies in the best interest of its clients. The procedures must address material conflicts that may arise in connection with proxy voting. The Rule further requires the adviser to provide a concise summary of the advisers proxy voting process and offer to provide copies of the complete proxy voting policy and procedures to clients upon request. Lastly, the Rule requires that the adviser disclose to clients how they may obtain information on how the adviser voted their proxies.
SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC does vote proxies on behalf of its clients.
Policy
SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC does vote proxies on behalf of its clients.
Procedures for SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLCs Receipt of Class Actions
The following procedures outline SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLCs receipt of Class Action documents from clients and custodians. It is SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLCs position not to file these Class Action documents, but if received will follow these guidelines:
1. If Class Action documents are received by SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC from the Client , SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC will gather any requisite information it has and forward to the client, to enable the client to file the Class Action at the clients discretion. SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC will not file Class Actions on behalf of any client.
2. Similarly, if Class Action documents are received by SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC from the Custodian , SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC will gather any requisite information it has and forward to the client, to enable the client to file the Class Action at the clients discretion. SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC will not file Class Actions on behalf of any client.
THE RBB FUND, INC.
PEA 174
PART C: OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28 . EXHIBITS
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Articles of Incorporation. |
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(1) |
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Articles of Incorporation of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 24, 1988, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(2) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 24, 1988, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(3) |
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Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 12, 1988, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(4) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 12, 1988, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(5) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on April 27, 1990, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(6) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 4 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 1, 1990, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(7) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 7 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 15, 1992, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(8) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 22, 1992, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(9) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 13 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1993, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(10) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 13 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1993, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
(11) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 19, 1994, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(12) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 19, 1994, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(13) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 19, 1994, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(14) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 19, 1994, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(15) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 27 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 31, 1995. |
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(16) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 34 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 16, 1996. |
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(17) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 39 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 11, 1996. |
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(18) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 45 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 9, 1997. |
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(19) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 25, 1997. |
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(20) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 25, 1997. |
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(21) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(22) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(23) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 63 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1998. |
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(24) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 63 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1998. |
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(25) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 67 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 30, 1999. |
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(26) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 69 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 29, 1999. |
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(27) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 71 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2000. |
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(28) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 71 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2000. |
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(29) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 71 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2000. |
(30) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 71 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2000. |
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(31) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 73 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 15, 2001. |
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(32) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant ( Boston Partners Bond Fund Institutional Class and Boston Partners Bond Fund Investor Class ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 77 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 15, 2002. |
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(33) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund Institutional Class and Boston Partners Bond Fund Institutional Class ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 77 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 15, 2002. |
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(34) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Schneider Value Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 16, 2002. |
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(35) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Institutional Liquidity Fund for Credit Unions and Liquidity Fund for Credit Union Members ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 84 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2003. |
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(36) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 89 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2004. |
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(37) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Robeco WPG Core Bond Fund Investor Class, Robeco WPG Core Bond Fund Institutional Class, Robeco WPG Tudor Fund Institutional Class, Robeco WPG Large Cap Growth Fund Institutional Class ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 93 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 4, 2005. |
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(38) |
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Certificate of Correction of Registrant is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 95 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 2005. |
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(39) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Robeco WPG Core Bond Fund Investor Class, Robeco WPG Core Bond Fund Institutional Class, Robeco WPG Tudor Fund Institutional Class, Robeco WPG 130/30 Large Cap Core Fund f/k/a Robeco WPG Large Cap Growth Fund Institutional Class ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 95 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 2005. |
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(40) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Senbanc Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 96 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 6, 2005. |
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(41) |
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Articles of Amendment of Registrant ( Robeco WPG Core Bond Fund Retirement Class) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 97 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on August 19, 2005. |
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(42) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Robeco WPG Core Bond Fund Investor Class) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 99 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 27, 2005. |
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(43) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Bear Stearns CUFS MLP Mortgage Portfolio) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 104 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 18, 2006. |
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(44) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant (Bear Stearns CUFS MLP Mortgage Portfolio) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 108 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 2006. |
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(45) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Bear Stearns Ultra Short Income Fund f/k/a Bear Stearns Enhanced Income Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 109 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 15, 2006. |
(46) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Marvin & Palmer Large Cap Growth Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 109 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 15, 2006. |
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(47) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant (Bear Stearns Ultra Short Income Fund f/k/a Bear Stearns Enhanced Income Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 111 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on February 28, 2007. |
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(48) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Bear Stearns Ultra Short Income Fund f/k/a Bear Stearns Enhanced Income Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 111 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on February 28, 2007. |
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(49) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund, Free Market Fixed-Income Fund) incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 112 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 1, 2007. |
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(50) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Robeco WPG 130/30 Large Cap Core Fund Investor Class) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 113 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 13, 2007. |
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(51) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( SAM Sustainable Water Fund, SAM Sustainable Climate Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 114 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 17, 2007. |
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(52) |
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Articles of Amendment of Registrant (Robeco WPG 130/30 Large Cap Core Fund Institutional Class) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 116 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 4, 2007. |
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(53) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Bear Stearns Multifactor 130/30 US Core Equity Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 123 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 17, 2007. |
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(54) |
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Articles of Amendment to Charter of the Registrant (Bear Stearns Ultra Short Income Fund f/k/a Bear Stearns Enhanced Income Fund are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 124 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 28, 2007. |
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(55) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( SAM Sustainable Global Active Fund, SAM Sustainable Themes Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 128 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on April 23, 2009. |
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(56) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 129 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 2, 2009. |
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(57) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( S1 Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 135 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 19, 2010. |
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(58) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 136 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on August 4, 2010. |
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(59) |
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Articles of Amendment of Registrant (Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund f/k/a Robeco WPG Small Cap Value Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 28, 2010. |
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(60) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund and Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 14, 2011. |
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(61) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 144 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 15, 2011. |
(62) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund, Free Market Fixed-Income Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(63) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 152 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 29, 2013. |
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(64) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund Institutional Class) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
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(65) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International VI Equity Portfolio, Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 159 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 20, 2013. |
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(66) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 161 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 27, 2013. |
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(67) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant (Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund Institutional Class) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(68) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund and Altair Smaller Companies Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(69) |
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Articles Supplementary of Registrant ( Campbell Core Trend Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 16, 2014. |
(70) |
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Articles Supplementary of the Registrant (Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund, Free Market Fixed-Income Fund) are filed herewith. |
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(71) |
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Articles of Amendment of the Registrant ( Boston Partners Investment Funds ) are filed herewith. |
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By-Laws. |
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By-Laws, as amended, are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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Instruments Defining Rights of Security Holders. |
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(1) |
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See Articles VI, VII, VIII, IX and XI of Registrants Articles of 1 Incorporation dated February 17, 1988 which are incorporated herein by reference to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 24, 1988, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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See Articles II, III, VI, XIII, and XIV of Registrants By-Laws as amended through August 25, 2004, which are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 89 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2004. |
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(d) |
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Investment Advisory Contracts. |
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Investment Advisory Agreement (Schneider Small Cap Value Fund) between Registrant and Schneider Capital Management Company is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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Investment Advisory Agreement (Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund) between Registrant and Bogle Investment Management, L.P. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 67 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 30, 1999. |
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Investment Advisory Agreement (Schneider Value Fund) between Registrant and Schneider Capital Management Company is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 80 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 1, 2002. |
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Investment Advisory and Administration Agreement (Money Market Portfolio ) between Registrant and BlackRock Advisors, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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Investment Advisory Agreement (Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund, Free Market Fixed Income Fund) between Registrant and Matson Money, Inc. (f/k/a Abundance Technologies, Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 125 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on February 27, 2008. |
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Amendment No. 1 to the Investment Advisory Agreement ( Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund and Free Market Fixed Income Fund ) between Registrant and Matson Money, Inc. (f/k/a Abundance Technologies, Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement (Schneider Small Cap Value Fund) is filed herewith. |
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(8) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement (Schneider Value Fund) is filed herewith. |
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(9) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement (Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund) is filed herewith. |
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(10) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement (Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund) is filed herewith. |
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Investment Advisory Agreement (Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund) between Registrant and Perimeter Capital Management is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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(12) |
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Form of Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement (Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund) between Registrant and Perimeter Capital Management is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(13) |
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Investment Advisory Agreement (S1 Fund) between Registrant and Simple Alternatives, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 138 to the Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2010. |
(14) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement (S1 Fund) between Registrant and Simple Alternatives, LLC is filed herewith. |
(15) |
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Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (S1 Fund) between Simple Alternatives, LLC and Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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(16) |
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Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (S1 Fund) between Simple Alternatives, LLC and Courage Capital Management, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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(17) |
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Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (S1 Fund) between Simple Alternatives, LLC and Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
(18) |
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Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (S1 Fund) between Simple Alternatives, LLC and Maerisland Capital, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(19) |
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Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement ( S1 Fund) between Simple Alternatives, LLC and Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
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(20) |
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Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement ( S1 Fund) between Simple Alternatives, LLC and Sonica Capital, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
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(21) |
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Investment Advisory Agreement ( Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund ) between Registrant and Summit Global Investments, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
(22) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund ) between Registrant and Summit Global Investments, LLC is filed herewith. |
(23) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement between Registrant and BlackRock Advisors, LLC ( Money Market Portfolio ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(24) |
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Investment Advisory Agreement (Robeco Investment Funds) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
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(25) |
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Addendum No. 1 to Investment Advisory Agreement ( Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(26) |
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Form of Investment Advisory Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) between Registrant and Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, LTD. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 161 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 27, 2013. |
(27) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) between Registrant and Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. is filed herewith. |
(28) |
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Investment Advisory Agreement ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund ) between Registrant and Abbey Capital Limited is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
(29) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund ) between Registrant and Abbey Capital Limited is filed herewith. |
(30) |
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Investment Advisory Agreement ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund ) between Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited and Abbey Capital Limited is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(31) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and Altis Partners (Jersey) Limited is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(32) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and Cantab Capital Partners, LLP is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
(33) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and Eclipse Capital Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(34) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and Graham Capital Management, LP is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(35) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and P/E Investments, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(36) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and Revolution Capital Management, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(37) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and Trigon Investment Advisors, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(38) |
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Form of Trading Advisory Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) among Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, Abbey Capital Limited and Harmonic Capital Partners LLP is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(39) |
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Addendum No. 2 to Investment Advisory Agreement ( Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Fund) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(40) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II and Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
(41) |
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Form of Investment Advisory Agreement ( Altair Smaller Companies Fund ) between Registrant and Altair Advisers LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
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(42) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Altair Smaller Companies Fund ) between Registrant and Altair Advisers LLC is filed herewith. |
(43) |
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Form of Investment Advisory Agreement ( Campbell Core Trend Fund ) between Registrant and Campbell & Company Investment Adviser LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 16, 2014. |
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(44) |
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Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Campbell Core Trend Fund ) between Registrant and Campbell & Company Investment Adviser LLC to be filed by amendment. |
(45) |
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Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (Altair Smaller Companies Fund) among Registrant, Altair Advisers LLC and Aperio Group, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
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(46) |
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Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (Altair Smaller Companies Fund) among Registrant, Altair Advisers LLC and Driehaus Capital Management LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
(47) |
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Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (Altair Smaller Companies Fund) among Registrant, Altair Advisers LLC and Granite Investment Partners, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
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(48) |
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Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (Altair Smaller Companies Fund) among Registrant, Altair Advisers LLC and Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014.. |
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(49) |
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Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (Altair Smaller Companies Fund) among Registrant, Altair Advisers LLC and Pier Capital, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
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(50) |
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Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (Altair Smaller Companies Fund) among Registrant, Altair Advisers LLC and River Road Asset Management, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
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(51) |
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Form of Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio, and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio) between Registrant and Matson Money, Inc. is filed herewith. |
(e) |
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Underwriting Contracts. |
(1) |
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Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC dated as of October 31, 2014 is filed herewith. |
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(2) |
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Form of Distribution Agreement Supplement ( Campbell Core Trend Fund ) between Registrant and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 16, 2014. |
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(3) |
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Form of First Amendment to Distribution Agreement entered into as of November 7, 2014 between Registrant and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC is filed herewith. |
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(f) |
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Bonus or Profit Sharing Contracts. |
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(1) |
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Form of Deferred Compensation Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(2) |
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Form of Deferred Compensation Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(g) |
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Custodian Agreements. |
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(1) |
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Custody Agreement dated July 18, 2011 between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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(2) |
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Foreign Custody Manager Agreement dated July 18, 2011 between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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(3) |
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Form of Amended and Restated Schedule II to the Custody Agreement ( Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund and Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
(4) |
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Form of Amended and Restated Schedule II to the Custody Agreement ( Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(5) |
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Form of Amended and Restated Schedule II to the Custody Agreement ( Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(6) |
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Form of Amended and Restated Schedule II to the Custody Agreement ( Matson Money U.S. Equity Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity Portfolio, Matson Money Fixed Income Portfolio ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(7) |
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Form of Amended and Restated Schedule II to the Custody Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) is incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 333-193147) filed on January 31, 2014. |
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(h) |
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Other Material Contracts. |
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(1) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement (Sansom Street) between Registrant and Provident Financial Processing Corporation, dated as of August 16, 1988 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 1989, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(2) |
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Shareholder Servicing Agreement (Sansom Street Money Market) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 1989, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(3) |
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Shareholder Servicing Agreement (Sansom Street Government Obligations Money Market) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 1989, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(4) |
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Shareholder Services Plan (Sansom Street Money Market) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 1989, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(5) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement (Bedford Money Market) between Registrant and Provident Financial Processing Corporation, dated as of August 16, 1988 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 1989, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(6) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement and Supplements (Bradford, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta and Theta) between Registrant and Provident Financial Processing Corporation dated as of November 5, 1991 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 7 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 15, 1992, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(7) |
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Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company and PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) dated February 1, 1995 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 6, 1995. |
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(8) |
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Supplement to Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant, State Street Bank and Trust Company, Inc. and PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) dated April 10, 1995 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 6, 1995. |
(9) |
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Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated December 15, 1994 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 25, 1995. |
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(10) |
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Transfer Agreement and Service Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 37 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 30, 1996. |
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(11) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Boston Partners Mid Cap Value Fund - Institutional Class) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 25, 1997. |
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(12) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Boston Partners Mid Cap Value Fund - Investor Class) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 25, 1997. |
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(13) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Boston Partners Mid Cap Value Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) dated, May 30, 1997 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 25, 1997. |
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(14) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Schneider Small Cap Value Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(15) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Schneider Small Cap Value Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(16) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II (formerly Micro Cap Value) - Institutional Class) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(17) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II (formerly Micro Cap Value) - Investor Class) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(18) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II (formerly Boston Partners Micro Cap Value Fund)) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(19) |
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Administrative and Accounting Services Agreement (Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund (formerly Market Neutral) - Institutional and Investor Classes) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 63 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1998. |
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(20) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund (formerly Market Neutral) - Institutional and Investor Classes) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 63 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1998. |
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(21) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Boston Partners Fund (formerly Long-Short Equity)) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 65 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 19, 1999. |
(22) |
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Form of Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Boston Partners Fund (formerly Long-Short Equity)) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 65 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 19, 1999. |
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(23) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 67 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 30, 1999. |
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(24) |
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Non 12b-1 Shareholder Services Plan and Agreement (Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth - Investor Shares) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 67 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 30, 1999. |
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(25) |
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Agreement between E*TRADE Group, Inc., Registrant and Registrants principal underwriter is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 69 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 1, 1999. |
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(26) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 69 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 1, 1999. |
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(27) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Supplement (Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 80 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 1, 2002. |
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(28) |
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Form of Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 77 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 15, 2002. |
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(29) |
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Transfer Agency Supplement (Schneider Value Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 80 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 1, 2002. |
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(30) |
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Form of Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Schneider Value Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 16, 2002. |
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(31) |
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Shareholder Servicing Agreement (Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 80 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 1, 2002. |
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(32) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Customer Identification Program) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 84 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2003. |
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(33) |
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Regulatory Administration Services Agreement between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 84 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2003. |
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(34) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Robeco WPG Core Bond Fund, Robeco WPG Large Cap Growth Fund, and Robeco WPG Tudor Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 100 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 25, 2005. |
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(35) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund f/k/a Robeco WPG Tudor Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 100 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 25, 2005. |
(36) |
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Non-12b-1 Shareholder Services Plan and Related Form of Shareholder Servicing Agreement (Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund f/k/a Robeco WPG Tudor Fund Institutional Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 100 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 25, 2005. |
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(37) |
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Delegation Agreement (Money Market Portfolio) among Registrant, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) , BlackRock Institutional Management Corp. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(38) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Free Market U.S. Equity Fund ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 126 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 24, 2008. |
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(39) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Free Market International Equity Fund ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 126 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 24, 2008. |
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(40) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Free Market Fixed Income Fund ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 126 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 24, 2008. |
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(41) |
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Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement (Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund, Free Market Fixed-Income Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 126 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 24, 2008. |
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(42) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Red Flags Amendment) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc . ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 127 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2008. |
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(43) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(44) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 28, 2010. |
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(45) |
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Amended Schedule A to the Regulatory Administration Services Agreement ( Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing (US) Inc. (f/k/a PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 28, 2010. |
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(46) |
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Administrative and Accounting Services Agreement (S1 Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. (f/k/a PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(47) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (S1 Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc . (f/k/a PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(48) |
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Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement (S1 Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. ( f/k/a PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
(49) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(50) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(51) |
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Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(52) |
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Form of Money Market Fund Services Amendment to Delegation Agreement (Money Market Portfolio) between Registrant, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (f/k/a BlackRock Institutional Management Corp.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No.33-20827 ) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(53) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Robeco Boston Global Equity Fund and Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(54) |
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Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement (Robeco Boston Global Equity Fund and Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(55) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Robeco Boston Global Equity Fund and Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(56) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(57) |
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Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(58) |
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Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement (Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(59) |
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Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
(60) |
|
Form of Amendment No. 5 to Transfer Agency Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund, Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund, Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Robeco Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund and Robeco Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(61) |
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Form of Money Market Fund Services Amendment to Delegation Agreement (Money Market Portfolio) between Registrant, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (f/k/a BlackRock Institutional Management Corp.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 28, 2010. |
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(62) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(63) |
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Form of Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement (Robeco Boston Global Long/Short Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(64) |
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Form of Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Robeco Boston Global Long/Short Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(65) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement (Matson Money U.S. Equity Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity Portfolio, Matson Money Fixed Income Portfolio) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(66) |
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Form of Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement (Matson Money U.S. Equity Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity Portfolio, Matson Money Fixed Income Portfolio) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(67) |
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Form of Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Matson Money U.S. Equity Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity Portfolio, Matson Money Fixed Income Portfolio) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(68) |
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Form of Administration and Accounting Services Agreement (Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 333-193147) filed on January 31, 2014. |
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(69) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 161 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 27, 2013. |
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(70) |
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Form of Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 161 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 27, 2013. |
(71) |
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Services Plan for Class I Shares and Form of Servicing Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 161 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 27, 2013. |
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(72) |
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Services Plan for Class II Shares and Form of Servicing Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 161 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 27, 2013. |
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(73) |
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Agreement and Plan of Reorganization dated as of March 14, 2014 ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 165 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 21, 2014. |
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(74) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 167 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on April 16, 2014. |
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(75) |
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Form of Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 167 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on April 16, 2014. |
(76) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement ( Altair Smaller Companies Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
(77) |
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Form of Transfer Agency Agreement Supplement ( Campbell Core Trend Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 16, 2014. |
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(78) |
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Form of Amended Schedule A to Regulatory Administration Services Agreement ( Altair Smaller Companies Fund and Campbell Core Trend Fund ) between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 16, 2014. |
(79) |
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Form of Amended and Restated Administration and Accounting, Transfer Agency and Custody Services Fee Deferral Letter ( Altair Smaller Companies Fund ) is filed herewith. |
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(i) |
(1) |
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Opinion and Consent of Counsel is filed herewith. |
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(2) |
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Consent of Counsel is filed herewith. |
(j) |
(1) |
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Consent of Ernst & Young LLP is filed herewith. |
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(2) |
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Consent of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP is filed herewith. |
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(3) |
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Consent of BBD LLP is filed herewith. |
(k) |
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None. |
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(l) |
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Initial Capital Agreements. |
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(1) |
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Subscription Agreement, relating to Classes A through N, is incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 12, 1988, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
(2) |
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Subscription Agreement between Registrant and Planco Financial Services, Inc., relating to Classes O and P is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1990. |
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(3) |
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Subscription Agreement between Registrant and Planco Financial Services, Inc., relating to Class Q is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1990. |
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(4) |
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Subscription Agreement between Registrant and Counselors Securities Inc. relating to Classes R, S, and Alpha 1 through Theta 4 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 7 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 15, 1992, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(5) |
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Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Boston Partners Asset Management, L.P. relating to Classes TT and UU (Boston Partners Mid Cap Value Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 25, 1997. |
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(6) |
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Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schneider Capital Management Company relating to Class YY (Schneider Small Cap Value Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(7) |
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Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Boston Partners Asset Management, L.P. relating to Classes DDD and EEE (Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II (formerly Micro Cap Value)) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 1998. |
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(8) |
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Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Boston Partners Asset Management relating to Classes III and JJJ (Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund (formerly Market Neutral)) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 63 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1998. |
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(9) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Boston Partners Asset Management, L. P. relating to Classes KKK and LLL (Boston Partners Fund (formerly Long-Short Equity)) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 65 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 19, 1999. |
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(10) |
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Purchase Agreement (Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund) between Registrant and Bogle Investment Management, L.P. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 67 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on September 30, 1999. |
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(11) |
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Purchase Agreement (Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund) between Registrant and Boston Partners Asset Management, L.P. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 80 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 1, 2002. |
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(12) |
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Purchase Agreement (Schneider Value Fund) between Registrant and Schneider Capital Management Company is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 80 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 1, 2002. |
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(13) |
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Purchase Agreement (Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund f/k/a Robeco WPG Tudor Fund) between Registrant and Weiss, Peck & Greer Investments is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 96 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 6, 2005. |
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(14) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Free Market U.S. Equity Fund) between Registrant and Matson Money, Inc. (f/k/a Abundance Technologies, Inc.), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 112 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 1, 2007. |
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(15) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Free Market International Equity Fund) between Registrant and Matson Money, Inc. (f/k/a Abundance Technologies, Inc.) , is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 112 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 1, 2007. |
(16) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Free Market Fixed Income Fund) between Registrant and Matson Money, Inc. (f/k/a Abundance Technologies, Inc.) , is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 112 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 1, 2007. |
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(17) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement ( Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund ) between Registrant and Perimeter Capital Management is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 134 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2009. |
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(18) |
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Purchase Agreement (S1 Fund) between Registrant and Simple Alternatives, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 138 to the Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2010. |
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(19) |
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Purchase Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 136 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on August 4, 2010. |
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(20) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 t the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 14, 2011. |
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(21) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 t the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 14, 2011. |
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(22) |
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Purchase Agreement (Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund) between Registrant and Summit Global Investments, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
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(23) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund-Investor Class) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(24) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund-Institutional Class) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(25) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund-Investor Class) between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management Inc. is incorporated hereby by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 160 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 23, 2013. |
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(26) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) between Registrant and Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(27) |
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Form of Purchase Agreement (Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund) between Registrant and Abbey Capital Limited is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
(28) |
|
Form of Purchase Agreement (Altair Smaller Companies Fund) between Registrant and Altair Advisers LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
(29) |
|
Purchase Agreement ( Campbell Core Trend Fund ) between Registrant and Campbell & Company, Inc. to be filed by amendment. |
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(m) |
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Rule 12b-1 Plan. |
(1) |
|
Plan of Distribution (Bedford Money Market) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on March 23, 1989, and refiled electronically with Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrants Registration Statement filed on October 30, 1998. |
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(2) |
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Plan of Distribution (Boston Partners Mid Cap Value Fund - Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 45 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 9, 1997. |
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(3) |
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Plan of Distribution (Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II (formerly Micro Cap Value) - Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 53 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on April 10, 1998. |
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(4) |
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Amendment to Plans of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 63 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 14, 1998. |
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(5) |
|
Plan of Distribution (Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund (formerly Market Neutral) - Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 62 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 12, 1998. |
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(6) |
|
Plan of Distribution (Boston Partners Fund (formerly Long Short Equity) - Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 65 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on May 19, 1999. |
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(7) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 (Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 80 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on November 1, 2002. |
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(8) |
|
Agreement between Registrant, Bear Stearns Securities Corp. and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (f/k/a PFPC Distributors, Inc.) dated as of November 17, 2005 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 101 to the Registrants Registration Statement filed on December 29, 2005. |
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(9) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 (Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 132 to the Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 22, 2009. |
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(10) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1( Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund Investor Class ) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 28, 2010. |
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(11) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 (S1 Fund R Shares) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 137 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 1, 2010. |
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(12) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1( Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 14, 2011. |
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(13) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 ( Robeco Boston Partners International Equity Fund Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 14, 2011. |
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(14) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 ( Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund Retail Class) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 144 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 15, 2011. |
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(15) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 ( Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund Class A) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 144 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 15, 2011. |
(16) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 ( Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund Investor Class) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 154 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 11, 2013. |
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(17) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class A) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(18) |
|
Plan of Distribution pursuant to Rule 12b-1 ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund Class C) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(n) |
|
Rule 18f-3 Plan. |
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|
|
(1) |
|
Amended Rule 18f-3 Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
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(p) |
|
Code of Ethics. |
|
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(1) |
|
Code of Ethics of the Registrant is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 110 to Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 29, 2006. |
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(2) |
|
Code of Ethics of Robeco Investment Management is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(3) |
|
Code of Ethics of Schneider Capital Management Company is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 129 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 2, 2009. |
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(4) |
|
Code of Ethics of Bogle Investment Management, L.P. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 129 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on July 2, 2009. |
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(5) |
|
Code of Ethics of Matson Money, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(6) |
|
Code of Ethics of Perimeter Capital Management is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(7) |
|
Code of Ethics of Simple Alternatives, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
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(8) |
|
Code of Ethics of Blue Lion Capital Management, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(9) |
|
Code of Ethics of Courage Capital Management, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
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(10) |
|
Code of Ethics of Starwood Real Estate Securities, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 137 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 1, 2010. |
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(11) |
|
Code of Ethics of Foreside Funds Distributors LLC ( f/k/a BNY Mellon Distributors, Inc.) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 143 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 28, 2011. |
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(12) |
|
Code of Ethics of Summit Global Investments, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 145 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on December 30, 2011. |
(13) |
|
Code of Ethics of Maerisland Capital, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2012. |
|
|
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(14) |
|
Code of Ethics of Sonica Capital, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
|
|
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(15) |
|
Code of Ethics of Garelick Capital Partners, L.P. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on October 29, 2013. |
|
|
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(16) |
|
Code of Ethics of Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 167 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on April 16, 2014. |
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|
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(17) |
|
Code of Ethics of Abbey Capital Limited is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 168 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 33-20827) filed on June 30, 2014. |
(18) |
|
Code of Ethics of Altair Advisers LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
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(19) |
|
Code of Ethics of Aperio Group is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
|
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(20) |
|
Code of Ethics of Driehaus Capital Management LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
|
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(21) |
|
Code of Ethics of Granite Investment Partners, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
|
|
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(22) |
|
Code of Ethics of Pacific Ridge Capital Partners, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
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(23) |
|
Code of Ethics of Pier Capital LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014. |
|
|
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(24) |
|
Code of Ethics of River Road Asset Management, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 to the Registrants Registration Statement (No. 22-20827) filed on October 17, 2014 |
(25) |
|
Code of Ethics of Campbell & Company Investment Adviser LLC to be filed by amendment. |
Item 29. PERSONS CONTROLLED BY OR UNDER COMMON CONTROL WITH REGISTRANT
None.
Item 30. INDEMNIFICATION
Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Article VIII of Registrants Articles of Incorporation, as amended, incorporated herein by reference as Exhibits (a)(1) and (a)(3), provide as follows:
Section 1. To the fullest extent that limitations on the liability of directors and officers are permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law, no director or officer of the Corporation shall have any liability to the Corporation or its shareholders for damages. This limitation on liability applies to events occurring at the time a person serves as a director or officer of the Corporation whether or not such person is a director or officer at the time of any proceeding in which liability is asserted.
Section 2. The Corporation shall indemnify and advance expenses to its currently acting and its former directors to the fullest extent that indemnification of directors is permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law. The Corporation shall indemnify and advance expenses to its officers to the same extent as its directors and to such
further extent as is consistent with law. The Board of Directors may by law, resolution or agreement make further provision for indemnification of directors, officers, employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by the Maryland General Corporation law.
Section 3. No provision of this Article shall be effective to protect or purport to protect any director or officer of the Corporation against any liability to the Corporation or its security holders to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.
Section 4. References to the Maryland General Corporation Law in this Article are to the law as from time to time amended. No further amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation shall decrease, but may expand, any right of any person under this Article based on any event, omission or proceeding prior to such amendment. Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Section 12 of the Investment Advisory and Administration Agreement Registrant and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (BALLC), dated June 30, 2011 and incorporated herein by reference to exhibit (d)(4), provides for the indemnification of BALLC against certain losses.
Section 12 of the Investment Advisory Agreement between Registrant and Robeco Investment Management, Inc. (Robeco), incorporated herein by reference to exhibit (d)(24), provides for the indemnification of Robeco against certain losses.
Section 12 of the Investment Advisory Agreement between Registrant and Bogle Investment Management, L.P. (Bogle), dated September 15, 1999 and incorporated herein by reference to exhibit (d)(2) provides for the indemnification of Bogle against certain losses.
Section 9 of the Distribution Agreement between Registrant and BNY Mellon Distributors Inc. (f/k/a PFPC Distributors, Inc. ), dated January 2, 2001 and incorporated herein by reference to exhibit (e)(1) provides for the indemnification of BNY Mellon Distributors Inc. against certain losses.
Section 12 of each of the Investment Advisory Agreements between the Registrant and Schneider Capital Management (Schneider) incorporated herein by reference as exhibits (d)(1) and (d)(3) provides for the indemnification of Schneider against certain losses.
Section 12 of the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Matson Money, Inc. ( f/k/a Abundance Technologies, Inc.) , (Matson Money) dated December 31, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(5) provides for the indemnification of Matson Money against certain losses.
Section 12 of the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Perimeter Capital Management (Perimeter) incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(11) provides for the indemnification of Perimeter against certain losses.
Section 12 of the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Simple Alternatives, LLC (SA) dated September 30, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(13) provides for the indemnification of SA against certain losses.
Section 12 of the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Summit Global Investments, LLC (SGI) incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(21) provides for the indemnification of SGI against certain losses.
Section 12 of the form of Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. (SIAM) incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(26) provides for the indemnification of SIAM against certain losses.
Section 12 of the form of Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Abbey Capital Limited (Abbey Capital) incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(28) provides for the indemnification of Abbey Capital against certain losses.
Section 12 of the form of Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Altair Advisers LLC (Altair) incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(41) provides for indemnification of Altair against certain losses.
Section 12 of the form of Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Campbell & Company Investment Adviser LLC (CCIA) incorporated herein by reference as exhibit (d)(43) provides for indemnification of CCIA against certain losses.
Item 31. BUSINESS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISERS.
1. BlackRock Advisors, LLC:
BlackRock Advisors, LLC (previously defined as the BALLC or the Adviser) principal business address is 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809. BALLC is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and serves as an investment adviser for registered investment companies. BALLC is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. BALLC was organized in 1994 for the purpose of providing advisory services to investment companies. The information required by this Item 31 about officers and directors of BALLC, together with information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by such officers and directors during the past two years, is incorporated by reference to Schedules A and D of Form ADV, filed by BALLC pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (SEC File No. 801-47710).
2. Bogle Investment Management, LP:
The sole business activity of Bogle Investment Management, LP (Bogle), 2310 Washington Street, Suite 310, Newton Lower Falls, MA 02462, is to serve as an investment adviser. Bogle is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
The directors and officers have not held any positions with other companies during the last two fiscal years.
3. Schneider Capital Management Company:
The sole business activity of Schneider Capital Management Company (Schneider), 460 E. Swedesford Road, Suite 2000, Wayne, PA 19087, is to serve as an investment adviser. Schneider is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Information as to the directors and officers of Schneider is as follows:
Name and Position with
|
|
Other Company |
|
Position With Other Company |
|
|
|
|
|
Arnold C. Schneider, III
|
|
Turnbridge Management Partners Corp. |
|
President |
|
|
|
|
|
Steven J. Fellin
|
|
Turnbridge Management Partners Corp. |
|
Vice President |
4. Robeco Investment Management , Inc.
The sole business activity of Robeco Investment Management, Inc. (RIM),909 Third Avenue, New York 10022 , is to serve as an investment adviser. RIM provides investment advisory services to the Boston Partners Funds and the Weiss, Peck, & Greer Funds.
RIM is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and serves as an investment adviser to domestic and foreign institutional investors, investment companies, commingled trust funds, private investment partnerships and collective investment vehicles. Information as to the directors and officers of Robeco Investment Management, Inc. is as follows:
Name and Position with
|
|
Other Company |
|
Position With Other Company |
|
|
|
|
|
Mark E. Donovan
|
|
Robeco Institutional Asset Management US Inc. |
|
Director |
|
|
Robeco Trust Company |
|
Co-CEO, Director & Chairman of the Board |
|
|
|
|
|
Joseph F. Feeney, Jr.
|
|
Robeco US Holding, Inc. |
|
Director |
|
|
|
|
|
William George Butterly, III
|
|
Robeco Institutional Asset Management US Inc. |
|
Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary |
|
|
Robeco Securities, L.L.C. |
|
Chief Legal Officer |
|
|
Robeco Trust Company |
|
Chief Operating Officer, Secretary & Director |
|
|
RobecoSAM USA, Inc. |
|
Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary |
|
|
|
|
|
Matthew J. Davis
|
|
Robeco Institutional Asset Management US Inc. |
|
President, Treasurer & Director |
|
|
Robeco Securities, L.L.C. |
|
Chief Financial Officer |
|
|
Robeco Trust Company |
|
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer & Director |
|
|
|
|
|
Roderick Munsters
|
|
Robeco Groep N.V. |
|
Chief Executive Officer |
|
|
|
|
|
Leni M. Boeren
|
|
Robeco Groep N.V. |
|
Chief Operating Officer |
|
|
Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. |
|
Director |
|
|
RobecoSAM AG |
|
Director |
|
|
RobecoSAM USA, Inc. |
|
Director |
Martin Mlynár
|
|
Corestone Investment Managers AG |
|
Chief Executive Officer |
|
|
Source Capital AG |
|
Board Member |
|
|
Source Capital Holding AG |
|
Board Member |
|
|
|
|
|
Michiel Prinsze
|
|
Robeco Groep N.V. |
|
General Counsel |
5. Matson Money, Inc.:
The sole business activity of Matson Money, Inc. (Matson Money), 5955 Deerfield Blvd., Mason, OH 45040, is to serve as an investment adviser. Matson Money is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Below is a list of each executive officer and director of Matson Money indicating each business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each such person has been engaged within the last two years, for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, partner or trustee.
Name and Position with
|
|
Name of Other Company |
|
Position With Other Company |
|
|
|
|
|
Mark E. Matson
|
|
Keep It Tight Fitness, LLC |
|
50% owner |
|
|
|
|
|
Mark E. Matson
|
|
The Wolfpack Foundation |
|
100% owner |
|
|
|
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|
Michelle Matson
|
|
None |
|
None |
|
|
|
|
|
Dan List
|
|
None |
|
None |
6. Perimeter Capital Management (Perimeter)
The principal business address of Perimeter is Six Concourse Parkway, Suite 3300, Atlanta, Georgia 30328.
Perimeter serves as the investment adviser for the Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund. Perimeter is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The information as to the directors and officers of Perimeter is as follows:
Name and Position with
|
|
Name of Other Company |
|
Position With Other Company |
G. Bradley Ball Managing Partner and CEO Perimeter Capital Management |
|
Perimeter Concourse Capital LLC |
|
Member, Board of Directors |
Mark D. Garfinkel, CFA Managing Partner and CIO Perimeter Capital Management |
|
Perimeter Concourse Capital LLC |
|
Member, Board of Directors |
|
|
|
|
|
Christopher J. Paolella Managing Partner, Director of Marketing & Consultant Relations Perimeter Capital Management |
|
Perimeter Concourse Capital LLC |
|
Director of Marketing & Consultant Relations |
|
|
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|
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Adam C. Stewart, CFA Partner, Director of Trading Perimeter Capital Management |
|
Perimeter Concourse Capital LLC |
|
Director of Trading |
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|
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Theresa N. Benson Partner, Director of Third-Party Distribution & Consultant Relations Perimeter Capital Management |
|
Perimeter Concourse Capital LLC |
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Director of Third-Party Distribution & Client Relations |
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Laura B. Newberg Chief Compliance Officer |
|
Perimeter Concourse Capital LLC & Perimeter Capital Management LLC |
|
Chief Compliance Officer |
7. Simple Alternatives, LLC (SA)
The principal business address of SA is 90 Grove Street, Suite 205, Ridgefield, CT 06877.
SA serves as the investment adviser for the S1 Fund. SA is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The information as to the directors and officers of SA is as follows:
Name and Position with
|
|
Name of Other Company |
|
Position With Other Company |
James K. Dilworth
|
|
Dilworth Capital Management, LLC
|
|
President, Chief Compliance Officer |
|
|
|
|
|
Josh Kernan
|
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Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. |
|
Director of Alternative Investments & Managed Accounts |
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|
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PJ Rossi
|
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TH Lee Putnum Ventures, LP |
|
Director of Finance & Business Operations |
|
|
|
|
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Lelia Long
|
|
Pemberwick Investment Advisors, LLC |
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Chief Compliance Officer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Vigilant Compliance Services |
|
Director |
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|
|
|
|
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The New Ireland Fund, Inc. |
|
Treasurer |
8. Summit Global Investments, LLC:
The sole business activity of Summit Global Investments, LLC (SGI), 620 South Main Street, Bountiful, Utah 84010, is to serve as an investment adviser. SGI is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Below is a list of each executive officer and director of SGI indicating each business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each such person has been engaged within the last two years, for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, partner or trustee.
Name and Position with
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|
Name of Other Company |
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Position With Other
|
David Harden
|
|
Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. |
|
Vice President |
|
|
|
|
|
Mark Kenison
|
|
Turning Point Financial, Inc.
|
|
President, Chief Compliance Officer |
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|
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|
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Bryce Sutton
|
|
LC Advisors
|
|
Vice President
|
9. Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd .
The only employment of a substantial nature of each of Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. directors and officers is with Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd.
10. Abbey Capital Limited
The only employment of a substantial nature of each of Abbey Capital Limited directors and officers is with Abbey Capital Limited.
11. Altair Advisers LLC
The only employment of a substantial nature of each of Altair Advisers LLC directors and officers is with Altair Advisers LLC.
12. Campbell & Company Investment Adviser LLC
The principal business activity of Campbell & Company Investment Adviser LLC (CCIA), 2850 Quarry Lake Drive, Baltimore, MD 21209, is to serve as an investment adviser. CCIA is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Below is a list of each executive officer and director of CCIA indicating each business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each such person has been engaged within the last two years, for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, partner or trustee.
Name and Position
|
|
Name of Other Company |
|
Position With Other Company |
G. Williams Andrews
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Director & Chief Executive Officer |
|
|
The Campbell Multi-Strategy Trust |
|
Chief Executive Officer |
|
|
Campbell Financial Services, Inc. |
|
Director |
|
|
Campbell & Company International Bahamas Limited |
|
Director and President |
|
|
|
|
|
Gregory T. Donovan
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer & Assistant Secretary |
|
|
The Campbell Multi-Strategy Trust |
|
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer & Assistant Secretary |
|
|
Campbell Financial Services, Inc. |
|
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
|
|
Campbell & Company International Bahamas Limited |
|
Treasurer |
|
|
|
|
|
Michael S. Harris
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Director & President |
|
|
The Campbell Multi-Strategy Trust |
|
President |
|
|
Campbell Financial Services, Inc. |
|
Director |
|
|
Merged Funds Association |
|
Director |
|
|
Campbell & Company International Bahamas Limited |
|
Director |
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Xiaohua Hu
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Director of Research |
|
|
|
|
|
Heidi L. Kaiser
|
|
The Campbell Multi-Strategy Trust |
|
Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer |
|
|
Campbell Financial Services, Inc. |
|
Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer |
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Deputy General Counsel & Director of Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering Officer until August 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
Thomas P. Lloyd
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
General Counsel, Executive Vice-President - Legal and Compliance, Secretary & Board Member |
|
|
The Campbell Multi-Strategy Trust |
|
General Counsel, Secretary & Assistant Treasurer |
|
|
Campbell & Company International Bahamas Limited |
|
Secretary |
|
|
Campbell Financial Services, Inc. |
|
General Counsel & Director; previously, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary until September 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
Robert W. McBride
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Chief Technology Officer |
|
|
|
|
|
John R. Radle
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Global Head of Trading |
|
|
|
|
|
Darvin N. Sterner
|
|
Campbell & Company, Inc. |
|
Director of Private Wealth Distribution & Vice-President - National Sales Manager until May 2013 |
|
|
Campbell Financial Services, Inc. |
|
Vice President |
Item 32 . Principal Underwriter
(a) Foreside Funds Distributors LLC (f/k/a BNY Mellon Distributors LLC) (the Distributor) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:
1. Aston Funds
2. E.I.I. Realty Securities Trust
3. FundVantage Trust
4. GuideStone Funds
5. Highland Funds I (f/k/a Pyxis Funds I)
6. Highland Funds II (f/k/a Pyxis Funds II)
7. Kalmar Pooled Investment Trust
8. Matthews International Funds (d/b/a Matthews Asia Funds)
9. Metropolitan West Funds
10. The Motley Fool Funds Trust
11. New Alternatives Fund, Inc.
12. Old Westbury Funds, Inc.
13. The RBB Fund, Inc.
14. Stratton Mid Cap Fund, Inc. (f/k/a Stratton Multi-Cap Fund, Inc.)
15. Stratton Real Estate Fund, Inc.
16. The Stratton Funds, Inc.
17. The Torray Fund
18. Versus Capital Multi-Manager Real Estate Income Fund LLC (f/k/a Versus Global Multi-Manager Real Estate Income Fund LLC)
(b) The following are the Officers and Managers of the Distributor. The Distributors main business address is 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA 19312.
Name |
|
Address |
|
Position with
|
|
Position with
|
Mark A. Fairbanks |
|
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 |
|
President and Manager |
|
None |
Richard J. Berthy |
|
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 |
|
Vice President, Treasurer and Manager |
|
None |
Bruno S. DiStefano |
|
899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312 |
|
Vice President |
|
None |
Ronald C. Berge |
|
899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312 |
|
Vice President |
|
None |
Susan K. Moscaritolo |
|
899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312 |
|
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
|
None |
Lisa S. Clifford |
|
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 |
|
Vice President, Managing Director of Compliance |
|
None |
Jennifer E. Hoopes |
|
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 |
|
Secretary |
|
None |
Nishant Bhatnagar |
|
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
|
None |
(c) Not Applicable
Item 33. LOCATION OF ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS
(1) The Bank of New York Mellon, One Wall Street, New York, New York 10286 (records relating to its functions as sub-adviser and custodian).
(2) Foreside Funds Distributors, 400 Berwyn Park, 899 Cassatt Road, Berwyn, Pennsylvania 19312. (records relating to its functions as principal underwriter).
(3) BlackRock Advisors, LLC, Bellevue Corporate Center, 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 (records relating to its functions as investment adviser, sub-adviser and administrator).
(4) BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., Bellevue Corporate Center, 103 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 (records relating to its functions as transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent).
(5) BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809 (records relating to its function as administrator and accounting agent and Registrants Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws and Minute books).
(6) Robeco Investment Management, Inc., 909 Third Avenue, 32 nd floor, New York, New York 10022 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(7) Schneider Capital Management Co., 460 East Swedesford Road, Suite 1080, Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(8) Bogle Investment Management, L.P., 2310 Washington Street, Suite 310, Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts 02462 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(9) Matson Money, Inc. (formerly Abundance Technologies, Inc.), 5955 Deerfield Blvd., Mason, OH 45040 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(10) Perimeter Capital Management, Six Concourse Parkway, Suite 3300, Atlanta, Georgia 30328 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(11) Simple Alternatives, LLC, 90 Grove Street, Suite 205, Ridgefield, CT 06877 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(12) Summit Global Investments, LLC, 620 South Main Street, Bountiful, Utah 84010 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(13) Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd., Dundee Place, 1 Adelaide St. E., Ste. 2900, Toronto, ON M5C 2V9 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(14) Abbey Capital Limited, 1-2 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1, Ireland (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(15) Altair Advisers LLC, 303 W. Madison, Suite 600, Chicago, Illinois 60606 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
(16) Campbell & Company Investment Adviser LLC, 2850 Quarry Lake Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21209 (records relating to its function as investment adviser).
Item 34. MANAGEMENT SERVICES
None.
Item 35. UNDERTAKINGS
(a) Registrant hereby undertakes to hold a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of considering the removal of directors in the event the requisite number of shareholders so request.
(b) Registrant hereby undertakes to furnish each person to whom a prospectus is delivered a copy of Registrants latest annual report to shareholders upon request and without charge.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this registration statement under Rule 485(b) and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 174 to its Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized, in the City of Wilmington, and State of Delaware on the 22 nd day of December, 2014.
|
THE RBB FUND, INC. |
|
|
|
|
|
By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
|
Salvatore Faia |
|
|
President |
Pursuant to the requirements of the 1933 Act, this Post-Effective Amendment to Registrants Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.
*By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
|
Salvatore Faia |
|
|
Attorney-in-Fact |
|
THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, Julian A. Brodsky, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: May 7, 2009
/s/ Julian A. Brodsky |
|
Julian A. Brodsky |
|
THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, J. Richard Carnall, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: May 7, 2009
/s/ J. Richard Carnall |
|
J. Richard Carnall |
|
THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, Nicholas A. Giordano, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: May 7, 2009
/s/ Nicholas A. Giordano |
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Nicholas A. Giordano |
|
THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, Arnold M. Reichman, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: May 7, 2009
/s/ Arnold M. Reichman |
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Arnold M. Reichman |
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THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, Robert Sablowsky, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: May 7, 2009
/s/ Robert Sablowsky |
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Robert Sablowsky |
|
THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, Robert Straniere, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: May 7, 2009
/s/ Robert Straniere |
|
Robert Straniere |
|
THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, Gregory P. Chandler, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: October 15, 2012
/s/ Gregory P. Chandler |
|
Gregory P. Chandler |
|
THE RBB FUND, INC.
(the Company)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Know All Men by These Presents, that the undersigned, Jay F. Nusblatt, hereby constitutes and appoints Salvatore Faia, Michael P. Malloy, James G. Shaw and Joel L. Weiss, his true and lawful attorneys, to execute in his name, place, and stead, in his capacity as Director or officer, or both, of the Company, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto and all instruments necessary or incidental in connection therewith, and to file the same with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and said attorneys shall have full power and authority to do and perform in his name and on his behalf, in any and all capacities, every act whatsoever requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, said acts of said attorneys being hereby ratified and approved.
DATED: October 16, 2012
/s/ Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
Jay F. Nusblatt |
|
Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited has duly caused this Registration Statement of The RBB Fund, Inc., with respect only to information that specifically relates to Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Dublin, Ireland, on the 22 nd day of December, 2014.
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Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited |
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By: |
/s/ Anthony Gannon |
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Anthony Gannon
|
This Registration Statement of The RBB Fund, Inc., with respect only to information that specifically relates to the Abbey Capital Offshore Fund Limited, has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
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Title |
|
Date |
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|
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/s/ Anthony Gannon |
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Director of Abbey Capital
|
|
December 22, 2014 |
(Anthony Gannon) |
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|
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/s/ Michael Swift |
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Director of Abbey Capital
|
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December 22, 2014 |
(Michael Swift) |
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|
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/s/ Peter Carney |
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Director of Abbey Capital
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December 22, 2014 |
(Peter Carney) |
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PEA 174
EXHIBIT INDEX
EXHIBIT |
|
DESCRIPTION |
|
|
|
(a)(70) |
|
Articles Supplementary of the Registrant |
(a)(71) |
|
Articles of Amendment of the Registrant (Boston Partners Investment Funds) |
(d)(7) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Schneider Small Cap Value Fund ) |
(d)(8) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Schneider Value Fund ) between Registrant and Schneider Value Fund |
(d)(9) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Bogle Investment Management ) between Registrant and Bogle Investment Management |
(d)(10) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Boston Partners Investment Funds) |
(d)(14) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Simple Alternatives, LLC ) |
(d)(22) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Summit Global Investments ) |
(d)(27) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund ) |
(d)(29) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund ) |
(d)(42) |
|
Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Altair Smaller Companies Fund ) |
(d)(51) |
|
Form of Contractual Fee Waiver Agreement ( Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio, and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio ) |
(e)(1) |
|
Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC dated as of October 31, 2014 |
(e)(3) |
|
Form of First Amendment to Distribution Agreement, entered into as of November 7, 2014, between Registrant and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC |
(h)(79) |
|
Form of Amended and Restated Administration and Accounting, Transfer Agency and Custody Services Fee Deferral Letter ( Altair Smaller Companies Fund ) |
(i)(1) |
|
Opinion and Consent of Counsel |
(i)(2) |
|
Consent of Counsel |
(j)(1) |
|
Consent of Ernst & Young LLP |
(j)(2) |
|
Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP |
(j)(3) |
|
Consent of BBD LLP |
EXHIBIT (a)(70)
THE RBB FUND, INC.
ARTICLES SUPPLEMENTARY
THE RBB FUND, INC., a Maryland corporation (the Corporation), hereby certifies to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland that:
FIRST: In accordance with the requirements of Section 2-208 of the Maryland General Corporation Law, and under a power contained in the charter of the Corporation, the Board of Directors of the Corporation adopted resolutions classifying an aggregate of 300,000,000 authorized but unclassified and unissued shares of common stock, par value $.001 per share (the Common Stock), of the Corporation as follows:
1. Class BBBB . 100,000,000 shares of authorized but unclassified and unissued shares of Common Stock (the Undesignated Common Stock) are hereby classified and designated as additional Class BBBB shares of Common Stock representing interests in the Free Market U.S. Equity Fund.
2. Class CCCC . 100,000,000 shares of Undesignated Common Stock are hereby classified and designated as additional Class CCCC shares of Common Stock representing interests in the Free Market International Equity Fund.
3. Class DDDD . 100,000,000 shares of Undesignated Common Stock are hereby classified and designated as additional Class DDDD shares of Common Stock representing interests in the Free Market Fixed-Income Fund.
SECOND: The additional Class BBBB, Class CCCC, and Class DDDD shares so classified have the preferences, conversion and other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends and other distributions, qualifications and terms and conditions of redemption as set forth in the Charter of the Corporation with respect to each such class.
THIRD: The shares aforesaid have been duly classified by the Board of Directors of the Corporation pursuant to authority and power contained in the charter of the Corporation. The aggregate number of authorized shares of stock of the Corporation is not changed by the Articles Supplementary.
FOURTH: Immediately after the classification of shares of Undesignated Common Stock as additional shares of Class BBBB Common Stock, Class CCCC Common Stock and Class DDDD Common Stock:
(a) the Corporation has the authority to issue 100,000,000,000 shares of its Common Stock, par value $.001 per share, and the aggregate par value of all the shares of all classes is $100,000,000; and
(b) the number of authorized shares of each class of Common Stock is as follows:
Class A |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class B |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class C |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class D |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class E |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class F |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class G |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class H |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class I |
- |
|
1,500,000,000 |
Class J |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class K |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class L |
- |
|
1,500,000,000 |
Class M |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class N |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class O |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class P |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class Q |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class R |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class S |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class T |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class U |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class V |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class W |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class X |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class Y |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class Z |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Class AA |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class BB |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class CC |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class DD |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class EE |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class FF |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class GG |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class HH |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class II |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class JJ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class KK |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class LL |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class MM |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class NN |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class OO |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class PP |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class QQ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class RR |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class SS |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class TT |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class UU |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class VV |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class WW |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class YY |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class ZZ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Class AAA |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class BBB |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class CCC |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class DDD |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class EEE |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class FFF |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class GGG |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class HHH |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class III |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class JJJ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class KKK |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class LLL |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class MMM |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class NNN |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class OOO |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class PPP |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class QQQ |
- |
|
2,500,000,000 |
Class RRR |
- |
|
2,500,000,000 |
Class SSS |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class TTT |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class UUU |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class VVV |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class WWW |
- |
|
50,000,000 |
Class XXX |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class YYY |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class ZZZ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Class AAAA |
- |
|
50,000,000,000 |
Class BBBB |
- |
|
300,000,000 |
Class CCCC |
- |
|
300,000,000 |
Class DDDD |
- |
|
300,000,000 |
Class EEEE |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class FFFF |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class GGGG |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class HHHH |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class IIII |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class JJJJ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class KKKK |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class LLLL |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class MMMM |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class NNNN |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class OOOO |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class PPPP |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class QQQQ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class RRRR |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class SSSS |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class TTTT |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class UUUU |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class VVVV |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class WWWW |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class XXXX |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class YYYY |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class ZZZZ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Class AAAAA |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class BBBBB |
- |
|
500,000,000 |
Class CCCCC |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class DDDDD |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class EEEEE |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class FFFFF |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class GGGGG |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class HHHHH |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class IIIII |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class JJJJJ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class KKKKK |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class LLLLL |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class MMMMM |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class NNNNN |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class OOOOO |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class PPPPP |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class QQQQQ |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class RRRRR |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class SSSSS |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class TTTTT |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class UUUUU |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
Class VVVVV |
- |
|
100,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Class Select |
- |
|
700,000,000 |
Class Beta 2 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Beta 3 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Beta 4 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Principal Money |
- |
|
700,000,000 |
Class Gamma 2 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Gamma 3 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Gamma 4 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Bear Stearns Money |
- |
|
2,500,000,000 |
Class Bear Stearns Municipal Money |
- |
|
1,500,000,000 |
Class Bear Stearns Government Money |
- |
|
1,000,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Class Delta 4 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Epsilon 1 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Epsilon 2 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Epsilon 3 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Epsilon 4 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Zeta 1 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Zeta 2 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Zeta 3 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Zeta 4 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Eta 1 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Eta 2 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Eta 3 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Eta 4 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Theta 1 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Theta 2 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Theta 3 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
Class Theta 4 |
- |
|
1,000,000 |
for a total of 82,373,000,000 shares classified into separate classes of Common Stock.
FIFTH: The undersigned President of the Corporation acknowledges these Articles Supplementary to be the corporate act of the Corporation and, as to all matters or facts required to be verified under oath, the undersigned President acknowledges that, to the best of his knowledge, information and belief, these matters and facts are true in all material respects and that this statement is made under the penalties for perjury.
[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The RBB Fund, Inc. has caused these presents to be signed in its name and on its behalf by its President and attested by its Secretary on the 10 th day of December, 2014.
ATTEST: |
THE RBB FUND, INC. |
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/s/ Diane Drake |
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By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
Diane Drake |
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Salvatore Faia |
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Secretary |
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President |
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EXHIBIT(a)(71)
THE RBB FUND, INC.
ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT
THE RBB FUND, INC., a Maryland corporation (the Corporation), hereby certifies to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland that:
FIRST: The charter of the Corporation is hereby amended by changing the designation of the following classes of shares of common stock, par value $.001 per share, of the Corporation as set forth in the table below:
Old Designation |
|
New Designation |
Class VV
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Class VV
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Class WW
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Class WW
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Class DDD
|
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Class DDD
|
Class EEE
|
|
Class EEE
|
Class III
|
|
Class III
|
Class JJJ
|
|
Class JJJ
|
Class UUU
|
|
Class UUU
|
Class AAAAA
|
|
Class AAAAA
|
Class BBBBB
|
|
Class BBBBB
|
Class CCCCC
|
|
Class CCCCC
|
Class DDDDD
|
|
Class DDDDD
|
Class JJJJJ
|
|
Class JJJJJ
|
Class KKKKK
|
|
Class KKKKK
|
SECOND: The foregoing amendment to the charter of the Corporation was approved unanimously by the Board of Directors. The foregoing amendment is limited to a change expressly permitted by Section 2-605 of the Maryland General Corporation law to be made without action by the stockholders of the Corporation.
THIRD: The undersigned President of the Corporation acknowledges these Articles of Amendment to be the corporate act of the Corporation and, as to all matters or facts required to be verified under oath, the undersigned President acknowledges that, to the best of his knowledge, information and belief, these matters and facts are true in all material respects and that this statement is made under the penalties for perjury.
[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The RBB Fund, Inc. has caused these presents to be signed in its name and on its behalf by its President and attested by its Secretary on the 10 th day of December, 2014.
ATTEST: |
THE RBB FUND, INC. |
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/s/ Diane Drake |
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By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
Diane Drake |
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Salvatore Faia |
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Secretary |
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President |
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EXHIBIT (d)(7)
[Schneider Letterhead]
December 31, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re : The RBB Fund - Schneider Small Cap Value Fund (the Fund)
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (this Agreement), intending to be legally bound hereby, Schneider Capital Management Company (the Adviser) agrees that in order to improve the performance of the Fund, the Adviser shall, from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceed a total operating expense ratio (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) of:
· 1.15% of the Funds average daily net assets.
The Adviser acknowledges that (1) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for waived fees at any time in the future, and (2) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for reimbursed Fund expenses at any time in the future.
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SCHNEIDER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY |
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By: |
/s/ Steve Fellin |
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Title: |
CFO/CCO |
Your signature below acknowledges
acceptance of this Agreement:
By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
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|
Salvatore Faia |
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President |
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The RBB Fund, Inc. |
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Exhibit (d)(8)
[Schneider Letterhead]
December 31, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re : The RBB Fund - Schneider Value Fund (the Fund)
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (this Agreement), intending to be legally bound hereby, Schneider Capital Management Company (the Adviser) agrees that in order to improve the performance of the Fund, the Adviser shall, from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceed a total operating expense ratio (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) of:
· 0.90% of the Funds average daily net assets.
The Adviser acknowledges that (1) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for waived fees at any time in the future, and (2) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for reimbursed Fund expenses at any time in the future.
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SCHNEIDER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY |
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By: |
/s/ Steve Fellin |
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Title: |
CFO/CCO |
Your signature below acknowledges
acceptance of this Agreement:
By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
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Salvatore Faia |
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President |
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The RBB Fund, Inc. |
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EXHIBIT (d)(9)
[Bogle Letterhead]
December 31, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: The RBB Fund, Inc. - Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund (the Fund)
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (this Agreement), Bogle Investment Management, L.P. (the Adviser) agrees that in order to improve the performance of the Fund, the Adviser shall, from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceed a total operating expense ratio (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) of 1.25% of the Institutional Class of the Funds average daily net assets and 1.35% of the Investor Class of the Funds average daily net assets.
The Adviser acknowledges that (1) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for waived fees at any time in the future, and (2) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for reimbursed Fund expenses at any time in the future.
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BOGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, L.P. |
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By: |
/s/ John C. Bogle, Jr. |
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Name: |
John C. Bogle, Jr. |
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Title: |
President, Bogle Investment Management, LP |
Your signature below acknowledges
acceptance of this Agreement:
By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
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Salvatore Faia |
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President |
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The RBB Fund, Inc. |
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EXHIBIT (d)(10)
[Robeco Letterhead]
December 31, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Bellevue Park Corporate Center
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: Robeco Investment Funds Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, and Boston Partners Global Equity Fund
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (the Agreement), intending to be legally bound hereby, and effective as of the date noted above, Robeco Investment Management, Inc. (Robeco) agrees that in order to maintain the established expense ratios of the following Robeco Investment Funds: Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, and Boston Partners Global Equity Fund (each a Fund and collectively the Funds), of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company), Robeco shall, until further notice, but in no event terminating before December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which a Funds total operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) exceeds a total operating expense ratio (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) of:
· 0.70% and 0.95% of the average daily net assets of the Institutional Class and Investor Class, respectively, of the Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund.
· 2.50% and 2.75% of the average daily net assets of the Institutional Class and Investor Class, respectively, of the Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund.
· 1.50% and 1.75% of the average daily net assets of the Institutional Class and Investor Class, respectively, of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund.
· 2.00% and 2.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares, respectively, of the Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund.
· 0.95% and 1.20% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Institutional Class shares and Investor Class shares, respectively, of the Boston Partners Global Equity Fund.
The Adviser acknowledges that (1) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for waived fees at any time in the future, and (2) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for reimbursed Fund expenses at any time in the future, except with respect to the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund only. With respect to the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, or Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, effective with respect to each Fund as of the effective date of the Advisory Agreement between the Company, on behalf of such Fund and Robeco, if at any time the total annual fund operating expenses of the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund for that year are less than 1.75%, 1.20%, or 2.25% respectively, of the average daily net assets attributable to that Funds Investor Class shares or less than 1.50%, 0.95%, or 2.00%, respectively, of the average daily net assets attributable to that Funds Institutional Class shares, Robeco shall be entitled to reimbursement by the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, or Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, in whole or in part as provided below, of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by Robeco to such Fund pursuant to this Agreement within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made by the Adviser if such reimbursement does not cause the Fund to exceed expense limitations that were in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement. The total amount of reimbursement to which Robeco may be entitled (the Reimbursement Amount) shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment advisory fees previously waived or reduced by Robeco and all other payments remitted by Robeco to the Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, and Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, pursuant to this Agreement, less any reimbursement previously paid by the Fund to Robeco, with respect to such waivers, reductions, and payments. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable on the Reimbursement Amount.
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ROBECO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. |
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By: |
/s/ William G. Butterly, III |
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Name: |
William G. Butterly, III |
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Title: |
Chief Operation Officer |
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Senior Managing Director |
Your signature below acknowledges
acceptance of this Agreement:
By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
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Salvatore Faia |
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President |
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The RBB Fund, Inc. |
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Exhibit (d)(14)
[S1 Letterhead]
December 31, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Bellevue Park Corporate Center
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: S1 Fund
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (the Agreement), intending to be legally bound hereby and effective as of the date noted above, Simple Alternatives, LLC (SA) agrees that in order to maintain the established expense ratios of the S1 Fund (the Fund), of The RBB Fund, Inc., SA shall, until further notice, but in no event terminating before December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses; brokerage commissions; litigation expenses and expenses relating to regulatory examinations, investigations, actions, suits or proceedings; extraordinary items; interest; taxes; and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total annual fund operating expenses for each of its I Shares and R Shares (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) exceeds a total annual fund operating expense ratio (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, litigation, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) of:
· 2.95% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds I Shares; and
· 3.20% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds R Shares.
Effective September 23, 2010, if at any time the total annual fund operating expenses of the Fund for a year are less than 2.95% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds I Shares or less than 3.20% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds R Shares, SA shall be entitled to reimbursement by the Fund, in whole or in part as provided below, of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by SA to the Fund pursuant to this Agreement within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made by SA if such reimbursement by the Fund does not cause the Fund to exceed expense limitations that were in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement. The total amount of reimbursement to which SA may be entitled (the Reimbursement Amount) shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment advisory fees previously waived or reduced by SA and all other payments remitted by SA to the Fund, pursuant to this Agreement, less any reimbursement previously paid by the Fund to SA, with respect to such waivers, reductions, and payments. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable on the Reimbursement Amount.
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SIMPLE ALTERNATIVES, LLC |
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By: |
/s/ James K. Dilworth |
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Name: |
James K. Dilworth |
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Title: |
President & CEO |
Your signature below acknowledges
acceptance of this Agreement:
EXHIBIT (d)(22)
[Summit Global Investments, LLC Letterhead]
December 31, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Bellevue Park Corporate Center
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (the Agreement), intending to be legally bound hereby and effective as of the date noted above, Summit Global Investments, LLC (Summit) agrees that in order to maintain the established expense ratio of the Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund (the Fund), of The RBB Fund, Inc., Summit shall, until further notice, but in no event terminating before December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total annual fund operating expenses for each of its Class A, Class I and Retail Class Shares (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) exceeds a total annual fund operating expense ratio (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, short sale dividend expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest, taxes and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) of:
· 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Class A Shares;
· 0.98% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Class I Shares; and
· 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Retail Class Shares.
Effective January 1, 2012, if at any time the total annual fund operating expenses of the Fund for a year are less than 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Class A Shares, less than 0.98% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Class I Shares or less than 1.23% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Retail Class Shares, Summit shall be entitled to reimbursement by the Fund, in whole or in part as provided below, of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by Summit to the Fund pursuant to this Agreement within three years from the date on which such waiver or reimbursement was made by Summit if such reimbursement by the Fund does not cause the Fund to exceed expense limitations that were in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement.. The total amount of reimbursement to which Summit may be entitled (the Reimbursement Amount) shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment advisory fees previously waived or reduced by Summit and all other payments remitted by Summit to a Fund, pursuant to this Agreement, less any reimbursement previously paid by the Fund to Summit, with respect to such waivers, reductions, and payments. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable on the Reimbursement Amount.
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SUMMIT GLOBAL INVESTMENTS, LLC |
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By: |
/s/ David Harden |
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Name: |
David Harden |
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Title: |
President |
Your signature below acknowledges
EXHIBIT (d)(27)
Scotia Institutional Investments US, LP
1055 Westlake Drive, Suite 301
Berwyn, PA 19312
Tel: (610) 854-0900
Fax: (610) 640-2933
Scotia Institutional
Asset Management
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Bellevue Park Corporate Center
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (the Agreement), intending to be legally bound hereby and effective as of the date noted above, Scotia Institutional Asset Management US, Ltd. (SIAM) agrees that in order to maintain the established expense ratio of the Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund (the Fund) of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company), SIAM shall, until further notice, but in no event terminating before December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions, interest and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total annual fund operating expenses for each of its Institutional Class, Class I and Class II shares (other than taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions, interest and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) exceeds a total annual fund operating expense ratio (other than taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage commissions, interest and any other items as agreed upon by both parties from time to time) of:
· 0.74% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Institutional Class Shares;
· 0.84% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Class I shares; and
· 0.99% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Funds Class II shares.
The Company agrees to carry forward, for a period not to exceed three (3) years from the date on which a waiver or reimbursement is made by SIAM, any fees or expenses in excess of the applicable expense limitation that are waived, reimbursed or assumed by SIAM under this Agreement (Excess Fees and Expenses) and to repay SIAM in the amount of such Excess Fees and Expenses as set out in this Agreement. Such repayment will be made as promptly as possible, but only to the extent that it does not cause the fees and expenses for any year to exceed the applicable expense limitation that was in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement. If this Agreement is terminated by the Company, the Company agrees to repay to SIAM in accordance with this Agreement any Excess Fees and Expenses not previously repaid and, subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940, such repayment will be made not later than thirty (30) days after the termination of this Agreement and without regard to any expense limitation.
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SCOTIA INSTITUTIONAL ASSET MANAGEMENT US, LTD. |
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By: |
/s/ Robin Lacey |
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Name: |
Robin Lacey |
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Title: |
President |
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By: |
/s/ John Pereira |
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Name: |
John Pereira |
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Title: |
Director |
EXHIBIT (d)(29)
Abbey Capital
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Abbey Capital Ltd., 1-2 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1, Ireland |
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Tel: +353 1 828 0400 Email: info@abbeycapital.com |
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Fax: +353 1 828 0499 Web: www.abeycapital.com |
June 30, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: The RBB Fund, Inc. Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund (the Fund)
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (this Agreement), Abbey Capital Limited (the Adviser) agrees that in order to improve the performance of the Fund, the Adviser shall, from June 30, 2014 through June 30, 2016, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceed a total operating expense ratio (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) of 1.99% for the Class I Shares of the Funds average daily net assets, 2.24% of the Class A Shares of the Funds average daily net assets, and 2.99% of the Class C Shares of the Funds average daily net assets.
If at any time during the first three years in which the Advisory Agreement is still in effect, the total annual fund operating expenses of the Fund for that year are less than 1.99% for the Class I Shares of the Funds average daily net assets, 2.24% of the Class A Shares of the Funds average daily net assets, or 2.99% of the Class C Shares of the Funds average daily net assets, the Adviser shall be entitled to reimbursement by the Fund, in whole or in part as provided below, of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund pursuant to this Agreement. The total amount of reimbursement to which the Adviser may be entitled (the Reimbursement Amount) shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment advisory fees previously waived or reduced by the Adviser and all other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund, pursuant to this Agreement, less any reimbursement previously paid by the Fund to the Adviser, with respect to such waivers, reductions, and payments. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable on the Reimbursement Amount.
EXHIBIT (d)(42)
October 15, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: The RBB Fund, Inc. Altair Smaller Companies Fund (the Fund)
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (this Agreement), Altair Advisers LLC (the Adviser) agrees that in order to improve the performance of the Fund, the Adviser shall, from October 20, 2014 through October 20, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Funds total operating expenses (other than acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceed a total operating expense ratio (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) of 1.35% of the Funds average daily net assets.
If at any time during the first three years in which the Advisory Agreement is still in effect, the total annual fund operating expenses of the Fund for that year are less than 1.35% of the Funds average daily net assets, the Adviser shall be entitled to reimbursement by the Fund, in whole or in part as provided below, of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund pursuant to this Agreement. The total amount of reimbursement to which the Adviser may be entitled (the Reimbursement Amount) shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment advisory fees previously waived or reduced by the Adviser and all other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund, pursuant to this Agreement, less any reimbursement previously paid by the Fund to the Adviser, with respect to such waivers, reductions, and payments. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable on the Reimbursement Amount.
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ALTAIR ADVISERS LLC |
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By: |
/s/ Rebekah Kohmescher |
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Name: |
Rebekah Kohmescher |
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Title: |
Managing Director |
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Your signature below acknowledges |
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acceptance of this Agreement: |
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By: |
/s/ Salvatore Faia |
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Salvatore Faia |
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President |
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The RBB Fund, Inc. |
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EXHIBIT (d) (51)
[Matson Money Letterhead]
December 31, 2014
Salvatore Faia
President
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Bellevue Park Corporate Center
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809
Re: The RBB Fund, Inc. - Matson Money, Inc., Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio, and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio (the Portfolios)
Dear Mr. Faia:
By our execution of this letter agreement (this Agreement), intending to be legally bound hereby, Matson Money, Inc. (the Adviser) agrees that in order to maintain the established expense ratios of the Portfolios of The RBB Fund, Inc., the Adviser shall, until further notice, but in no event terminating before December 31, 2015, waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or reimburse expenses (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which each Portfolios total operating expenses (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceed a total operating expense ratio (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) of 1.13%, 1.35%, and 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Matson Money, Inc. Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio, and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio, respectively.
The Adviser acknowledges that (1) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for waived fees at any time in the future, and (2) it shall not be entitled to collect on or make a claim for reimbursed Fund expenses at any time in the future.
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MATSON MONEY, INC. |
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By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
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Your signature below acknowledges
acceptance of this Agreement:
By: |
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Salvatore Faia |
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President |
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The RBB Fund, Inc. |
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EXHIBIT (e)(1)
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of this 31st day of October, 2014, by and between The RBB Fund, Inc. a Maryland corporation(the Client) and Foreside Funds Distributors LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the Distributor).
WHEREAS, the Client is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), as an open-end management investment company, and is authorized to issue shares of common stock (Shares) in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;
WHEREAS, the Client desires to retain the Distributor as principal underwriter in connection with the offering of the Shares of each series listed on Exhibit A hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a Fund and collectively the Funds);
WHEREAS, the Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 1934 Act), and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA);
WHEREAS, this Agreement has been approved by a vote of the Clients board of directors (the Board) and its disinterested directors in conformity with Section 15(c) of the 1940 Act;
WHEREAS, the Distributor is willing to act as principal underwriter for the Client on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth; and
WHEREAS, the Client and Distributor desire to terminate the Distribution Agreement effective April 1, 2012 and enter into this Agreement
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
1. Appointment of Distributor. The Client hereby appoints the Distributor as its exclusive agent for the sale and distribution of Shares of the Funds, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and the Distributor hereby accepts such exclusive appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement.
2. Services and Duties of the Distributor.
A. The Distributor agrees to act as agent of the Client for distribution of the Shares of the Funds, upon the terms and at the current offering price (plus sales charge, if any) described in the Prospectus. As used in this Agreement, the term Prospectus shall mean each current prospectus, including the statement of additional information, as amended or supplemented, relating to any of the Funds and included in the currently effective registration statement(s) or post-effective amendment(s) thereto (the Registration Statement) of the Client under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act) and the 1940 Act.
B. During the continuous public offering of Shares of the Funds, the Distributor shall use commercially reasonable efforts to distribute the Shares. All orders for Shares shall be made through financial intermediaries or directly to the applicable Fund or its designated agent. Such purchase orders shall be deemed effective at the time and in the manner set forth in the Prospectus. The Client or its designated agent will confirm orders and subscriptions upon receipt, will make appropriate book entries and, upon receipt of payment therefor, will issue the appropriate number of Shares in uncertificated form.
C. The Distributor shall maintain membership with the NSCC and any other similar successor organization to sponsor a participant number for the Funds so as to enable the Shares to be traded through FundSERV. The Distributor shall not be responsible for any operational matters associated with FundSERV or Networking transactions.
D. The Distributor acknowledges and agrees that it is not authorized to provide any information or make any representations regarding the Funds other than as contained in the Prospectus and any sales literature and advertising materials specifically approved by the Client.
E. The Distributor agrees to review all proposed advertising materials and sales literature for compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and shall file with appropriate regulators those advertising materials and sales literature it believes are in compliance with such laws and regulations. The Distributor agrees to furnish to the Client any comments provided by regulators with respect to such materials.
F. The Client agrees to redeem or repurchase Shares tendered by shareholders of the Funds in accordance with the Clients obligations set forth in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement. The Client reserves the right to suspend such repurchase rights upon written notice to the Distributor.
G. The Distributor may, in its discretion, and shall, at the request of the Client, enter into agreements with such qualified broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries as it may select, in order that such broker-dealers and other intermediaries also may sell Shares of the Funds. The form of any dealer agreement shall be approved by the Client. The Distributor shall not be obligated to make any payments to any broker-dealers, other financial intermediaries or other third parties, unless (i) the Distributor has received a corresponding payment from the applicable Funds plan of distribution adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (Plan) and (ii) such corresponding payment has been approved by the Clients Board. The Distributor shall include in the forms of agreement with selling broker-dealers a provision for the forfeiture by them of any sales charge or discount with respect to Shares sold by them and redeemed, repurchased or tendered for redemption within seven business days after the date of confirmation of such purchases.
H. The Distributor shall devote its best efforts to effect sales of Shares of the Funds but shall not be obligated to sell any certain number of Shares.
I. The Distributor shall prepare reports for the Board regarding its activities under this Agreement as from time to time shall be reasonably requested by the Board, including reports regarding the use of 12b-1 payments received by the Distributor, if any.
J. The Distributor may enter into agreements (Subcontracts) with qualified third parties to carry out some or all of the Distributors obligations under this Agreement, with the prior written consent of the Client, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld; provided that execution of a Subcontract shall not relieve the Distributor of any of its responsibilities hereunder.
K. The services furnished by the Distributor hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive and the Distributor shall be free to furnish similar services to others so long as its services under this Agreement are not impaired thereby.
3. Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Client.
A. The Client hereby represents and warrants to the Distributor, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
(i) it is duly organized and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation/organization and is registered as an open-end management investment company under the 1940 Act;
(ii) this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Client and, when executed and delivered, will constitute a valid and legally binding obligation of the Client, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties;
(iii) it is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws/operating agreement or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement;
(iv) the Shares are validly authorized and, when issued in accordance with the description in the Prospectus, will be fully paid and nonassessable;
(v) the Registration Statement and Prospectus included therein have been prepared in material conformity with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder;
(vi) the Registration Statement and Prospectus and any advertising materials and sales literature prepared by the Client or its agent do not and shall not contain any
untrue statement of material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and that all statements or information furnished to the Distributor pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects; and
(vii) the Client owns, possesses, licenses or has other rights to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks and service marks, trademark and service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, know-how and other intellectual property (collectively, Intellectual Property) necessary for or used in the conduct of the Clients business and for the offer, issuance, distribution and sale of the Fund Shares in accordance with the terms of the Prospectus and this Agreement, and such Intellectual Property does not and will not knowingly breach or infringe the terms of any Intellectual Property owned, held or licensed by any third party.
B. The Client shall take, or cause to be taken, all necessary action to register the Shares under the federal and all applicable state securities laws and to maintain an effective Registration Statement for such Shares in order to permit the sale of Shares as herein contemplated. The Client authorizes the Distributor to use the Prospectus, in the form furnished to the Distributor from time to time, in connection with the sale of Shares.
C. The Client agrees to advise the Distributor promptly in writing:
(i) of any material correspondence or other communication by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or its staff relating to the Funds, including requests by the SEC for amendments to the Registration Statement or Prospectus (not including routine comments on post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement);
(ii) in the event of the issuance by the SEC of any stop-order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement then in effect or the initiation of any proceeding for that purpose;
(iii) of the happening of any event which makes untrue any statement of a material fact made in the Prospectus or which requires the making of a change in such Prospectus in order to make the statements therein not misleading;
(iv) of all actions taken by the SEC with respect to any amendments to any Registration Statement or Prospectus which may from time to time be filed with the SEC (not including routine comments on post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement);
(v) in the event that it determines to suspend the sale of Shares at any time in response to conditions in the securities markets or otherwise or to suspend the redemption of Shares of any Fund at any time as permitted by the 1940 Act or the rules of the SEC; and
(vi) of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Client or any of its officers or directors, that the Client knows of, or reasonably should know of, in connection with, and that could be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on, the issue and sale of any of the Shares.
D. The Client shall file such reports and other documents as may be required under applicable federal and state laws and regulations, including state blue sky laws, and shall notify the Distributor in writing of the states in which the Shares may be sold and of any changes to such information.
E. The Client agrees to file from time to time such amendments to its Registration Statement and Prospectus as may be necessary in order that its Registration Statement and Prospectus will not contain any untrue statement of material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
F. The Client shall fully cooperate in the efforts of the Distributor to sell and arrange for the sale of Shares. In addition, the Client shall keep the Distributor fully informed of its affairs and shall provide to the Distributor from time to time copies of all information, financial statements, and other papers that the Distributor may reasonably request for use in connection with the distribution of Shares, including, without limitation, certified copies of any financial statements prepared for the Client by its independent public accountants and such reasonable number of copies of the most current Prospectus and annual and interim reports to shareholders as the Distributor may request. The Client shall forward a copy of any SEC filings, including the Registration Statement, to the Distributor promptly. The Client represents that it will not use or authorize the use of any advertising or sales material unless and until such materials have been approved and authorized for use by the Distributor.
G. The Client shall provide, and cause each other agent or service provider to the Client, including the Clients transfer agent and investment advisers, to provide to Distributor in a timely and accurate manner all such information (and in such reasonable medium) that the Distributor may reasonably request that may be necessary for the Distributor to perform its duties under this Agreement.
H. The Client shall not file any amendment to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that materially amends any provision therein which pertains to Distributor, the distribution of the Shares or the applicable sales loads or public offering price without giving Distributor reasonable advance notice thereof; provided, however, that nothing contained in this Agreement shall in any way limit the Clients right to file at any time such amendments to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, of whatever character, as the Client may deem advisable, such right being in all respects absolute and unconditional.
I. The Client has adopted policies and procedures pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time. In this regard, the Client (and relevant agents) shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent the
unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Client and the owners of the Shares.
4. Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Distributor.
A. The Distributor hereby represents and warrants to the Client, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
(i) it is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;
(ii) this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Distributor and, when executed and delivered, will constitute a valid and legally binding obligation of the Distributor, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties;
(iii) it is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, operating agreement or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement; and
(iv) it is registered as a broker-dealer under the 1934 Act and is a member in good standing of FINRA. It will promptly notify the Client if any regulatory actions are instituted against it by the SEC, any state or FINRA that could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on its performance of its duties under this Agreement, or if its membership in FINRA or registration in any state is terminated or suspended. It is registered pursuant to the blue sky laws of all states and territories of the United States to the extent necessary to permit it to offer Shares in such states and territories.
B. In connection with all matters relating to this Agreement, the Distributor will comply with the applicable requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, the 1940 Act, the regulations of FINRA and all other applicable federal or state laws and regulations.
C. The Distributor shall promptly notify the Client of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Distributor or any of its managers, officers or directors in connection with the issue and sale of any of the Shares.
5. Compensation.
A. In consideration of the Distributors services in connection with the distribution of Shares of each Fund and Class thereof, the Distributor shall receive compensation set forth in Exhibit B.
B. Except as specified in Section 5A, the Distributor shall be entitled to no compensation or reimbursement of expenses for services provided by the Distributor pursuant to this Agreement. The Distributor may receive compensation from one or more of the investment advisers of the Client related to its services hereunder or for additional services all as may be agreed to between each such investment adviser and the Distributor.
6. Expenses.
A. The Client shall bear all costs and expenses in connection with registration of the Shares with the SEC and the applicable states, as well as all costs and expenses in connection with the offering of the Shares and communications with shareholders of its Funds, including but not limited to (i) fees and disbursements of its counsel and independent public accountants; (ii) costs and expenses of the preparation, filing, printing and mailing of Registration Statements and Prospectuses and amendments thereto, as well as related advertising and sales literature, (iii) costs and expenses of the preparation, printing and mailing of annual and interim reports, proxy materials and other communications to shareholders of the Funds; and (iv) fees required in connection with the offer and sale of Shares in such jurisdictions as shall be selected by the Client pursuant to Section 3(D) hereof.
B. The Distributor shall bear the expenses of registration or qualification of the Distributor as a dealer or broker under federal or state laws and the expenses of continuing such registration or qualification. The Distributor does not assume responsibility for any expenses not expressly assumed hereunder.
7. Indemnification.
A. The Client shall indemnify, defend and hold the Distributor, its affiliates and each of their respective members, managers, directors, officers, employees, representatives and any person who controls or previously controlled the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (collectively, the Distributor Indemnitees), free and harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, demands, liabilities, damages and expenses (including the reasonable costs of investigating or defending any alleged losses, claims, demands, liabilities, damages or expenses and any reasonable counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) (collectively, Losses) that any Distributor Indemnitee may incur under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, the 1940 Act, any other statute (including Blue Sky laws) or any rule or regulation thereunder, or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or relating to (i) the Distributor serving as distributor of the Funds pursuant to this Agreement; (ii) the Clients breach of any of its obligations, representations, warranties or covenants contained in this Agreement; (iii) the Clients failure to comply with any applicable securities laws or regulations; or (iv) any claim that the Registration Statement, Prospectus, shareholder reports, sales literature and advertising materials or other information filed or made public by the Client (as from time to time amended) include or
included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading under the 1933 Act, or any other statute or the common law, or any violation of any rule of FINRA or of the SEC or any other jurisdiction wherein Shares of the Funds are sold, provided, however, that the Clients obligation to indemnify any of the Distributor Indemnitees shall not be deemed to cover any Losses arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, Prospectus, annual or interim report, or any such advertising materials or sales literature in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Distributor and furnished to the Client or its counsel by the Distributor in writing and acknowledging the purpose of its use. In no event shall anything contained herein be so construed as to protect the Distributor against any liability to the Client or its shareholders to which the Distributor would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or negligence in the performance of its duties under this Agreement or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
The Clients agreement to indemnify the Distributor Indemnitees with respect to any action is expressly conditioned upon the Client being notified of such action or claim of loss brought against any Distributor Indemnitee, within a reasonable time after the summons or other first legal process giving information of the nature of the claim shall have been served upon such Distributor Indemnitee, unless the failure to give notice does not prejudice the Client. Such notification shall be given by letter or by telegram addressed to the Clients President, but the failure so to notify the Client of any such action shall not relieve the Client from any liability which the Client may have to the person against whom such action is brought by reason of any such untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, or alleged omission, otherwise than on account of the Clients indemnity agreement contained in this Section 7(A).
B. The Client shall be entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense or, if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such Losses, but if the Client elects to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Client and approved by the Distributor, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the event the Client elects to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such counsel, the Distributor Indemnitee(s) in such suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by them. If the Client does not elect to assume the defense of any such suit, or in case the Distributor does not, in the exercise of reasonable judgment, approve of counsel chosen by the Client or, if under prevailing law or legal codes of ethics, the same counsel cannot effectively represent the interests of both the Client and the Distributor Indemnitee(s), the Client will reimburse the Distributor Indemnitee(s) in such suit, for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel retained by Distributor and them. The Clients indemnification agreement contained in Sections 7(A) and 7(B) shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Distributor Indemnitee(s), and shall survive the delivery of any Shares and the termination of this Agreement. This agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to the Distributors benefit, to the benefit of each Distributor Indemnitee.
C. The Distributor shall indemnify, defend and hold the Client, its affiliates, and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives, and any person who controls or previously controlled the Client within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (collectively, the Client Indemnitees), free and harmless from and against any and all Losses that any Client Indemnitee may incur under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, the 1940 Act, any other statute (including Blue Sky laws) or any rule or regulation thereunder, or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon (i) the Distributors breach of any of its obligations, representations, warranties or covenants contained in this Agreement; (ii) the Distributors failure to comply with any applicable securities laws or regulations; or (iii) any claim that the Registration Statement, Prospectus, sales literature and advertising materials or other information filed or made public by the Client (as from time to time amended) include or included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements not misleading, insofar as such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Client by the Distributor in writing. In no event shall anything contained herein be so construed as to protect the Client against any liability to the Distributor to which the Client would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or negligence in the performance of its duties under this Agreement or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
The Distributors agreement to indemnify the Client Indemnitees is expressly conditioned upon the Distributors being notified of any action or claim of loss brought against a Client Indemnitee, such notification to be given by letter or telegram addressed to the Distributors President, within a reasonable time after the summons or other first legal process giving information of the nature of the claim shall have been served upon the Client Indemnitee, unless the failure to give notice does not prejudice the Distributor. The failure so to notify the Distributor of any such action shall not relieve the Distributor from any liability which the Distributor may have to the person against whom such action is brought by reason of any such untrue, or alleged untrue, statement or omission, otherwise than on account of the Distributors indemnity agreement contained in this Section 7(C).
D. The Distributor shall be entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense or, if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such Losses, but if the Distributor elects to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Distributor and approved by the Client Indemnitee, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the event the Distributor elects to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such counsel, the Client Indemnitee(s) in such suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by them. If the Distributor does not elect to assume the defense of any such suit, or in case the Client does not, in the exercise of reasonable judgment, approve of counsel chosen by the Distributor or, if under prevailing law or legal codes of ethics, the same counsel cannot effectively represent the interests of both the Distributor and the Client Indemnitee(s), the Distributor will reimburse the Client Indemnitee(s) in such suit, for the fees and expenses of any counsel retained by the Client and them. The Distributors indemnification agreement contained in Sections 7(C) and (E) shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Client Indemnitee(s), and shall
survive the delivery of any Shares and the termination of this Agreement. This Agreement of indemnity will inure exclusively to the Clients benefit, to the benefit of each Client Indemnitee.
E. No indemnified party shall settle any claim against it for which it intends to seek indemnification from the indemnifying party, under the terms of this Section 7, without the prior written approval from the indemnifying party, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. The indemnifying party is not authorized to accept any settlement that does not provide the applicable indemnified party with a complete release or that imposes liability not covered by these indemnifications or places restrictions on the indemnified party, in each case without the prior written consent of the indemnified party. No indemnified or indemnifying party shall settle any claim unless the settlement contains a full release of liability with respect to the other party in respect of such action.
F. No person shall be obligated to provide indemnification under this Section 7 if such indemnification would be impermissible under the 1940 Act, the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or the rules of the FINRA; provided, however, in such event indemnification shall be provided under this Section 7 to the maximum extent so permissible.
8. Dealer Agreement Indemnification.
A. Distributor acknowledges and agrees that certain large and significant broker-dealers, such as (without limitation) Merrill Lynch, UBS and Morgan Stanley (all such brokers referred to herein as the Brokers), require that Distributor enter into dealer agreements (the Non-Standard Dealer Agreements) that contain certain representations, undertakings and indemnification that are not included in the Standard Dealer Agreement.
B. To the extent that Distributor is requested or required by the Client to enter into any Non-Standard Dealer Agreement, the Client shall indemnify, defend and hold the Distributor Indemnitees free and harmless from and against any and all Losses that any Distributor Indemnitee may incur arising out of or relating to (a) the Distributors actions or failures to act pursuant to any Non-Standard Dealer Agreement; (b) any representations made by the Distributor in any Non-Standard Dealer Agreement to the extent that the Distributor is not required to make such representations in the Standard Dealer Agreement; or (c) any indemnification provided by the Distributor under a Non-Standard Dealer Agreement to the extent that such indemnification is beyond the indemnification the Distributor provides to intermediaries in the Standard Dealer Agreement. In no event shall anything contained herein be so construed as to protect the Distributor Indemnitees against any liability to the Client or its shareholders to which the Distributor Indemnitees would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or negligence in the performance of Distributors obligations or duties under the Non-Standard Dealer Agreement or by reason of Distributors reckless disregard of its obligations or duties under the Non-Standard Dealer Agreement.
9. Limitations on Damages. Neither Party shall be liable for any consequential, special or indirect losses or damages suffered by the other Party, whether or not the likelihood of such losses or damages was known by the Party.
10. Force Majeure. Neither Party shall be liable for losses, delays, failure, errors, interruption or loss of data occurring directly or indirectly by reason of circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, Acts of Nature (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster); action or inaction of civil or military authority; acts of foreign enemies; war; terrorism; riot; insurrection; sabotage; epidemics; labor disputes; civil commotion; or interruption, loss or malfunction of utilities, transportation, computer or communications capabilities; provided, however, that in each specific case such circumstance shall be beyond the reasonable control of the party seeking to apply this force majeure clause.
11. Duration and Termination.
A. The Distribution Agreement effective April 1, 2012 is hereby terminated.
B. This Agreement shall become effective with respect to each Fund listed on Exhibit A hereof as of the date hereof and, with respect to each Fund not in existence on that date, on the date an amendment to Exhibit A to this Agreement relating to that Fund is executed. Unless sooner terminated as provided herein, this Agreement shall continue in effect for two years from the date hereof. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue automatically in effect as to each Fund for successive one-year periods, provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the Clients Board or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, in accordance with Section 15 of the 1940 Act.
C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated, without the payment of any penalty, with respect to a particular Fund (i) through a failure to renew this Agreement at the end of a term or (ii) upon mutual consent of the parties. Further, this Agreement may be terminated upon no less than 60 days written notice, by either the Client through a vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not interested persons, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of this Agreement or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, or by the Distributor.
D. This Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment, as defined in Section 2(a)(4) of the 1940 Act.
12. Anti-Money Laundering Compliance.
A. Each of Distributor and Client acknowledges that it is a financial institution subject to the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and the Bank Secrecy Act (collectively, the AML Acts), which require, among other things, that financial institutions adopt compliance programs to guard against money laundering. Each represents and warrants to the other that it is in compliance with and will continue to comply with the AML Acts and applicable regulations in all relevant respects.
B. The Distributor shall include specific contractual provisions regarding anti-money laundering compliance obligations in agreements entered into by the Distributor with any broker-
dealer or other financial intermediary that is authorized to effect transactions in Shares of the Funds.
C. Each of Distributor and Client agrees that it will take such further steps, and cooperate with the other as may be reasonably necessary, to facilitate compliance with the AML Acts, including but not limited to the provision of copies of its written procedures, policies and controls related thereto (AML Operations). Distributor undertakes that it will grant to the Client, the Clients anti-money laundering compliance officer and appropriate regulatory agencies, reasonable access to copies of Distributors AML Operations, and related books and records to the extent they pertain to the Distributors services hereunder. It is expressly understood and agreed that the Client and the Clients compliance officer shall have no access to any of Distributors AML Operations, books or records pertaining to other clients or services of Distributor.
13. Privacy. In accordance with Regulation S-P, the Distributor will not disclose any non-public personal information, as defined in Regulation S-P, received from the Client or any Fund regarding any Fund shareholder; provided, however, that the Distributor may disclose such information to any party as necessary in the ordinary course of business to carry out the purposes for which such information was disclosed to the Distributor. The Distributor shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to consumers and customers of the Funds.
The Client represents to the Distributor that it has adopted a Statement of its privacy policies and practices as required by Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-P and agrees to provide to the Distributor a copy of that statement annually. The Distributor agrees to use reasonable precautions to protect, and prevent the unintentional disclosure of, such non-public personal information.
14. Confidentiality. During the term of this Agreement, the Distributor and the Client may have access to confidential information relating to such matters as either partys business, trade secrets, systems, procedures, manuals, products, contracts, personnel, and clients. As used in this Agreement, Confidential Information means information belonging to the Distributor or the Client which is of value to such party and the disclosure of which could result in a competitive or other disadvantage to either party, including, without limitation, financial information, business practices and policies, know-how, trade secrets, market or sales information or plans, customer lists, business plans, and all provisions of this Agreement. Confidential Information does not include: (i) information that was known to the receiving Party before receipt thereof from or on behalf of the Disclosing Party; (ii) information that is disclosed to the Receiving Party by a third person who has a right to make such disclosure without any obligation of confidentiality to the Party seeking to enforce its rights under this Section 14; (iii) information that is or becomes generally known in the trade without violation of this Agreement by the Receiving Party; or (iv) information that is independently developed by the Receiving Party or its employees or affiliates without reference to the Disclosing Partys information.
Each party will protect the others Confidential Information with at least the same degree of care it uses with respect to its own Confidential Information, and will not use the other partys Confidential Information other than in connection with its obligations hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a party may disclose the others Confidential Information if (i) required by law, regulation or legal process or if requested by any governmental agency; (ii) it is advised by counsel that it may incur liability for failure to make such disclosure; (iii) requested to by the other party; provided that in the event of (i) or (ii) the disclosing party shall give the other party reasonable prior notice of such disclosure to the extent reasonably practicable and cooperate with the other party (at such other partys expense) in any efforts to prevent such disclosure.
15. Notices. Any notice required or permitted to be given by any party to the others shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service or 3 days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other partys address as set forth below:
Notices to the Distributor shall be sent to:
Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Attn: Legal Department
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
(207) 553-7110
Fax: (207) 553-7151
notices to the Client shall be sent to:
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Attn: Salvatore Faia, President
301 Bellevue Parkway
Suite 152
Wilmington, DE 19809
(302) 791-1700
Fax:
16. Modifications. The terms of this Agreement shall not be waived, altered, modified, amended or supplemented in any manner whatsoever except by a written instrument signed by the Distributor and the Client. If required under the 1940 Act, any such amendment must be approved by the Clients Board, including a majority of the Clients Board who are not interested persons, as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting for the purpose of voting on such amendment.
17. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the conflicts of law principles thereof.
18. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties hereto and supersedes all prior communications, understandings and agreements relating to the subject matter hereof, whether oral or written.
19. Survival. The provisions of Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 13 and 14 of this Agreement shall survive any termination of this Agreement.
20. Miscellaneous. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or delimit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect. Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.
21. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed by the Parties hereto in any number of counterparts, and all of the counterparts taken together shall be deemed to constitute one and the same document.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date first above written.
The RBB Fund, Inc. |
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/S/ Salvatore Faia |
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Salvatore Faia, President |
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Mark Fairbanks, President |
EXHIBIT A
Fund Names
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
Altair Small Companies Fund (upon its expected effective date on or about October 2014)
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
Free Market Fixed Income Fund
Free Market International Equity Fund
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio
Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund
RBB Money Market Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II
Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund
Robeco Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund
Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund
S1 Fund
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund
Schneider Value Fund
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
Exhibit B
Compensation
SALES LOADS*:
1. With respect to Class A Shares (i) that part of the sales charge which is retained by the Distributor after reallowance of discounts to dealers as set forth, if required, in the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus, filed with the SEC and in effect at the time of the offering, as amended.
2. With respect to Class C Shares (i) that part of any front-end sales charge which is retained by the Distributor after allowance of discounts to dealers as set forth, if required, in the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus, filed with the SEC and in effect at the time of the offering, as amended, and (ii) the contingent deferred sales charge payable with respect to Class C Shares sold through the Distributor as set forth in the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus, filed with the SEC and in effect at the time of sale of such Class C Shares.
3. With respect to Class I Shares, if any, the Distributor shall not be entitled to any compensation.
4. With respect to any future Class of Shares, the Distributor shall be entitled to such consideration as the Fund and the Distributor shall agree at the time such Class of Shares is established.
*All Sales Loads received by the Distributor shall be held to be used solely for distribution-related expenses and shall not be retained as profit.
12b-1 PAYMENTS :
Attached to this Exhibit B are all plans of distribution under Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act approved by the Funds and in effect (collectively, the Distribution Plan). If the Funds have a Board approved Distribution Plan that authorizes them to compensate and reimburse the Distributor for distribution services, then the Funds shall be responsible for all compensation and reimbursements pursuant to this Agreement, or such portions thereof as are authorized under the Distribution Plan.
Notes:
· Fees will be calculated and payable monthly.
· All fees are subject to a CPI increase based on each contract anniversary.
EXHIBIT (e)(3)
FIRST AMENDMENT TO
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
This First Amendment (the Amendment) to the Distribution Agreement (the Agreement) dated as of October 31, 2014, by and between RBB Fund, Inc. (the Client), a Maryland corporation, and Foreside Funds Distributors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (Foreside), is entered into as of November 7, 2014 (the Effective Date).
WHEREAS , the Client and Foreside desire to amend Exhibit A of the Agreement to reflect the removal of Perimeter Small Cap Growth Fund; and
WHEREAS , Section 16 of the Agreement requires all amendments to be in writing approved by the Clients Board, and signed by the parties;
NOW THEREFORE , for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Agreement.
2. Exhibit A to the Agreement is hereby amended and restated as provided on Appendix A attached hereto.
3. All other terms, conditions, provisions and sections of the Agreement remain in effect and are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed in their names and on their behalf by and through their duly authorized officers, as of the Effective Date.
RBB FUND, INC. |
FORESIDE FUNDS DISTRIBUTORS LLC |
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APPENDIX A
EXHIBIT A
Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund
Altair Smaller Companies Fund
Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund
Free Market Fixed Income Fund
Free Market International Equity Fund
Free Market U.S. Equity Fund
Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio
Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio
Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio
RBB Money Market Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Global Equity Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II
Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund
Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund
Robeco Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund
Robeco WPG Small/Micro Cap Value Fund
S1 Fund
Schneider Small Cap Value Fund
Schneider Value Fund
Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund
Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund
EXHIBIT (h)(79)
, 2014
THE RBB FUND, INC.
Re: Amended and Restated Administration and Accounting, Transfer Agency and Custody Services Fee Deferral
Dear Sir or Madam:
With respect only to those portfolios advised by Altair Advisors LLC which are set forth on Exhibit A attached hereto, as such Exhibit A may be amended from time to time, and which are effective as of the date indicated on Exhibit A (each, a Portfolio) (i) BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (BNY Mellon) agrees to defer certain fees under (a) an Administration and Accounting Services Agreement between The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Fund) and BNY Mellon effective as of the date indicated on Exhibit A, as may be amended from time to time; and (b) a Transfer Agency Agreement dated November 5, 1991 between the Fund and BNY Mellon, as supplemented from time to time; and (ii) The Bank of New York Mellon (Custodian) agrees to waive certain fees under a Custody Agreement dated July 18, 2011 between the Fund and Custodian, as amended from time to time, as follows: for the first four calendar month of operations of the Portfolio, BNY Mellon and Custodian will each defer 70% of their respective minimum monthly fees or base fees, as applicable, for administration and accounting services, transfer agency services and custody services (excluding independent security market quotes, data repository and analytics suite access fees, typesetting fees (if applicable), transaction charges, FundSERV networking fees, account fees, internet account management fees, control agreement implementation fees, shareholder expenses, miscellaneous fees and out-of-pocket expenses); thereafter, BNY Mellons and Custodians respective minimum monthly fees or base fees, as applicable, shall be charged as follows: during the next eight calendar months of operations, BNY Mellon and Custodian each shall charge 100% of the minimum monthly fees or base fees, as applicable, plus 1/8 of the amount previously deferred. and 100% of the minimum monthly fees or base fees during the thirteenth month and for each month thereafter.
The greater of the minimum monthly fee (as adjusted above) or the corresponding asset based fee or account fee (as applicable) will be accrued on a monthly basis.
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BNY MELLON INVESTMENT SERVICING (US) INC. |
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THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON |
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Agreed and Accepted:
THE RBB FUND, INC.
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The signature below evidences the investment advisers acknowledgement and approval of this Administration and Accounting, Transfer Agency and Custody Services Fee Waiver: |
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ALTAIR ADVISORS LLC |
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EXHIBIT A
List of Portfolios |
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Effective Date |
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Exhibit (i)(1)
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
One Logan Square
Suite 2000
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996
(215) 988-2700 (Phone)
(215) 988-2757 (Facsimile)
www.drinkerbiddle.com
December 22, 2014
The RBB Fund, Inc.
Bellevue Park Corporate Center
103 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, Delaware 19809
Re:
Shares Registered by Post-Effective Amendment No. 174 to
Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 33-20827)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to The RBB Fund, Inc. (the Company) in connection with the preparation and filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Post-Effective Amendment No. 174 (the Amendment) to the Companys Registration Statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Board of Directors of the Company has authorized the issuance and sale by the Company of the following classes and numbers of shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share (collectively, the Shares), with respect to the Companys Money Market, Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth, Schneider Small Cap Value, Schneider Value, Boston Partners Long/Short Equity, Boston Partners All-Cap Value, Boston Partners Small Cap Value II, Boston Partners Long/Short Research, WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value, Boston Partners Global Equity, Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund, S1, Free Market Fixed Income, Free Market International Equity, Free Market U.S. Equity, Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity, Matson Money U.S. Equity VI, Matson Money International Equity VI, Matson Money Fixed Income VI, Dynamic U.S. Growth, Abbey Capital Futures Strategy and Altair Smaller Companies Portfolios:
PORTFOLIO |
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CLASS |
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AUTHORIZED
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Money Market |
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L
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1500 million
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Bogle Investment Management
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NNN
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100 million
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PORTFOLIO |
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CLASS |
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AUTHORIZED
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Schneider Small Cap Value |
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YY |
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100 million |
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Schneider Value |
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PPP |
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100 million |
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Boston Partners Long/Short Equity |
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III
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100 million
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Boston Partners All-Cap Value |
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VV
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100 million
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Boston Partners Small Cap Value II |
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DDD
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100 million
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Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund |
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AAAAA
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100 million
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WPG Partners Small/Micro Cap Value |
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UUU |
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50 million |
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Boston Partners Global Equity |
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CCCCC
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100 million
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Boston Partners Global Long/Short Fund |
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JJJJJ
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100 million
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S1 |
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YYYY
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100 million
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Free Market Fixed Income |
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DDDD |
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300 million |
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Free Market International Equity |
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CCCC |
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300 million |
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Free Market U.S. Equity |
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BBBB |
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300 million |
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Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity |
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GGGGG
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100 million
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PORTFOLIO |
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CLASS |
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AUTHORIZED
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Matson Money U.S. Equity VI |
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LLLLL |
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100 million |
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Matson Money International Equity VI |
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MMMMM |
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100 million |
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Matson Money Fixed Income VI |
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NNNNN |
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100 million |
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Dynamic U.S. Growth |
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OOOOO
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100 million
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Abbey Capital Futures Strategy |
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RRRRR
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100 million
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Altair Smaller Companies |
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UUUUU |
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100 million |
The Amendment seeks to register an indefinite number of the Shares.
We have reviewed the Companys Articles of Incorporation, ByLaws, resolutions of its Board of Directors, and such other legal and factual matters as we have deemed appropriate. This opinion is based exclusively on the Maryland General Corporation Law and the federal law of the United States of America.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that the Shares, when issued for payment as described in the Companys Prospectuses offering the Shares and in accordance with the Companys Articles of Incorporation for not less than $0.001 per share, will be legally issued, fully paid and non-assessable by the Company.
We consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Amendment to the Companys Registration Statement.
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Very truly yours, |
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/s/ Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP |
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Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP |
Exhibit (i)(2)
CONSENT OF COUNSEL
We hereby consent to the use of our name and to the reference to our Firm under the caption Other Service Providers in the Boston Partners Investment Funds Prospectuses and under the caption Counsel in all the Statements of Additional Information that are included in Post-Effective Amendment No. 174 to the Registration Statement (No. 33-20827; 811-5518) on Form N-1A of The RBB Fund, Inc., under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, respectively. This consent does not constitute a consent under section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, and in consenting to the use of our name and the references to our Firm under such caption we have not certified any part of the Registration Statement and do not otherwise come within the categories of persons whose consent is required under said section 7 or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.
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/s/ Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP |
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DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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December 22, 2014 |
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Exhibit (j)(1)
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the references to our firm under the captions Financial Highlights and Other Service Providers in the Prospectuses of the Boston Partners Investment Funds (Institutional Class and Investor Class), S1 Fund (I Shares), Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund (I Shares) and Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund (I Shares) of The RBB Fund, Inc. dated December 31, 2014, and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and Financial Statements in the Statements of Additional Information of the Boston Partners Investment Funds, S1 Fund, Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund and Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund of The RBB Fund, Inc. dated December 31, 2014, and to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement (Form N-1A) (Post-Effective Amendment No. 174 to File No. 33-20827; Amendment No. 176 to File No. 811-5518) of The RBB Fund, Inc. of our reports dated October 29, 2014 with respect to the financial statements and financial highlights of the Robeco Investment Funds, S1 Fund, Summit Global Investments U.S. Low Volatility Equity Fund and Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, included in the 2014 Annual Reports to shareholders.
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/s/ Ernst & Young LLP |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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December 22, 2014 |
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Exhibit (j)(2)
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form N-1A of our report dated October 27, 2014, relating to the financial statements and financial highlights which appears in the August 31, 2014 Annual Report to Shareholders of the Schneider Small Cap Value Fund, Schneider Value Fund, Bogle Investment Management Small Cap Growth Fund, Free Market Fixed Income Fund, Free Market International Equity Fund, Free Market U.S. Equity Fund, The RBB Fund, Inc. Money Market Portfolio, Matson Money U.S. Equity VI Portfolio, Matson Money International Equity VI Portfolio, and Matson Money Fixed Income VI Portfolio (constituting ten of the twenty-three separate portfolios of The RBB Fund, Inc., hereafter referred to as the Funds) which are also incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement. We also consent to the references to us under the headings "Financial Highlights", Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings, "Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm" and "Financial Statements" in such Registration Statement.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
December 22, 2014 |
Exhibit-99.B(j)(2)
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the reference to us under the heading Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm in this Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Altair Smaller Companies Fund (a series of The RBB Fund, Inc.).
/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 22, 2014
EXHIBIT (j)(3)
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the references to our firm in the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of The RBB Fund, Inc., and to the use of our report dated October 24, 2014 on the financial statements and financial highlights of Scotia Dynamic U.S. Growth Fund Fund, a series of shares of common stock in The RBB Fund, Inc. Such financial statements and financial highlights appear in the August 31, 2014 Annual Report to Shareholders that is incorporated by reference into the Statement of Additional Information.
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BBD, LLP |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 22, 2014